We have too many clothes!

[tonilea]

I just counted in DS's closet and he had 45 Ts and 18 LS shirts...Not counting play clothes. I know that is way too many, but what is reasonable?

I started Fly Lady and for the first time in YEARS I am getting my laundry really caught up. I can't believe how many clothes we have. Do you have "personal limits?"

 

[sarahlovesmickey]

I feel your pain! My kids have WAYYYYYYY too many clothes! And me and hubby have our share too. A few weeks ago, I actually went through me and my daughters clothing and packed up 5 HUGE bags for the planet aide organization. It felt sooooo good to get rid of stuff we just don't wear anymore or have outgrown and better yet, giving it to people in need.

 

[tonilea]

I feel your pain! My kids have WAYYYYYYY too many clothes! And me and hubby have our share too. A few weeks ago, I actually went through me and my daughters clothing and packed up 5 HUGE bags for the planet aide organization. It felt sooooo good to get rid of stuff we just don't wear anymore or have outgrown and better yet, giving it to people in need.

Bolding mine.

That is the thing. All of these shirts fit him!!! A few he will likely out grow fairly soon. I did contact a gal I went to school with who owns a children's resale shop.

I also give quite a few things to the nurse at school. Amost new shoes the boy has outgrown. And lots of underwear - I can't imagine selling it, and she is always thrilled to get them.

 

[TallyTutter]

I have hopes of being able to re-purpose some of my daughter's T shirts. The ones that "mean" something, those from places we've been in Europe, but especially her sweatshirts that have been personalized with her name - it's not a common name - to make into a lap throw.

 

[ZPT1022]

I don't know what a reasonable amount is- there are so many factors- how often does he change clothes each day, does he need uniforms for school (I count those differently), are you counting all seasons or just the current season, etc.....

I know for us I noticed that we all really have way too many clothes. I've made a point to not only get rid of stuff, but more importantly, not buy more than we need. Where things tend to go wrong for our family are birthdays and Christmas. We live in CT and have well defined seasons. By Christmas it is cold and we have established winter wardrobes for the kids already but then well intentioned family members would be buying them the equivalent of an entire second winter wardrobe. Their birthdays are in the summer and we would have the same problem- by June I've bought summer clothes but when their birthdays roll around everyone buys them tons of summer clothes. On my end, I try to avoid the whole buying stuff on clearance because it's a good deal. If I don't have anywhere to put it, that $2 shirt is not such a great deal, and let's face it, a lot of times by the time things are on clearance like that, the season is almost over. I do try to buy ahead though- for next year- and hope that is the good balance between saving money and not overloading us with stuff.

I know I just get flustered when I look at all these nice clothes my kids have and their dressers are overloaded but they barely wear half the stuff. Part of it is that they wear uniforms to school but part of it is just too much stuff. Too much stuff seems to be an unfortunate theme in our house though.... I refuse to do it anymore

 

[NMW]

My kids have way too many clothes. I have to admit it's my fault. In my defense, I was raised by a woman that has (at last count) 45 pairs of high-end black shoes and 18 pairs of high-end black boots. I'm not kidding. My mother can not walk past the shoe department in Macys or Nordstroms without buying shoes. She once made an illegal u-turn on a busy road when she noticed that a new shoe store had opened. She is sick woman.

 

[figment3258]

Always feel this way. For my youngest dd she gets all my oldest dd's hand me downs which is great then we buy her new cloths and at birthdays and Christmas she gets more. I feel overwhelmed because sometimes they don't wear everything I like to keep the basics 5 pairs of jeans a few pairs of other pants then about 7 or 8 of each long and short sleeve. But then they have dresses and special put fits grandparents love the gap and now my oldest loves justice the way I look at it is as long as they wear the cloths it does not matter how much. I go through the cloths on a monthly basic and sell what they put grow or don't use To a second hand shop.

 

[laurafergie]

I clean and organize folks IRL and I have to say, the clothes issue is always the biggest problem. I have a client right now that I say her master closet is the "last frontier" LOL...anyway, I do have a rule of thumb for kids.

The following will give you enough to have if you don't have time for laundry one week.

Two weeks of OUTFITS (not individual pieces) from the skin out per season. This includes underwear, socks, and undershirts.(if you need them) If you just do the jeans and shirt routine, you can cross seasons by wearing short sleeves with jeans in fall and spring.

One week of pajamas or nightgowns.

One pair of athletic shoes, one pair of nicer shoes that can be worn to school.

One winter coat, one sweater, one hoodie and a couple of sweatshirts/ sweaters for layering.

A couple of winter hats and gloves and one pair of boots if needed in your area.

Now if you have church - add five OUTFITS and one pair of shoes per season. Otherwise, one nice outfit with shoes per season is fine.

Of course if you have sports - you will have to up the amount of underwear and socks.

ETA: Forgot bathing suits (2-3) and any snow pants or whatever is particular to your area.

The biggest rule is: Always buy in OUTFITS, not pieces and you won't end up with too many shirts and only one pair of jeans.

Hope I have helped someone. This has always worked well for me.

 

[pearlieq]

I agree--a two week supply, with maybe 1 or 2 spares or specialty items, should be an adequate amount.

 

[Kat77]

45 t's really is a lot! I'd have him pick his top 15 then donate the rest. I'm sure the school nurse could find good homes for the clothing. My district has a free clothing closet. I think any family is welcome to pick items from it, not just the needy. You could see if there is anything like that near you.
I have an issue with my mother buying kids t's from walmart and none of my kids really wear them. I feel like I'm contantly giving crap away.

 

[Lex33]

Believe it or not, my 2 older kids each have 3 pairs of pants. My youngest, 10, has 2 new pairs and 3 extremely used pairs. They have a few more shirts, but certainly nothing over 8-10 including all seasons. Do they really need so many clothing items to pick from everyday? Maybe when they start to purchase their own clothes they will have more.

 

[prncess674]

I feel your pain! My kids have WAYYYYYYY too many clothes! And me and hubby have our share too. A few weeks ago, I actually went through me and my daughters clothing and packed up 5 HUGE bags for the planet aide organization. It felt sooooo good to get rid of stuff we just don't wear anymore or have outgrown and better yet, giving it to people in need.

Please donate your unwanted items to legitimate organizations such as Goodwill, Salvation Army, St. Vincent DePaul. Planet Aid is scam that is a for profit organization!

 

[mjkacmom]

Dd14 and dd8 have enough clothes. I give $ to dd14, and she shops with her friend. Ds12 has 3 pairs of jeans, 3 pairs of athletic pants, and a handful of shirts. He's 5'4", and looks like he's gearing up for a spurt - the size small men's shirts I just bought look a little short in the sleeve already. Dd8 fits into the 7/7slim that she and dd9 have been wearing for almost 3 years. However, poor dd9 (almost 10) only has a few pairs of size 8slim jeans, because she grew, and then there were no jeans left! Dd8 has very little clothes - he just grew, too, and I could only manage to find 1 pair of 8slim jeans before they were off of the shelf. He's also very skinny, and hard to fit.

Lucky for me, I do laundry every day, 365 days of the year. Both boys play a lot of year-round sports, and my dd8 and dd9 dance almost daily, so I get a pile every day.

 

[dhuba]

Please donate your unwanted items to legitimate organizations such as Goodwill, Salvation Army, St. Vincent DePaul. Planet Aid is scam that is a for profit organization!

Yes, our local news did a piece of this a while ago. It's definitely a scam. I wonder why businesses still allow them to keep one of their donation containers in their parking lots. I guess they pay them for it.

 

[mackeysmom]

I clean and organize folks IRL and I have to say, the clothes issue is always the biggest problem. I have a client right now that I say her master closet is the "last frontier" LOL...anyway, I do have a rule of thumb for kids.

laurafergie -

Do you have a rule of thumb for adults that you'd be willing to share?

-- Laura

 

[disney*mom*82]

I wish my kids only have 45 shirts. DH and I both are very bad about buying way too many clothes for the kids. They get tons of clothes for Christmas and b-days, also get some for easter, valentines day, and sometimes just whenever.
We are getting ready to move and I told DH this has to stop. I will be packing the clothes and I do plan to donate LOTS of clothes and I would like to rummage a few boxes of the higher end clothes or NWT items. I would like to narrow down things to maybe 3 weeks worth of clothes, 2 tennis shoes, 2 sandals, 1 dress, and sport shoes, 2-3 swimsuits, sport clothing, 1 weeks worth of PJs, 2-3 dressy outfits. We will see,that is my goal. Ive got 3 kids and can honestly say that their closets are beyond full, dressers full and I have large tupperware tubs full of clothes. Ive got a lot of work ahead of me.

 

[mrsbornkuntry]

Believe it or not, my 2 older kids each have 3 pairs of pants. My youngest, 10, has 2 new pairs and 3 extremely used pairs. They have a few more shirts, but certainly nothing over 8-10 including all seasons. Do they really need so many clothing items to pick from everyday? Maybe when they start to purchase their own clothes they will have more.

My kids are like this two, my oldest two only have 3 pair of jeans plus two or so pair of yoga/athletic pants and a pair of jeans with holes in them for play/outside work. They each have about 7 t-shirts and 7 long sleeve ts. Plus enough socks and underwear for 7 days.

Unfortunately since I have 4 boys my younger 3 have a lot of clothes that I purge two times a year. I have learned which brands will last through them and even stopped buying my skinny 9yo "slim" clothes and instead buy him regular adjustable waist jeans so I can adjust them in for him, then take them back out to pass down to my average size youngest. I make concessions with t-shirts so they get more "personal" clothes to fit their intests and will buy them $3-$5 t-shirts at Walmart with their favorite characters.

Dd14 and dd8 have enough clothes. I give $ to dd14, and she shops with her friend. Ds12 has 3 pairs of jeans, 3 pairs of athletic pants, and a handful of shirts. He's 5'4", and looks like he's gearing up for a spurt - the size small men's shirts I just bought look a little short in the sleeve already. Dd8 fits into the 7/7slim that she and dd9 have been wearing for almost 3 years. However, poor dd9 (almost 10) only has a few pairs of size 8slim jeans, because she grew, and then there were no jeans left! Dd8 has very little clothes - he just grew, too, and I could only manage to find 1 pair of 8slim jeans before they were off of the shelf. He's also very skinny, and hard to fit.

Lucky for me, I do laundry every day, 365 days of the year. Both boys play a lot of year-round sports, and my dd8 and dd9 dance almost daily, so I get a pile every day.

This is why I don't buy my kids very many clothes, I do laundry every day or every other. We buy mix and match clothes (jeans and shirts) plus when they play a sport or join a club they get another shirt from that that they will wear once the season is over.

Yes, our local news did a piece of this a while ago. It's definitely a scam. I wonder why businesses still allow them to keep one of their donation containers in their parking lots. I guess they pay them for it.

Do you have a link or something about this? I didn't know it was a scam and I'm sure I've donated to one of those parking lot containers. What is the scam?

 

[Jill in Chicago]

I think a good rule is that ALL of your clothes should fit comfortably into the shelves, closet or dressers that you use. If the clothes are squashed you have too many clothes for the home that you live in. (some people have room for tons of clothes, and others do not.)

For those who put off laundry, another good rule is two weeks of clothes. That way you are forced to do laundry.

Once in the Spring and once in the Fall I used to go through all of my boys' clothes. Anything that was snug was out (sold or donated). I knew it would not fit the next season. Anything at the bottom of the dresser that was never worn was also out. My boys are older now so we don't need to do this any more.

 

[MinnieForMe]

After two boys, I was so happy to have my daughter and shop for pretty things. I knew she had too much this fall when I counted 45 summer dresses. At least, she wore every one but if you factor in shorts/skirts/shirts etc... She had more summer clothes, than days in the summer!

At least, I'll make most of my money back as they are top names and I buy a year ahead on sale!

 

[Pixie Princess]

My kids have way too many clothes. I have to admit it's my fault. In my defense, I was raised by a woman that has (at last count) 45 pairs of high-end black shoes and 18 pairs of high-end black boots. I'm not kidding. My mother can not walk past the shoe department in Macys or Nordstroms without buying shoes. She once made an illegal u-turn on a busy road when she noticed that a new shoe store had opened. She is sick woman.

Sounds like my kind of woman! I definitely have a shoe problem!

I have gotten better about the clothes issue with my DD over the years. She is pretty hard on her clothes and shoes so I tended to buy a little more to compensate for that, but I was definitely out of control at one point. When she was around 3 I found out just well Gymboree clothes held up to the abuse she put clothes through. It was all down hill from there. I learned how to "work" Gymboree, and I would rack up on stuff. She had no hope of wearing it all! I got my reality jolt when we moved and she started having to wear uniforms to school. One season of many un-worn clothes did it. I have cut back considerably much to the dismay of my SIL who gets all the hand-me-downs for her girls.

I still could stand to cut back further, especially with the summer wardrobe.