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Blink and They Have Outgrown It Already!

image By Professional Organizer Lea Schneider

One young mother recently said that the thing that she drastically underestimated about parenthood was how much time she'd spend dealing with clothing.

From the baby shower to the hand-me-downs and from the shopping trip to the neighbor's garage sale, there just seems to be an over-abundance of clothing in the home of a baby or toddler. On top of that, every time you turn around something else doesn't fit.

Look around and you have clothing that is too big and way, way too big. You have clothing that is too small. You have clothing that is for cold weather and it is hot out. You've clothing for summer but it is the middle of winter. You've girl clothing and boy clothing....just in case!

Here are some steps to help you get started.

1. Find a container to hold too-small clothing. It should fit easily into your child's closet. I really like to use a plastic hamper or tall skinny kitchen garbage can. It takes little room and is easy to drop things into it.

2. Place your container in the closet and begin to use it each time something is too small.

3. Next, sort through the clothing your child has recently been wearing. Find a onesie or other outfit that fits properly. You can use it to compare sizes with as we moms all know that the labels lie, lie lie! Just because it says a size doesn't mean it is that size.

4. Have only the clothing that fits your child or baby in the dresser drawers that you use. If you have hanging clothing, then label the hanging rod so that mom, dad and sitters all know which clothing is the current size.

5. When you hamper of too-small clothing is full, remove it to the attic or other storage area. You can store it right in that container or transfer it to a tub or trash bag. Label it with the size.

6. Sort your too-big clothing by size. You can add dividers to the hanging bar. Make a label with the size. Hang or tape the label on a hanger and slip it on the bar to divide one size from another.

7. When sorting too-large clothing, divide into seasons. Place your summer wear together and your winter wear together. Then you will know which stack to reach for as you need it.

8. Remove extra not-needed items from the room. Have a baby boy? Then put those baby girl clothes in the attic. Have lots of hand-me-down winter clothing but live in Florida? Move the extras to the attic.

9. Create a plan for your clothing once it is not needed. I've found several great things over the years. A children's clothing swap is a great way to get rid of too-small clothing and acquire the right size. I have also used a consignment shop, given them to a group who helps teen mothers, had a garage sale and given them to charity. You may also have luck on Ebay or Craigslist. The important thing is to have a plan so that you don't become overwhelmed by clutter.