How to Declutter and Simplify Kids’ Clothes – The Ultimate Guide

How to Declutter Kids’ Clothes (And Why it Matters)

So you’re searching for tips for how to declutter kids’ clothes. Mayyyybe you have 28 storage totes of outgrown kid clothes in your garage, organized by assumed gender, size, and possibly also by season. (Or maybe you just chucked it into the totes to organize “later.”)

Or maybe it’s not even in bins… but your kids’ rooms are filled with way too much clothing, and you know it can’t all possibly fit / be in good shape / be their favorites.

It’s time to make some decisions.

If you work full time, or you’re at home with a high needs newborn or something, maybe you’ll only be able to get through one or two totes today. If you’re a stay at home mom of school-age kiddos, maybe you can finish everything.

No pressure though.

This isn’t all or nothing. Something is better than nothing.

Time to do this.

But why declutter your kids’ clothes?

Too much of anything is overwhelming, for everyone. Does your child has trouble picking out an outfit in the morning? Or have they mentioned they feel frustrated about having “nothing to wear” even though there’s clothes everywhere? Decluttering (and then filling in any gaps) is a simple solution.

If you’re overwhelmed with laundry, decluttering kids clothes can solve that problem too. Believe it or not, when you slash wardrobes in a big way, you also cut down on laundry stress. I’ll try to explain it further down, but it’s like magic.

Plus, when you commit to having fewer clothes for your children, you reduce the feelings of “always needing something new” and completely eliminate an entire category of impulse shopping.

When you declutter your kids clothes (the right way), you’ll also be decluttering load of stress, overwhelm, frustration, and irritation. Plus, when you change your outlook on kids’ wardrobes, you’ll prevent the clutter from piling up in the first place over time. You’ll shop differently and approach children’s clothes with a whole different attitude.

How to Declutter Kids’ Clothes – The Basic Categories

Grab five boxes or crates to sort into:

• Keep – Same Child, out of season: If you’re sorting in the summer, but you find fall/winter clothing the child likes and that might still fit in the next season, store that together. Same for if it’s cold and you find spring/summer things that may still work for your child in the spring.
• Keep Hand-Me-Downs – For a Younger Child or Future Child: This is stuff you still think is really cute, will probably be in style still by the time you have another child, and is in GOOD SHAPE.
• Keep – Sentimental: These are things you might save for your future grandkids, or maybe just to hold in your hands and smile at the memories they hold for you. They could be a special handmade item, or something worn to a certain memorable occasion.
• Donate: Perfectly good items only.
• Trash: Maybe you didn’t realize how worn out or stained it was when you originally stored it!

Some things to consider as you declutter your kids’ clothes:

How much laundry do you want to do?

Remember how much laundry you did when your kids were babies? Remember how many outfits they had in their closets or dressers that still hadn’t been worn, when the washing machine was FULL of things that HAD been worn? The next kid doesn’t necessarily need 52 spring dresses. Just because something is nice AND in good shape AND timeless doesn’t mean you HAVE to save it for a future child. You can just save your few favorites. Really, kids don’t need the gigantic wardrobes they often end up with. And you’ll be thankful when you have less laundry to wash, fold, organize, and store, and more time to snuggle your baby.

Related – What doesn’t work for you, care-wise?

I don’t know about you, but if my kids’ clothes require special handling, a delicate wash cycle, line drying, ironing, or dry cleaning, it’s not gonna survive here.

Knowing what you are and aren’t willing to put up with as far as special care goes is important! This alone may help you to let go of several items right away.

Sentimental – if everything is special, nothing is special.

Don’t go overboard with the “sentimental” stuff.  You might have a photo of your child wearing it, and that might be enough. And something isn’t necessarily special enough to store and save forever just because so-and-so (including yourself) made it. Sometimes those things are better off passed on to continue being worn by other children until they’re all “used up.” That is a VALID way for handmade items to spend their time on this earth. Remember that you also have the memories IN YOUR HEAD and that you don’t need the clothes to hold those memories for you. You really, truly don’t.

When you’re saving things you think your grandkids might wear someday, remember that THEY TOO will probably be gifted more clothes than they can possibly use as babies, and if you save too many items without clear reasons, they will probably each be dutifully worn once “because grandma needs a picture of this” and then ironed and stored for the next family baby.

On the other hand, if you save one really special outfit that was a favorite of your child, or that has a special story, it will probably be cherished and worn frequently by grandkids.

As you declutter kids’ clothes, actually trash the trash. Only donate the “good stuff.”

No one wants your garbage. Please keep that in mind when making donations. You should only donate perfectly good clothes that are not stained or pilled, faded, or worn out. They should also not be completely out of style. If you’re thinking, “They will just be so grateful to find a cheap shirt” that’s the wrong way to think about it.”They” want their kids to look cute just as much as you do. I’m sure you realize that “they” don’t want their kids to LOOK like they were dressed from someone else’s trash. “They” are just like you.

Oh, and “they” will probably also see lots of way NICER donations right next to your garbage on the rack at Goodwill (if yours even makes it through the original sorting by the facility) for the same price. Check yourself if you’re thinking like that, and actually throw away your trash. Donate things that people will want.

As for the trash? Throw it away. Don’t save it to make SOMEthing later, because then you’re just literally saving a box full of trash.

You are not your friends’ storage unit.

Let it go. If you’re not going to have any more kids (or won’t for a decade or so), you really need to let go. Also, it is not your job to store the cutest items for future kids your non-pregnant siblings or friends might have someday. Maybe it’s special enough for someone to want for a future child; offer it to them NOW. If they agree about how perfect it is, THEY will store it until a baby arrives in their life. If they disagree, you just need to set that item free.

Analyze your kids’ current clothing habits.

The last thing you want to do when you’re decluttering kids’ clothes is keep the clothes (or buy new ones) your kids don’t actually love to wear. It’s SO important to approach this with an open mind and take your kids’ opinions into account too. So how can you go about this analysis?

First, look at your kids’ clothes that are in the laundry – those are actually getting worn. Look them over and see what they have in common. Are all of the shorts elastic-waist for comfort? Do all of the shirts have sparkles on them? You’re getting clues here about your child’s preferences.

Straight-up ask them about what you’ve observed, to get confirmation or learn something new. If you ask your child, “I noticed you have sparkles on all these shirts you wore last week. Are sparkles important to you in the clothes you pick?” They might say, “Yes, sparkles are the best.” OR they might surprise you and say, “I didn’t notice that. Those shirts all have loose sleeves that feel good to me.”

Have your child show you their favorite outfits in their closet or dresser, too. Sometimes you’ll find that a child thinks a certain outfit is “too special” to wear regularly, but they love it. Be sure to encourage them to wear their favorites, because if they don’t wear and enjoy them, they won’t actually enjoy their favorites before they outgrow them.

To declutter children’s clothing, figure out what your child dislikes.

Another way to find clues about what your kids loves and dislikes is to analyze what your child DOESN’T wear. What stays in the bottom of the dresser week after week? What’s shoved in the back of the closet, neglected? You can likely declutter those kids’ clothes easily of course, but it’s even better to find out why, so you can prevent clutter-clothes from coming back in.

Ask your child why they don’t wear those things, but not in an accusatory way. Just “I noticed you haven’t worn this shirt in a really long time. Is there something about it that makes it not your favorite?” You may discover style preferences or sensory needs you didn’t know your child had, just by asking!

Once, when I did this with one of my children, I found out she kept wearing her old underwear and neglecting the new because the new underwear had a different kind of elastic that wasn’t comfortable on her legs. She was only four years old when she told me that, so even little kids can have big opinions when it comes to selecting and decluttering their own clothes! Listen to them, and learn what their preferences and needs are.

Prevent Kids’ Clothing Clutter from Creeping Back In

The thing about decluttering kids’ clothes is that you may declutter this particular batch in this moment in time, but your kids are growing! So more clothes will HAVE to come in. Will you be in the same situation a year from now? Or will you learn new strategies for dealing with kids’ clothing (and new mindsets) and never have to massively declutter your kids’ clothes again?

Twice a year, about a month before the weather will officially swap from cold to warm or warm to cold, do a kids’ clothing audit.

When decluttering kids’ clothes, ask your kids what they prefer for the next season, and assess saved clothes BEFORE shopping.

For my little ones, that might sound something like:

• “Warm weather is coming! Do you think you’d want to wear sleeveless shirts, or ones with short sleeves?”
• “Are you more into shirts with patterns or pictures on them, or solid colors these days?”
• “Do you like shorts with elastic or buttons and zippers?”
• “What colors make you feel the happiest to wear?”
• “Would you want to try wearing skirts with built in shorts under them?”
• “Are you interested in dresses this summer?”
• “What’s important to you about your clothes for the winter?”

How much clothing does a child actually need?

First ask yourself What your life looks like? What activities does your family do on a regular basis? What’s the climate and weather like where you live?

How many “changes” does your child typically need to make in one day? An older child may have a school uniform, then a track outfit or other sport-specific clothes, then comfy clothes for at home all in one day.

Then also consider how often you plan to do laundry per kid. I generally plan for counting on doing laundry once a week, with a couple of “buffer” outfits so they don’t totally run out of clothes if we’re a day or two “late.”

With your laundry frequency in mind, go back to your activities and see what you’ll need. Making careful decisions and not overbuying will help keep you from needing to declutter your kids’ clothes in the future, beyond easy seasonal maintenance.

Examples of considering activity frequency for kids’ clothing needs:

• If your child has gymnastics twice a week, and you plan on weekly laundry, maybe you really do only need 2 gymnastics outfits.
• Maybe your child has swimming lessons 5 days a week for one month, but doesn’t keep that frequency regularly. In that case, you could get 3 suits, and do an extra load of laundry halfway through the week just for that month.
• What if your family goes to church each week, but doesn’t have a lot of opportunity to wear fancy clothes other than that? Perhaps having two “church clothes” outfits per kid is all you need.
• If your child wears uniforms at school, but changes to other clothes before rough playing, maybe they can air out and rewear uniforms and get away with having 3 uniform outfits.
• What if your family loves to rock climb, but realistically only goes once a week at most? Then everyone only needs one rock climbing outfit they can wear each time. Simple!
• If your climate is dry and it rarely rains (or if the type of rain you get is stormy and keeps you indoors) your child might not need a rain coat at all. But if you live in an area with frequent misty rains, rain jackets might be essential!

So decide (based on your actual life and habits) how much of each type of clothing your child needs, and stick to the plan.

When you need to shop for new kids’ clothes:

Take stock of the clothes you already had (from last season or hand me downs) and make a list of what you need in order to fill in the gaps. Buy what you need, and then stop.

If you love to shop and wish you could buy more, don’t worry. Your child WILL grow and need clothes again. In the meantime, save your money, space, and sanity by holding back on making frivolous purchases. When the seasons change again, you’ll probably get a chance to buy new things.

Besides, your child’s clothing tastes or style preferences may have changed in the meantime. So it’s best not to overbuy for the current season or try to “shop ahead” too far in advance.

Are Capsule Wardrobes Helpful for Kids?

What is a capsule wardrobe?

The main goal of a capsule wardrobe is being able to create huge numbers of *varying* outfits out of a small amount of items. MANY people think that creating a capsule wardrobe is the key to success in decluttering kids’ clothes. But I disagree, and here’s why.

Curating a capsule wardrobe in which everything “mixes and matches” can distract you from the end game. What IS the end game? Having the necessary amount of clothes your child likes to wear, is comfortable in, and which fits your child’s activities and needs.

People who are drawn to capsule wardrobes are often really stylish people who are concerned about whether others will be able to tell they’ve downsized their closets. Of course, not everyone is concerned about others’ opinions. But it’s something I notice over and over in articles like “How I wore the same skirt for a month without anyone at my office realizing it” or “These 33 items got me through the winter and I never repeated an outfit once.”

That’s fine if you’re really into fashion and variety is a goal for you. Go for it, for yourself, in that case!

Why aren’t capsule wardrobes the best choice for simplifying kids’ clothes?

If you’re concerned with decluttering kids’ clothes, part of the reason is probably because you are feeling overwhelmed. And keeping things simple is really helpful on the path to remedying that overwhelm.

So while my kids do end up with mix and match things sometimes (khaki shorts will go with just about any shirt, right?), for the most part we think in terms of “outfits.” If they have 10 play outfits that work for them for the season, we check it off the list and move on with our lives.

When they fold their laundry, they pair up outfits and put them in their drawers. And when they get dressed, they just need to pull out an outfit to wear. There isn’t an overwhelming number of choices, and they like and feel good in everything they own.

There’s very little daily decision making around clothing with the “outfits” method, and that is a plus, not a downside.

What should you do if your child asks for a capsule wardrobe?

Of course, if one of your children turns out to be a fashionista and wants to create a wardrobe that will allow them to creatively express their personality in different ways each day, good on them!

At that point, your child is probably old enough and responsible enough to go through some of this process with you. First determining what they like and dislike in fit, color, style, fabric, and so on… before planning and creating their own seasonal capsule wardrobe.

But especially for smaller kids, and people who aren’t as into creative fashion choices, a capsule wardrobe can be a distraction from simplifying. So if you’re reading this because of overwhelm and stress, keep it simple, my friend.

What Kids’ Clothes to Save As Hand Me Downs

Be honest with yourself about the usefulness of saving your kids’ outgrown clothes for future children. Ask yourself these helpful questions to reframe the decision:

• Does the child you’re saving these clothes for exist yet?
• If so, how many years apart are the children? How long will you need to store the clothes before they’re potentially useful again?
• If not, are you currently trying for another child? How long could that take, and how long could it be before the clothes are potentially useful again?
• Do you have ample space to store these? Or are your closets cramped as is?
• What’s the storage space worth to you? What could you use the space for if it weren’t taken up by bins of hand-me-downs?
• Would I get excited about these clothes in their actual current condition if I saw them for sale in a secondhand shop?
• Did I and my child who wore this LOVE it?
• Would a future child be excited to use it?
• If I save this, and the next child doesn’t like or fit it, will I regret having used the space to store it for so long?
• What if the next child has completely different sense of style? One kid might like climbing trees in utility shorts, while the next child wants sparkles and lace. One child might only like crew neck t shirts, and another may prefer polo shirts or v necks.
• For baby clothes – what if the next child doesn’t “line up” with the same sizes/seasons? (one child may have been in 3m clothing in winter, while another is in 3m clothing in the dead of summer)
• If something hasn’t been used at all by the current child so it’s in great condition – or even has the tag on it – WHY wasn’t it used? Will the next child actually use it or is there a reason it was consistently passed over?

By asking yourself these questions, you’ll be able to get really critical about which items are worth saving, and which aren’t worth the storage space.

Personally, I am extremely selective about what I keep from my older kids for the younger ones. The space I dedicate to out of season or hand-me-down clothing is limited to the top shelf of my kids’ closets (in small storage bins or large shoeboxes). More than that is really unnecessary for my family. I keep the very best and most useful stuff and let go of the rest.

How to finish up and store your “keepers” and decluttered children’s clothes.

Once you’ve decluttered your kids’ clothes, it’s important to actually take the donations somewhere.

Thrift stores are good options, but women’s shelters often accept children’s clothes too. I’ve also seen foster parents posting on Facebook a lot of times, asking for certain sizes/styles for children they’re taking care of.

Throw away the trash.

Really.

Store same child, next season clothes.

If possible, storing clothes for same child but next season in that child’s closet, in a small, clearly labeled bin. (This is like if your child still has plenty of room in some of their winter clothing, but the weather is getting too warm for those… and they might still fit next fall.)

Store hand-me-downs.

For hand me downs that don’t fit anyone yet or aren’t the correct season, store in clearly labeled small bins in the closet of the child who has the best chance at fitting into them first. If possible, sort and store by size. Don’t bother separating it by season. You won’t be storing so much that you can’t easily sort through it twice a year. If you know a brand runs small, store it with the next size down from the size on the label, so you don’t miss the window when your child might fit it!

Store and protect sentimental things.

Sentimental clothing you choose to save for the memories and emotions should be selected very carefully (if everything is special, nothing is special). Store it completely separately from your children’s closets. You’re saving this for your own reasons. Do you have a memory box or trunk you keep your special things in? Tuck it away safely there. This will keep it safe, and prevent it from being accidentally mixed in with a batch of donations later on.

Congratulations!!!

Now that you’ve decluttered your kids’ clothes thoroughly, you should have a LOT smaller volume to store now! And you’ve been making mindset shifts around children’s clothing that will help you prevent clutter from creeping back in.

With just a twice a year (when the seasons change) maintenance plan in place, you’ll never be overwhelmed with your kids’ clothes again. It’s almost like magic.

Sharing is Caring.

Do you have a friend who has told you they’re trying to declutter kids’ clothes too? Send them this post and you’ll have someone to commiserate with and collaborate with throughout the process. And it’s always fun to have a friend to celebrate with, too!

Chime in:

What’s the strangest piece of clothing (your own or your kids’) that you’ve held on to for forever?
How about the piece of clothing with the most important story?