Kids Capsule Wardrobe
Since posting my general ‘How To Minimize Kids Clothing’, I’ve had several people ask me exactly how much clothing I currently have for my kids. There isn’t one right way to live simply, and there isn’t a magical number of things you should own to be a minimalist. In the Simplify Home category of this blog there will be helpful tips, but still be general enough that you can apply these tips to fit your own lifestyle and preferences. For this reason, I was hesitant to give details about the exact number of things in our house. But if you find it helpful to have an example to work off of while reducing your stuff, then I’m here to help! I’ll let you know what I’ve tried, mistakes I’ve made, and what I currently find to be most beneficial.
People say that it can feel hard to keep ahead of the inevitable outfit changes that little kids need, and the laundry that comes as a result. If these details aren’t helpful for you, then refer back to the more general posting ‘Minimize Kids Clothing With These 5 Tips’ and work from there.
To give you a concrete example, here is a list of what items are currently in my girls’ closets. And I honestly find that this is more than enough. You’ll see here what is in their closet for the summer months. (The warmest winter items and coats are stored out of sight.) These clothes will get us through May-Aug when the daytime temperatures can range from anywhere between 15 degrees to 35 degrees Celsius.
Items In Each Kids Capsule Wardrobe:
- 7 shirts
- 4 bottoms (shorts, skirts, or capri pants)
- 4 sweaters or cardigans
- 5 dresses
- 4 pairs of shoes (sneakers, sandals, dressy flats, rubber boots)
- 1 hat
- 1 light jacket
- 1 bathing suit
- one week’s worth of underwear and socks
- 3 pairs of pjs
As you can see, we like to wear dresses in the summer heat! From this list you can tell that they have more than enough clothes to get through a week. So if I’m doing laundry twice per week they are never at the point of having ‘nothing to wear’. We also keep one outfit for each child in our car trunk just in case they need an outfit change while we’re out of the house. If they need a change of clothes while we’re out then it’s readily available.
Here is a glimpse into how I organize the clothes in my daughters’ closet. The boxes on the right side are for my older daughter, and the ones on left side are for my younger daughter.
box: pjs; bottom: summer blankets
basket: underwear, socks, bathing suit; top box: sweaters and tops; bottom box: dresses and bottoms
Create your own kids capsule wardrobe and discover how it simplifies the closest, the laundry, and your home!
We’ll be travelling in August for 5 weeks and just packing in carry-on suitcases. I hope to give you a look into the kids’ travel capsule wardrobe when the time comes!
