Spring and Summer Kids Wardobe

Getting Ready for Spring and Summer Shopping

Before I get started buying new clothes for spring and summer, I always want to check what we already have first. So I go through each kid’s dresser and have them try on clothes. If it’s putting away winter clothes and getting ready for spring and summer, then I’m going to want to see if they have any summer clothes that I put up last year.

I can see if they’ve outgrown some of the clothes, and they don’t fit anymore, or maybe a sibling outgrew something last year, and now one of the younger siblings can wear it this year.

I do this at least twice a year

I think that I need to go through all the kids’ clothes at least twice a year. You could do it four times a year if you want to do it every season. I aim to do it at least at the beginning of fall for a fall/winter wardrobe and then at the beginning of spring for a spring/summer wardrobe, and I think that’s usually about right.

When I do this, I remove clothes that are only worn in fall/winter from access for my kids. This helps prevent them trying to wear a thick coat to the park in summer, and just keeps things out of the way when it’s the wrong season. It just makes it easier for the younger kids to dress themselves without being as likely to grab an item that is wrong for the weather.

Take Inventory

Checking All the Clothes

So I like to check through each child’s dresser and closet and anywhere that I put up clothes from last year. The kids try on clothes, and I see if they still fit. I check if they’ve got summer clothes that I put up last year, and now they’ve grown, and they don’t fit anymore. Sometimes something from last year still fits or can be used for a sibling.

Last year’s clothes from each child can either be:

• Worn again this year, if it still fits
• Worn by a sibling this year, if it fits a sibling
• Saved for a sibling to wear in the future if it’s too big for a sibling and in good condition

Sorting and Passing Items Down

I want to check my inventory of what I currently have. Maybe a sibling outgrew something last year, and now one of the younger ones can wear it this year. I try clothes from older siblings “too small” piles on the younger siblings if I think they may fit.

Lay It All Out

Then I just kind of want to have it all out and figure out what each child has that’s going to fit for this coming spring and summer. It’s like taking inventory so I know what we have before shopping.

Get What They Actually Need for Spring/Summer

Know Your Weather Patterns

For me, our group spring/summer together because we pretty much wear the same types of clothes in spring and summer where we live. We live in a warm climate, so we’re going to have some swimsuits in our spring and summer wardrobe, and we’re going to have short sleeves, and we’re going to have shorts.

Boys’ Wardrobe Items

For the boys, I’m thinking probably at least five new, good-condition T-shirts and maybe another five that are ones they’ve already had, so like 10 T-shirts at least. Then I would say at least four pairs of shorts and one or two pairs of blue jeans, and one pair of khakis, and then also at least two nice polo shirts to alternate between. This can definitely vary by child. If your child has certain preferences, of course, you’ll want to customize it.

But, is a good idea to come up with a basic list of how many of each item you want. Then you can count what you have and come up with a specific shopping list per child. You’ll know exactly how many of each item to aim for. This helps a lot to keep you on track so you don’t end up having really imbalanced wardrobes with way too many shirts and not enough shorts for example.

Girls’ Wardrobe Items

For the girl, maybe the same on the shirts—five nice shirts that are new, five that are old. I like to have some of the old ones still in there as long as they still fit, just for playing in the yard or something so they can get those dirty. Then also, let’s say maybe a little less is needed for her for pants or shorts because she’s going to have dresses—so probably about four pairs of shorts and two pairs of jeans and one pair of pants that’s not jeans or shorts. Also, two pairs of leggings and five dresses. For her, we also want to add some small legging-type shorts to wear under the dresses. Here we use the same idea as with the boys, just come up with a basic checklist that fits what you want for your daughter or daughters, and then check the current inventory against the list and shop to fill in the gaps.

Shoes for the Boys

For shoes, the boys will need tennis shoes, Crocs, and dressier shoes. They could even be, like for my kids, that will be Sperrys—like boat shoes—even though those aren’t actually that formal. We still use those as our church shoes.

Shoes for the Girls

Then for the girls, we’ll say they need Crocs, tennis shoes, and two to three pairs of cute girly sandals to swap between for different looks for their outfits.

Keep Some Older Items

I like to have some of the old ones still in there as long as they still fit, just for playing in the yard or something so they don’t have to keep the new ones perfect.

Make It Work for the Kids

We need all of those to be nicely organized so that the kids can dress themselves. I like to have the clothes in a dresser with a different drawer for each main category. This makes it easy for them to get dressed on their own.

Shopping Without Spending Too Much

Where I Look for Bargains

To shop for these clothes, I like to check places for deals. So Hip2Save shares deals sometimes if I can find special deals.

I also like to go to TJ Maxx and Nordstrom Rack and see if I can get things at discounts. I can go to Belk and try to use their coupons, but a lot of stuff there is a little more expensive. I can go to JCPenney. I also like Target and Walmart for the kids’ clothes—Old Navy and Gap too. These are just some of the places that I’ve shopped before, but basically just try to actually get good value.

Letting the Children Pick Out Things

I try to get my kids’ input, and if they care—some kids want to be a part of it, and some kids don’t.

That’s pretty much just the overview of it—check what we have, sort it, figure out what they need, organize it, and shop wisely.

What Do You Think?

Let me know what you think. How do you organize your kids’ clothes? How do you decide how many clothes they need in their dresser? How often do you go through them? Let me know in the comments.