How to Create a Fall Wardrobe for Your Kids

The cooler temps are here, and I beg for mercy in the laundry department. I am in the South, so currently we have all seasons covered in the closets. However, it is time to declutter our fall closets. This is how to create a fall wardrobe for your kids and regain your sanity.

Less clothing items means less laundry and even less maintenance. What is it with girls leaving clothes on the floor!? There’s often crying at 6:15 am because dirty clothes have been mixed with clean clothes and they don’t know what to wear. Please tell me I am not alone.

Fall is a great time of year to get the clothing situation in order. Right now, we have extra jackets, sweatshirts, and accessories, so making a plan before the closets break you, is a great idea. Join the RHB community for your fall wardrobe checklist.

How to create a fall wardrobe for your kids

1.Wash all clothes

Start the night before your closet refresh and make this the priority. Put on a little Hallmark if you must. As you pull clothing out of the dryer, sort them by top, bottom, dress, etc. Donate or toss the ones you don’t want or have stains or tears. I also remove summer outfits that I put in the seasonal bin. (The seasonal bin-just one. singular)

2. Throw away or donate

Now, sort through the drawers for any obvious holes in the knees or stained items. Feel free to just toss them in the trash if they are ruined. This makes your donation bags lighter and easier. Do the same thing for any items your kids have outgrown. If it doesn’t fit, donate.

FYI: some brands like Hanna Anderson and Cat & Jack, will let you return any items with holes. If you know you will actually run this errand, make a pile in your car to do that while you are out and about.

3. Pack your seasonal box

Pull out all summer items that cannot be worn in the winter months based on your area. I keep skirts and one pair of shorts for the kids in Alabama. Sometimes, I have to put those up because the kids internal clocks do not register that 50 is cold.

4. Group items together

The faster you can complete this, the better. This step is flash fast. You will place all the clothing from the closet into a pile on the floor, then sort through into groupings. These categories will look like:

• Tops
• Bottoms
• Pajamas
• Dresses
• Undies
• Socks
• Hairbows.
• Jackets and sweatshirts

5. Choose the FAV 10

Or even better, let your kids choose. Start with your favorite 5 and add until you reach 10 in that category. Challenge yourself to stick to this number. If you have several items, you love that didn’t make the cut, put them in the seasonal bin or a rotating bin to bring out in a month. Be free of the laundry monster.

Take a picture of what you have for easy reference when shopping. This will help you create a cohesive color palette and a versatile wardrobe.

6. Pack your Maybe Box

This is the extra clothing that doesn’t make it into the FAV 10. The Maybe Box can be a bin in the closet, but we like to keep it out of sight. However, be careful to keep this minimal so it doesn’t become a burden and in 6 months whatever you haven’t used needs to go.

7. Take Donations

I like to do this on the same day, so NOTHING gets undone. If it is not possible to take them, call a friend to drop them off or pick them up or at the least place them in the trunk of your car. This will be the most satisfying step, and you will feel the weight lift off.

8. Go Shopping

This is for the groupings 10 and under. Use the pictures you took and grab any items you think would complete the wardrobe. I’m very flexible here, as I have one kid who loves jeans and another who can’t stand them. If your daughter doesn’t like wearing dresses, don’t force 10 on her. Only get what they will wear within your boundaries.

9. Create your new laundry plan

This is what I needed the most this fall. I dread laundry and somehow it would get overlooked day in and day out. To create a home that worked well I needed a new system, so I started asking around to see what my peers were doing. It turned out they had it down to a science, so for them, the laundry wasn’t as daunting.

This is what they did:

1. Each night as the kids undressed, they placed dirty clothes in the empty washer and mom would start the washer. If she is awake, she will switch the laundry to the dryer, but some friends say they just finished in the morning or even waited until morning to start the washer.
2. Fold and put away before going to bed
3. Wash sheets and towels as a second load as needed.

Homework: I tried this last week and like it so far. It is a habit you have to create. The kid’s bedrooms are upstairs, so I just had them drop down their clothing and I put them in the washer. Sometimes I start it at night and some days in the morning. Either way, laundry finishes midafternoon and I put them on the stairs for the kids to take up. You can skip one day, but don’t skip two.

This is a great time of year to ditch the extra clothing before the holiday season gets here. Challenge yourself to try this and let me know what you think! It was harder than I thought it would be to declutter clothing, but that is why you have a “maybe box” to store elsewhere. If you think you need additional clothing pull from it.

Kids thrive on less options. Less is more.

Until next time,

Closet Staples:

• Dressers: Ikea
• White velvet hangers & black ones I keep for Josiah’s room. I like color coordinating them, so I know whose stuff is where:) The best way to elevate the closet is to use cohesive and fancy hangers.
• NO DIRTY CLOTHES BIN 🙂 Try it.
• White Bins from Target