Less Is (usually) Best

Do you, like me, have the occasional mountain of laundry? I have noticed that there seems to be two responses to laundry. Have enough clothes so that you can always find something for everyone to wear (the common approach), or have so few clothes that you absolutely must do the laundry regularly (the smart approach). Because of the size of my family I sometimes can not get around the mountain. And unlike Mohammed, I have to actually go to it.

A number of years ago I used the common approach. It actually started when my oldest was a little baby. My husband had a stepsister (whom he'd never met) who had a baby about a year before ours. That little girl had more clothes than Bette Midler. So, her grandmother would send us boxes and boxes of beautiful clothes. We were poor and greatful for those clothes. I saved all of it. When our second was born she got all of those beautiful clothes, plus some of her own. Then the boys started coming and all of these clothes just kept piling up and piling up.

It hit me one day that even if we could find all of their clothes and had enough closet space for all of it, they still couldn't wear it all. That was when I started donating it and throwing it away. I figured out how much clothes they each needed. It was (and still is) something like this. Four pairs of shorts, two pairs of pants (we live in florida), three play dresses. Four to five pairs of underwear, two pairs of dress slacks or dresses, five casual shirts, two dress shirts and four to five pairs of socks. That is really all we need. Oh, and two pairs of pajamas. Truth be told, my boys rarely wear pj's which is fine with me. It means less laundry. Of course when it gets cold they need more pants and a sweater and jacket, but winter only lasts about two months here. If you have ten dresses, fifteen t-shirts, ten dress shirts, five pairs of shoes and two pairs of sneakers, etc... that is insane. Get rid of those clothes! And please, don't waste the time of Goodwill and Salvation Army employees by sending them stained and torn clothing. No one wants to buy that junk. Throw it away!

As my children have gotten older and some of them have stopped growing, this is the habit I have encouraged. All of the fully grown people in my home turn their hangers around the week of their birthdays. Next year, any hangers that are still backwards have clothes on them that we haven't worn in a year. If you do this enough and teach it to your children it will become so much easier to keep their closets current. I have one child who loves clothes. With him I have to be a little more creative. With Jacob, before I will take him shopping he has to get rid of as many shirts or shorts (or whatever it is that he is asking for) as he hopes to buy at the store. Jacob gets more hand-me-downs than anyone else and I have to really stay on top of his closet.

Give the whole "turn the hangers around" thing a try and reduce the little people's wardrobe. If you try this let me know how it turns out for you. I'd love to hear from you.