How to organize outgrown baby clothes [+ free printable labels]

How to organize baby clothes:

Baby clothes can be overwhelming.

Your baby grows so quickly, and it’s really easy to get behind on organizing and storing all those baby clothes. Sometimes it’s easiest just to toss them in a pile in a closet somewhere, and keep telling yourself that you’ll go through it “someday.”

Well, I have good news for you. There is hope, and you can keep those outgrown baby clothes organized and stored. And once you have a good system in place, you will be able to keep these clothes organized with very little ongoing effort on your part.

I’m going to walk you through how to organize baby clothes, step by step. Don’t worry- there are only 5 steps, and when you get to step 3, I have some pretty labels that you can print and use. You can do this!!! Ready? Here we go.

Step 1: Decide where to store outgrown baby clothes

First, decide where you will be storing the outgrown baby clothes. This will determine what type of container you’ll use to organize them.

Do you have room in your attic, basement or garage? An extra closet somewhere? We decided to use half of our 3 year old’s bedroom closet, and it’s working out great so far.

(To see pictures of Emma’s closet, check out this post that I wrote about how to turn a nursery into a big kid bedroom.)

Step 2: Purchase or repurpose storage containers

Time to get some boxes or bins. Here’s what to look for:

• Size- I wanted something big enough to hold lots of clothes, but not so big that I wouldn’t be able to lift it by myself when it was full.
• Sturdiness- I knew I was going to stack these bins on top of each other, so I looked for something that seemed pretty sturdy, and made sure they had lids and could stack. The ones I picked come in different heights, but they can all stack on top of each other, which is great!
• Able to withstand dust and dirt- I wasn’t looking for cute, patterned bins. I wanted something that would keep the clothes safe from dirt and dust, and could be wiped down if they got dirty.
• Clear- This is just a matter of preference, but I chose clear bins because I knew I was going to attach the labels to the inside, where they would be less likely to get damaged.

Here are the bins that I decided on. These are not the sturdiest options available, but they’re not super flimsy either, and for the price, I think they’ve held up really well.

If you don’t want to purchase new bins, diaper boxes can work just as well, and you’ve probably got a ton of those at your house already! 😉

Step 3: Label Your Bins

To make my labels, I printed out the sizes I wanted on white card stock, backed them with some pretty paper that I had from the craft store, and used clear packing tape to attach the labels to the insides of the bins.

Now here’s the fun part: If you don’t want to make your own labels, you can use these printable labels that I made for you. All you have to do is print, cut, and tape onto your bins or boxes. 🙂

I only laid out a few of the sizes in these pictures, but I’ve got you covered from newborn up to size 5. Perfect to organize baby clothes. And you can use the blank size label to keep on going after that if you are feeling so inclined!

I sorted my clothes by pairing 0-3 months with 3 months, and 3-6 months with 6 months, etc. If you would rather keep those sizes separate, just use the blank size labels to make your own.

Update:

I now have 3 more sets of free, editable storage bin labels available. Click here to see them.

Step 4: Sort and purge

Time to fill up those bins! Sort your clothes into piles by size. Donate anything that you don’t want to store, or don’t think you will use again. Fold clothes and place them into the appropriate bins. Then stack the bins wherever you will be storing them.

Once you get into bigger sizes, you might find that you need 2 bins per size. At that point, I just divide clothes into winter and summer.

Step 5: Use the system

Now that you’re all organized, it takes just a little more effort to keep the system working.

When it’s time to switch your baby from one size clothes to the next, just pull out both bins (the too-small size and the next size up.) Then do a little switcheroo, putting all of the too-small clothes into the bin, and taking out all of the next size and putting it away in the closet or dresser.

Tip: Don’t put the too-small bin away right away. I let it sit out for a little while so that I can keep adding clothes to it as I discover them. (I always find a few more outfits that were in the laundry or the diaper bag…)

That’s it!

Once you organize baby clothes once, you’ll be all set for easy transitions between sizes in the future. Nice job, mama! Now here are a few tips to keep the system running extra smoothly.

Tips:

Don’t forget about too-big clothes

When you buy or make your bins, don’t forget to get a few extras for the bigger sizes. That way, you’ll be ready when your sister gives you a huge bag of hand-me-downs, or you run into a great sale and stock up on clothes for the entire next year.

Don’t worry too much about labels

If an outfit looks small to you, put it with the smaller size. Sometimes sizes run differently depending on the brand, so don’t worry too much about the size number. If a particular outfit looks too big or too small for what the label says, just eyeball it and put it where it looks like it belongs.

Don’t store any clothes that you won’t use again

Why would I do that??? It sounds crazy, but we all do it- we store things that we probably would never use again, because we tell ourselves that we might want it someday.

Don’t do it! If you didn’t ever dress your baby in a certain outfit because it was hard to put on, or you didn’t like the color, or it had a stain on it…. you probably won’t use it again for the next baby, either. Give it away or throw it away and be done with it.

Use too small and donate bins

Somewhere in your baby’s nursery, have a container for outgrown clothes. That way you can toss clothes in there anytime, without getting out all of your storage bins. Then, when you do a big clothing size switch, you can empty the too small basket and toss all of the outgrown clothes in the correct bins.

Have a donate basket as well, and use it often! This will ensure that you’re only holding on to the clothes that you actually like and use.

Don’t forget about other baby gear

There are so many things other than just clothes that you’ll need to store somewhere if you’re planning on having another baby one day.

I use the same system that I use with clothes to store baby gear. I use these large lidded boxes (from Target, unfortunately no longer available) attach labels, and stack them up on the top shelf of Emma’s closet.

I’m only slightly embarrassed to admit that I have TEN of these crates. Hey, I like them, okay? 😉 Here’s what I use each one for:

1. Bottles
2. Pumping supplies (you can read all about what I use here)
3. Bibs and burp cloths
4. Newborn supplies (sleepers, baby blankets, socks, hats, mittens, hair bows)
5. Postpartum supplies (read exactly what that entails here)
6. Baby carriers (we used a Moby when the girls were little, and an Ergo for when they were bigger)
7. Carseat covers
8. Bedding (mostly crib sheets)
9. Diaper supplies (I use cloth diapers and have a few supplies that go along with that)
10. Baby toys (Rattles, teethers, things that they grow out of by the time they turn one)

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