children's clothing - how much is enough?

[snickerplum]

I'm really (really) looking forward to warmer weather, as I know many are. I began the process of weeding through my children's spring/summer clothing, partly because it makes it seem closer to sunny days. Kinda.
I wrote down who needs what to shop purposefully and prevent over-buying. How much clothing do you get for each child? I know I probably have too much, especially for the girls. Ooh, and shoes, too! How many pairs of shoes per kid?
I think it's interesting to hear what different families think on the subject. And perhaps I'm hoping I'm not too far past the norm... :-)

[kbutton]

I have boys, so it will be a bit different. Our church is pretty casual, so we don't need dress up clothes either.

 

My kids are HARD on clothes. I try to have a couple of nice or moderately nice outfits that they keep specifically for leaving the house and church, or else their whole wardrobe will be stained or holey within a very short time (pants just don't hold up any more--my son doesn't skid on his knees a lot, but he has holey pants). Other than that, they can dress in rags for all I care because they ruin all clothes they own. If pants have holes, we cut them off for shorts--I am willing to hem them if the kids actually want them for nice wear, and the knees are usually the only holey portions). I do shop yard sales or consignment stores if I can (older clothes seem to last longer because the fabric is better quality), and we get some hand me-downs, but those are usually play clothes by the time they come our way. My older one is old enough that yard sale shopping is getting to be slim pickings. He's also particular about clothes, and he often changes his mind about wearing them after I spend money on them. As a result, we buy fewer items for him.

 

Quality of clothing and shoes is going downhill, so we usually stick to just one pair of nice shoes that we don't ever wear outside. Old ones that still fit or hand-me-downs are for mud, and we buy one new pair of "sturdy" sneakers for our main use. Sometimes their "nice" shoes are canvas shoes from Walmart that they wear only for church (very casual). We've found that even the nice sneakers develop holes very quickly since most no longer have any leather in them, so I wait until we're past mud season to buy new shoes for the kids (assuming they aren't pinching terribly), and that becomes the pair they wear most of the time.

 

We can afford to buy more and nicer clothing, but it would be an utter waste, truthfully.

[Wilma]

It totally depends on how often you'd like to be doing the laundry.  If you're an every day gal, there's no sense having more than a few of each item.  But if you're on a two week deal, you'd need to allow for that.

[Spryte]

I'm interested in seeing the responses here, too.  These threads are always fascinating to me.  

 

As a general guideline, for summer, DS has: 

 

5 pairs shorts

3 - 4 pairs long pants (these are left over from winter, if they still fit)

5 - 7 t-shirts and/or polos

4 - 5 long sleeve t-shirts and/or polos (usually left over from winter, as above)

2 swimsuits and rash guards

jacket and/or hoodie

rain coat

sneakers

sandals

water shoes

2 - 3 pairs pajamas

undies/socks - of course :)

 

I try to keep it on the lower end of those numbers, because I don't like letting laundry pile up and the more he has, the more tempting I find it to do so.

 

DD has a different selection, and she's little enough (2) that I'm still figuring that out.  

 

 

 

[Jerico]

Enough clothes to get through a week. Slightly less shorts than shirts. I aim for 6 t-shirts in case they are super dirty but clothes can be worn again the next day :)

One nice outfit for church.

1 pair if sandles, 1 pair of tennis shoes. 1 pair of boots for the winter.

My eldeat is using his tennis shoes from last year to wear outside if it is muddy.

[MistiDelaney]

My youngest has WAY more than he needs.  He has one suit and three dress shirts, but he has so many t-shirts that he can't close his dresser drawer. 

 

We do need to keep buying new trousers, though, and I usually limit him to five pair.  Still way more than he usually needs, but that allows for the "I forgot to check under the bed and this didn't get washed" problem.  ;)  He is also limited to one pair of dress shoes and one pair of casual shoes per size. 

 

I'd like to be a minimalist., but those t-shirts just keep coming in and he can't bear to give them up until they are three or more sizes too small.  :p

[shawthorne44]

Dressing our daughter is a hobby for us.  Seriously, both of us.  My husband is better at outfits than I am.  He is the SAHD, and the mom's at the Rec Center used to give him grief for making his hard-working wife put together the outfits.  When it is all him.

 

We are blessed to live in an area with easy access to high-quality used clothes.  I would probably turn down a Neiman's dress that cost more than $10.  Generally everything is $3 - $5, except for knit casuals which are usually grouped to be about $1 each.  Shoes at least dozen in her current size and a few in basic colors the next size up.  Panties (not used) about 15 pair.  Swimsuits, at least two.  Wetsuit.  Hats, a few of dozen.  Probably 50 outfits.  At least a 10 of those must be at least fancy enough for church.  Two dozen PJ's.  Socks (not used), probably 30.  Since I don't wear heels to work anymore, if we compare shoes that are actually worn, I think she has more shoes than I do.  Even the fancy dresses must be washable and we haven't had one yet that wasn't, regardless of what the tag said.  

 

I haven't enjoyed getting clothes for myself since I was in early high school, and even then that was briefly.  I've always felt fat even when I wasn't. I am now.  I think this is years and years of shopping desire that has built-up.  DD can looks like a celebrity in a racing day hat.  

 

The word is out to my mom's friends that we accept clothes even for future sizes.  So, we also get the clothes that they bought for their granddaughters that have been outgrown.  I love the post-Easter sales.  We buy Easter dresses for <=$5 that cost >$50 and were worn once.  She wears them all summer everywhere but the playground.  

 

[73349]

DS has two pairs of shoes and a pair of rain boots.

 

I buy most of his clothes on consignment. I like to have enough to put together clothes for him for the next week in a 7-compartment sweater thingy in his closet and still have a couple of things in the drawer in case of mud, etc. (I don't want to make decisions in the morning, and he doesn't care at all what he wears.)

I try to keep his hamper pretty empty. Right now that means his drawers are too full (especially the pants drawer, with shorts he'll need next week and corduroy pants he wore just last week).

[Amira]

We don't have much.  I keep up on the laundry and try to have as little stuff as possible when we move.  My youngest owns the most clothes right now because he's in school and has a uniform, so in addition to what the others have, he has his gym uniform and his regular uniform, plus an pair of school shoes.  The teenagers each have a pair of pants, a 3 pairs of shorts, 3-4 shirts, underwear, a few pairs of socks, and one pair of shoes. They all have one outfit for church including a pair of dress shoes. It's warm here all the time so we don't need any seasonal clothing. I don't own much more than they do.  Dh has the most clothes in the family, easily, and he really doesn't have much.

 

It works find for us although I know it's not for everyone. It was tricky when we went on a 9-day trip last month and only did laundry once, but we made it. 

[MEmama]

My DS is easy on clothes, he outgrows them long before they get worn out.

He mostly wears athletic clothes: t shirts from races and teams he's on, shorts, track pants, running shoes. Full on winter gear, of course. Hiking shoes. Just enough socks; he doesn't wear them unless he has to wear shoes. He's really picky about the socks he will wear (no irritating seams). He won't wear sweaters but lives in an athletic jacket and fleece hat. Specialty athletic gear: bike shorts and jersey, swim shorts etc. Nothing fancy. Boys are easy. :) But I'll bet girls are fun!

[momto10blessings]

I do laundry 1x/week
For warm weather:
2 short sleeve dress shirts
1 long sleeve dress shirt
2 pr dress pants (1 khaki, 1 black)
9-10 short sleeve tshirts (including some from playing baseball that they wear to play in the dirt)
5 pr shorts plus a few pairs that are
2-3 pr pants (put the rest from winter up so they don't get ruined!)

1 pr sneakers/athletic shoes
1 pr black dress shoes
1 pr flip flops or sandals they can wear without socks

[jenangelcat]

We had to downsize a lot because the girls are slobs and constantly had all their clothes on the floor. They only ever wore a handful of items anyway. They are the same size so they share. They jointly have about 4 of each category. Long sleeve tops, short sleeve tops, sweaters, shorts, skirts, dresses. They a few more pairs of shoes. They grow so quickly and are so hard on clothes that we almost always buy used. Sometimes clearance at Old Navy and Joe Fresh. My son is three and all of his clothes fit in a laundry basket.

[Lolly]

For mine, minimal: two bathing suites, three shorts, one long sleeve/cover up, three t-shirts, two decent shirts, one jeans, two casual dresses, one sandal, one flip flop, one tennis shoe, and for dd19a one pair of cowboy boots. oh, and undies...

[...................]

For summer, I bought my dd 20 new tee shirts, because in this area she will wear them all year long, but they are not to be found in the stores in the winter.  She will layer over them different hoodies and sweaters, but always needs tees for inside or when her hoodies warm her up too much.  As they wear out or get ruined, we will not have enough to last the whole year unless I triple the amount we buy.

 

8 jean shorts (can be worn with anything!)

1 fun bathing suit

2 swim team bathing suits (all year also)

1 comfy shorts for sports

4 summer pajamas

(1 pair Teva Sandals because she has to wear very good shoes  and these Tevas protect the toes.)

 

Edited: They each get two 10-packs of socks and 2 10-packs of under wear (approximately) whenever they grow out of the old ones.  I feel that people should be able to change such things as often as they want, whenever they want.  So I feel that we should have 2 pairs per day available.  

 

I do laundry once a week in a big laundry catch up day, so she needs enough for 7 days plus a few extras.  I like jean shorts because we don't have to worry about matching and I LOVE Walmart's Faded Glory "Mid Length" Shorts and Children's Place "Mid Length" shorts.  They are long enough to be totally modest but not too long and hot.

 

My son gets pretty much exactly the same clothes... I don't buy anything fancy, with too many extras, sequins or bows.  I buy from Old Navy, Children's Place and Walmart during their spring sales (which was two weeks ago) and that sets us for summer.

 

I think this is pretty much the minimum, without ever having to scramble, either.  

 

[snickerplum]

I notice our youngest girl ends up with the most due to her sisters outgrowing items. I have a harder time paying $$ for boy clothes since they'll only go through 1.

[Kathryn]

Way too much. Off the top of my head, each boy has about:

20 pairs of socks
15 pairs of underwear
10 undershirts
5 sweaters
20 long sleeved t-shirts
20 short sleeved t-shirts
10 long sleeved "nice" shirts (polo or oxford)
10 short sleeved "nice" shirts (polo or oxford)
10 pairs jeans/play pants
5 pairs "nice" pants
5 pairs sweat pants (they wear these to bed with t-shirts in winter)
10 pairs everyday shorts
5 pairs knit cotton shorts (they wear these to bed with t-shirts in summer)
2 hoodies
1 fleece jacket
1 winter coat
3 bathing suits bottoms
2 swim shirts

As far as shoes, not as much as clothes. Each has a pair of crocs, a pair of backup (their older ones) crocs that stay in the car, a pair of play tennis shoes, a nicer pair of tennis shoes, a pair of church shoes, a pair of rain boots, and a pair of flip flops.

[Carrie12345]

Honestly, in 15+ years I've never counted my kids' clothing.  Sometimes I feel stupid for not doing so, and the rest of the time I wonder why I would ever do so, lol.

 

My kids have some clothes. I usually pick up new items when I notice they're wearing (or trying to wear) crummy clothes for more than just playing outside.  Or when I find myself searching for the younger kids' decent jeans one morning too many.

 

I will admit I'm stingy with shoes. If you outgrow your <sneakers, in-season sandals, in-season boots, etc.>, you get new ones.  If an event is coming up that requires a specific type of footwear, we'll evaluate close to the date.  With their rate of growth, I do not keep proper sized shoes on hand "just in case".  So, they mostly have 2-3 pairs that are good to go; a pair of sneakers, and a pair of sandals and/or snow boots.

(Now and then they're gifted with extra special or funky shoes that obviously get used but, as much as I think footwear is fun, I'm not shopping for extra shoes for 5 kids.)

 

ETA: Oh, and cleats. 3 kids get cleats. RIGHT before practice starts each season, or we're doomed.

[...................]

PS We have made a conscious decision NOT to buy "church clothes."  My family just wear the nicest, cleanest, regular clothes they have to church.  My dd gets ONE dress per season for church, only because she loves to wear a dress to church.  My church happens to be fairly laid back, and we live in a part of the country in which people dress very casually in general, but I certainly have never bought special clothing for church. However, my kids are not allowed to wear anything old/stained/ripped/funky/ or wrinkled to church.  I do not allow my dd to wear sneakers to church, and I don't either.  But my son wears his nice sneakers.  Somehow he always looks sharp anyway.  Not sure how.

 

Just thought I would mention that.  i think it saves us a lot of time and money. 

 

 

[...................]

For mine, minimal: two bathing suites, three shorts, one long sleeve/cover up, three t-shirts, two decent shirts, one jeans, two casual dresses, one sandal, one flip flop, one tennis shoe, and for dd19a one pair of cowboy boots. oh, and undies...

 

Do you do laundry more than once per week?  

[Ravin]

Mine have plenty, thanks to hand me downs. I kind of dread DD moving up another size, because we'll have to actually go shopping.

[Ali in OR]

It's complicated. With 3 girls, there was a time when everything was passed down in an orderly fashion. But oldest disabled dd is about the size of a 10 year old, so the other two eventually pass her. First she and number 2 wore the same size for several years and both passed down clothes to youngest. Now youngest and oldest are sort of the same size but different shapes and slightly different needs (youngest needs clothes for sports, oldest needs things that work well with a wheelchair). Anyway, youngest still has a very large wardrobe. Older two both have at least 8 days of outfits since I do laundry once a week. Now older two have probably stopped growing and they'll wear stuff until it wears out.