Twin clothing issues

[Mom2Five]

I have a question for those of you who have twins or same size siblings. My dd9 and dd6 have been in the same size clothes for a while. Dd6 is 95 percentile and dd9 is 5th percentile, lol. They have shared clothes for years. I've always just had a ton of clothes in the size they were in and that was it. I have occasionally tried separating clothing out into the younger looking things for dd6 and older looking clothing for dd9 but eventually everyone just wears what is clean and what they put on.

 

Lately, they want to have their own clothes which is fine, but im not sure how to go about separating them. I just bought them some 7 summer dresses and they immediately wanted to know whose is whose. Dd9 has an olive skin tone and dd6 is pretty fair. Dd9 also has a tad more weight and height than dd6....if you look really, really closely.. so I quickly grabbed the ones I thought  would look best on each kid and passed them out.

 

I guess I'm making this more difficult than it actually is. LOL. I guess im going to have to get more organized in putting away laundry.

[Dmmetler]

If possible, I'd let the 9 yr old handle sorting the laundry :). By 9, my DD had a definite sense of what she wanted/didn't want to wear and definitely preferred styles that didn't make her look "too young", and that was without having a 6 yr old sister who was wearing the same size clothing. Besides, that takes the chore off your plate.

 

 

[AndyJoy]

Is your question more about how to split initially, or how to keep them sorted? Could you pile each type of item together and have them choose back and forth? Maybe ignore what looks best on each for now and just let them choose, but factor it into future separate purchases?

 

At 6 & 9 they can do the clean laundry sorting, right ;)? My 2-years-younger sister and I were not the same size until our late teens, but between all the hand-me-downs we were given that I passed down my parents couldn't keep track of whose was whose at a given moment. WE knew and took care of it by 6 & 8 for sure.

Edited March 19, 2016 by AndyJoy

[Mom2Five]

That is a good idea. She does the laundry anyway for the most part....as long as I tell her too and it doesn't get too far behind which has me doing it. I will just let her pick I suppose.

[Mom2Five]

Is your question more about how to split initially, or how to keep them sorted? Could you pile each type of item together and have them choose back and forth? Maybe ignore what looks best on each for now and just let them choose, but factor it into future separate purchases?

 

At 6 & 9 they can do the clean laundry sorting, right ;)? My 2-years-younger sister and I were not the same size until our late teens, but between all the hand-me-downs we were given that I passed down my parents couldn't keep track of whose was whose at a given moment. WE knew and took care of it by 6 & 8 for sure.

 

I guess my question is more of how to keep them separated once I say ok these are your clothes and these are yours. I'm sure they would remember though so I will just hand it over to them. They each have two drawers in their dresser and we can do different sides of the closet.

I can imagine WW3 if I told them to pick from their existing clothes so I will prob just separate them first and then keep in mind for future purchases that I have to buy for them individually and not together.

They can wear things in a 6, 7, or 8 so today I have just been separating into things that look younger vs things that look older. There is a big range of more babyish vs more mature in those sizes.

I feel like we've been hermits for a year but now that we are moving back to the other side of FL and will be attending our church and homeschool groups again I want to get their things all sorted and get them dressed well. Plus ive run out of hand me downs lol. My 2 year old on the other hand has about 20 boxes full of clothes that Im trying to sort through.

[Paige]

My twins had the same closet and shared clothes for years. They started wanting their own things around age 8 or 9. Now, I usually buy things with one person in mind, but I almost always buy 2 of everything. So, if one gets a pair of pants and a shirt, the other will as well. They are welcome to trade clothes if they both agree to it after I pass them out, and they are welcome to share if they agree, but nobody is required to share anymore (except for unusual circumstances). They have their own rooms and closets now, but when they shared, we just split it in half with a shoe holder or something. If I do their laundry, I throw it all on the floor (folded) and tell them to sort it out themselves. Mostly, they have their own laundry baskets and do it themselves now, so nothing mixes. 

 

It may be more easier for me since mine are actually twins and are so close that they rarely argue and are pretty agreeable with each other. They probably wouldn't be so easygoing sharing with their little sister.

[ashfern]

I guess my question is more of how to keep them separated once I say ok these are your clothes and these are yours.

 

I have separate hampers for each kid. It's easier with the hand-me-downs. I don't have to sort so laundry is easier and each kid can do their own clothes.

[AK_Mom4]

Through their teen years (and still today), my boys wore the same sizes in spite of being four years apart.  They each had a dresser for clothes and I spent a silly amount of time asking "whose shirt is this?"   They each had a few things that they really liked, but would borrow from the other when the need arose (dress pants, in particular.....)

 

If I had been smarter, I would have done as the PP suggested and had them sort their own laundry......

[Erica in OR]

I don't separate out our twins' clothes at this point. All long-sleeve shirts go into a bin, all pants into a bin, etc., on their closet shelves. Dresses and jackets hung in the closet. They pull out what they want to wear. For some items, they do identify with one as "theirs," such as the pink and purple winter coats. I usually just ask them whose is whose and hand them out accordingly. They remember way better than I do. Some items, like Christmas dresses, I had them select at the store themselves, so it is clear that it's theirs.

 

Erica in OR

[mamakelly]

Just wash separate loads of laundry for them. That should keep it all separated.

[alisoncooks]

I keep separate clothes for my girls, even though they wear the same size (and have for 1-2 years).  Oldest DD is definitely territorial about the clothes that are "hers," even though I have been known to borrow something from her closet when youngest is in a pinch...

 

Underwear and socks:  I use a Sharpie to make a black dot on youngest DD's socks & underthings.  They are otherwise mostly identical to her sister's.

Edited March 19, 2016 by alisoncooks

[mom@shiloh]

My kids start folding and putting away their own clothes when they're about 5 or 6, so this hasn't been an issue for us.  My twins NEVER wanted to be dressed alike and had their own opinions about clothes, so they sorted it out themselves and shared when they felt like it.  My two youngest girls have been the same size for most of their lives also, but they figure it out on their own as well.  They do a lot of sharing, but it's totally up to them.  You probably have enough other things to do.  I suggest you delegate this.

[The Girls' Mom]

There are 4 of us in this house and depending on the item, we all may be able to wear it.  

 

All underwear has an initial written in sharpie.

 

All socks are different brands/styles (we all seem to prefer slightly different things)

 

Shoes are shared freely.

 

As far as other items, it doesn't usually take long for people to figure out at least what isn't THEIRS.  The girls all do their own laundry too, which kind of helps to keep things separated.  

[Carrie12345]

My kids aren't the same sizes, but close enough that I don't know whose is whose. I give the girls all the girls clothes to put away, and I put all the little boys' in their shared dresser. They all dress themselves.

[gardenmom5]

let them choose what they want to wear - and use a laundry marker on the tag to write their initials.  if there is no tag - you can use a contrasting thread in an hidden location.

[Guest]

I have same sized kids. I let them pick their outfits and if needed to separate them by size I put a dot on the tags of the items for the oldest kid and two dots for the younger one.

[SKL]

I didn't designate clothes as belonging to anyone.  They shared a closet and dresser.  They wore whatever fit.  :)  If they fought over something, nobody got to use it.

 

You're the mom.  You don't have to go along with their preference to do the "mine / yours" thing.

[SKL]

For underwear, I buy completely different kinds so there is no confusion.

[justasque]

You need the Dot System.  Oldest kid gets one dot on the tag, done with a laundry marker.  When it gets passed to the second kid, another dot is added.  Keep going down the line with however many kids you have.  This is better than writing initials or names, because you're never stuck with crossing out the previous marking.  Once a garment is labeled, anyone can see who it belongs to.

It does get tricky if kids are the same size and a given item goes back and forth.  In that case, perhaps you can devise a system with a dot for one kid, an x for the other, and both for items either kid can wear.  

[JudoMom]

You need the Dot System.  Oldest kid gets one dot on the tag, done with a laundry marker.  When it gets passed to the second kid, another dot is added.  Keep going down the line with however many kids you have.  This is better than writing initials or names, because you're never stuck with crossing out the previous marking.  Once a garment is labeled, anyone can see who it belongs to.

 

It does get tricky if kids are the same size and a given item goes back and forth.  In that case, perhaps you can devise a system with a dot for one kid, an x for the other, and both for items either kid can wear.  

 

:iagree:   

 

This has saved my sanity over the years.  

[TechWife]

I guess my question is more of how to keep them separated once I say ok these are your clothes and these are yours. I'm sure they would remember though so I will just hand it over to them. They each have two drawers in their dresser and we can do different sides of the closet.

 

 

Put some kind of mark on the tag so you don't get them mixed up. They can know what their "mark" looks like to make sure they have the right clothes. 

[Melissa in Australia]

my 3 older boys are all pretty close in clothes size. When they are living at home I bought each of them a different colour socks, and labeled all their other clothes.

 

 

 

My twins are still in the stage of wearing the same thing as each other.

[katilac]

If it's important to them, they can sort it out themselves - if something is in the wrong closet, switch it out, don't bother mom about it!  

 

I have finally managed to convince my teen dds that they don't need to inform me every time a shirt winds up in the wrong closet. They didn't do it in a complaining way, but I was like, why are you telling me, lol?? Just fix it. 

 

Tell them the one dot, two dot, idea and let them do it if they wish. 

 

[ThursdayNext]

You need the Dot System. Oldest kid gets one dot on the tag, done with a laundry marker. When it gets passed to the second kid, another dot is added. Keep going down the line with however many kids you have. This is better than writing initials or names, because you're never stuck with crossing out the previous marking. Once a garment is labeled, anyone can see who it belongs to.

 

It does get tricky if kids are the same size and a given item goes back and forth. In that case, perhaps you can devise a system with a dot for one kid, an x for the other, and both for items either kid can wear.

Brilliant! And laundry marker does stay better than sharpie.

[UCF612]

I just make my kids put their own clothes away. Then I don't hear "you put my pajamas in his drawer!" Etc. I try to keep their shirts hung by style. Splitting them into Kid1 and Kid2 wasn't working anymore. When we get new clothes, like say grandma sends a bunch of shirts I let the boys decide whose is whose. They tend to gravitate to different colors which helps. They mostly know which clothes belong to which person but have some shirts that both wear equally. Maybe it is easier with boys!

[BusyMom5]

Mine share a dresser and closet, but can remember whose outfit is whose.  When I buy stuff without them, I let them pick back and forth which ones they want.  I don't separate anything, it gets folded and put away- they always seem to know which outfits are theirs and only wear those. 

[sbgrace]

My boys have their clothes all mixed together because we have a family closet in the laundry room. Part of it is theirs, part mine, part hubby.

 

Each child seems to know what is his without separating it. They do share pants, but I've never seen them switch up shirts. They share socks too. Different colors in underwear make it easy to sort whose is whose.

[Dancer_Mom]

My boys are the exact same size.

 

I lay everything out and they go back and forth picking what they want.  I then mark the tags with their initials.  I didn't know there was such a thing as a laundry marker - I will need to look into this.

 

Underwear - they get completely different styles so it is obvious.  Same of course with coats and shoes.

 

Socks they get all the same and are thrown in a bin in the mud room to put on as they are leaving.

 

It was truly annoying folding and sorting their laundry before I had the idea to mark the clothes.