The fact that baby clothes are separated into categories like “newborn,” “0-3 months,” and “3-6 months” should give you a hint that babies outgrow clothes with record speed. All this means you’re likely to find yourself under a mountain of onesies before you know it.
To help keep you on top of your toddler’s burgeoning wardrobe, we’ve assembled some baby clothes storage solutions. Keep reading for a healthy dose of organizational inspiration that will please parents and babies alike.
Essential Baby Clothes Storage Tips
The best way to store baby clothes can sometimes be tricky, as you’ll rarely use more than a handful of outfits at any given time. Not only is your little one constantly outgrowing clothes, but you may also receive larger clothes as gifts or hand-me-downs from friends and family members. That’s to say nothing about seasonal clothes or special occasion outfits you might not need to have on hand.
With that in mind, we’ve laid out these ideas to include clothes currently in use, as well as ones that need to be temporarily—or permanently—tucked away.
Label for Organization
Whether your baby clothes storage system includes baskets, see-through containers, or totes, step one is to label every box. A clear labeling system allows you to stay organized and find what you’re looking for in no time.
You could set up your labeling system in a few different ways, including:
- Separating items by age ranges (0-3 months, 3-6 months, etc.)
- Sorting by season or activity (summer, winter, rain gear, etc.)
- Grouping garments by color or theme
- Packing by clothing type (short-sleeve shirts, jeans, skirts, pajamas)
If you want to take your organizing skills up a notch, consider combining categories. It may be doubly useful to sort by size and clothing type, especially if you have a lot of larger clothing your baby doesn’t yet need (perhaps from their older siblings or from that garage sale haul you picked up last month).
Maximize Space with File Folding
To easily access all of the clothes in your usual rotation, try the file folding technique. Instead of folding clothes in half and stacking them in a drawer, fold them once or twice more. Then, stand each garment on end and line them up in the drawer like files in a filing cabinet.
This method allows you to open a drawer and quickly see every option laid out. Say goodbye to pulling every shirt out to find your toddler’s favorite!
Make It Easy to Pull Out Too-Small Clothing
According to the Mayo Clinic, most babies triple in weight during their first year. You don’t need science to tell you what’s before your very eyes, though. You’ll notice shirts becoming a little too snug on your kiddo or their adorable legs sticking out of their pants.
Rather than keep too-small items in rotation, keep a bin handy where you can toss the clothes as soon as you notice they’re too tight. A great place for this box or bin is on top of a closet in the nursery or under your baby’s crib.
When it’s time to update your baby’s wardrobe for a new season, you can dump out the too-small box and decide whether to keep, sell, or give away.
Preserve Sentimental Items
There are some baby clothes you’ll probably want to keep indefinitely for the memories. Baby’s first pair of shoes, a hand-knit sweater from grandma, or a favorite outfit can all carry sentimental value and warrant hanging onto. Here’s how to preserve baby clothes.
First, wash and dry them. Then, wrap them lightly in archival tissue paper. Keep them in an airtight plastic tote, ideally in a dry, cool place like a storage unit. Now you can revisit these sentimental pieces anytime you want, knowing they’ll be well-preserved.
BABY CLOTHES STORAGE IDEAS FOR SMALL SPACES
The size of your love is so much more important than the size of your home. Many families thrive in small spaces, like apartments, condos, or even tiny homes. For those of you with little room to work with, don’t stress! These baby clothes storage ideas are perfect for small spaces, although you can implement them in larger rooms as well.
Double Your Hanging Space
Typical closets have only one rod for hanging garments. Because baby clothes are nowhere near as long as adult clothing, you can install a second closet rod below the first one. All of a sudden, you’ve doubled your hanging storage!
Extra Storage Tip: Invest in skinny or velvet hangers instead of the bulky plastic hangers many clothing items come with. You’ll drastically increase the amount of individual hangers you can fit on each closet rod.
Think Vertically
To take advantage of a small room, make full use of the vertical space. Installing coat hooks is a brilliant way to increase your storage capacity, all while keeping your stuff out of the baby’s reach. Similarly, when purchasing bookshelves or dressers, opt for taller ones, as the space above furniture like this is typically wasted. As a safety note, be sure to secure any tall bookcases or dressers to the wall.
Finally, don’t hesitate to install floating shelves in the baby’s room or area. Use shelves to store clothing cubbies or accessories like hats, mittens, and more. You can even install hooks on the bottom of shelves to hang your diaper bags, jackets, and coats.
Over-the-Door Hanger
One space in most rooms is almost always wasted: the back of the door. It’s time to change that. Hang a shoe organizer on the back of a door or closet, and you suddenly have extra room to spare! They’re typically made of mesh or other transparent material, meaning you can easily find whatever you’re looking for. Shoe organizers can conveniently hold a variety of baby items, from hats to headbands to mittens. And, of course, they can also carry shoes.
Get Creative with Shoe Organizers
If you happen to love footwear, you might already be familiar with under-the-bed shoe organizers. These wide, short boxes usually contain adjustable cubbies for storing extra shoes under the bed—but you don’t have to use them for this purpose. Instead, these boxes make a great option for storing extra clothing, especially if you use the file folding system. Think of these boxes as an extra dresser that you can tuck under your baby’s crib or bed or store in the closet.
Use the compartments in the organizer to divide clothing by size or type (or both). These organizers are great for storing seasonal clothes or keeping larger sizes on hand for when the inevitable growth spurt occurs. Best of all, you won’t have to go digging around in your garage or attic when you need to refresh your baby’s wardrobe. The box can stay in the baby’s room year-round without being in the way. In our opinion, this is one of the best ways to store baby clothes.
What to Do with Outgrown Baby Clothes
Part of having a baby is accumulating piles of clothes that don’t fit. Your first instinct might be to discard these clothes, but there are several reasons to hang onto them.
Hand-me-downs are a quintessential part of the parenting journey. If you plan to have another child, you may want to keep the majority of your baby clothes. Or maybe you have friends or family members who are trying to have a baby. They, too, would appreciate your gently used baby clothes. Our best self-storage tip is to put your extra baby clothes in airtight plastic containers until you need them again.
You can store these stacking containers in closets, basements, attics, or garages until they’re needed again.
The Value of Hand-Me-Downs
Don’t dismiss the value of hand-me-downs. As you’ve probably discovered, caring for a baby is expensive, especially when they grow out of clothing every few months. The result is that you’ll likely have a lot of baby clothes on your hands that have only been worn a few times, if ever. Don’t just toss these clothes. Give them an extended life.
If you have a friend or family member who is expecting, offer them your extra clothes. How about that co-worker or neighbor who just announced their soon-to-arrive new addition on the socials? If you have no one in your life who is expecting at the moment, you can always donate your clothes or hang onto them for the future.
Create More Room with Price Self Storage
Kids grow up and go through more clothes than you can imagine—that much is inevitable. But running out of room doesn’t have to be. If you don’t have extra space in your home to hold onto your not-in-use baby clothes, consider renting a storage unit.
At Price Self Storage, we help you make extra space in your life so you can fill it with happy memories. Whether you need baby clothes storage until your next child comes along or until you want to walk down memory lane, we have storage solutions for you. Our storage units come in a range of sizes, from lockers for just a few items to large units that can fit all your baby furniture until you need it.
Find your nearest Price Self Storage location or call us today to learn more—just make sure not to wake the baby!
Sources:
Care.com. Baby clothing sizes explained: What you need to know to shop for infants at every size. https://www.care.com/c/stories/4513/baby-clothes-sizes-solving-the-mystery/
The Spruce. How to Store Baby Clothes and Keepsakes. https://www.thespruce.com/baby-clothes-and-keepsakes-storage-2147260
