My desire to purge our home of unwanted and unneeded items is starting in one of the busiest of rooms in our home…my walk in closet. Not because I have such a fabulous wardrobe or a killer collection of amazing designer shoes (I’m not that lucky!), but simply because I have two little girls and a serious love (ok, obsession) with shopping for them. I’ll take part of the blame on why their own closets are overflowing with one to many pairs of jeans, rompers and cardigans – so much so that I now keep their overwhelming amount of dresses in my closet. But the rest of the blame lies with their grandma (daddies mom) who only had boys and can’t STOP buying any and everything she sees for little girls. I can’t fault her for that.
The tough part will be parting with the teeny tiny NB pieces and all those tiny shoes, so I’m not even going to lie I will probably keep a few just to feed my baby love anytime I’m reminded of how big my girls are getting. I’ll put them in a box and keep it behind close doors with other memorabilia and my wedding dress and deny its existence to anyone who asks if I kept any baby clothes. (“Who, me? Of coarse not!” Clears throat)
But all the trendy pieces that I just “had to have” are totally on the table. I am definitely planning on creating a page for some of these previously loved pieces to sell. I take excellent care of everything and would love for another to care for them too, but how do you know what should stay and what should go? If you’re anything like me then your wardrobe (and your littles wardrobe) means something, you don’t just buy anything or slap whatever is laying around on their backs. You want them to have what is absolutely necessary for their day to day life in turn making your day to day life a lot easier. (Cause you know…laundry) Quality over quantity is key here!
So here are some tips I used when creating their capsule wardrobe – I have to add, I’m not even done. I have a lot more of Madison’s clothes that don’t fit her now but I will want to keep some of the well made, interchangeable and key pieces for Mila as she gets older. It’s a saver of time and money in the long run and I look forward to my favorite pieces that Madison once wore to be loved again one day by Mila.
What is a Capsule Closet anyway?
A capsule closet is a simplified and minimalist way of shopping and dressing. It’s the idea of buying pieces of better quality that are interchangeable, creating more outfits and spending less money. (and creating more closet space – hallelujah!)
Make a list!
This was very helpful to me in saving time once I got started. With two little girls always with me (unless it’s nap time) I have to always utilize my time, I don’t get a lot of it uninterrupted to get things done so time management is huge. My girls aren’t in school yet so I don’t have to worry about setting aside outfits for school just yet, so for me it was writing down the most important pieces for their everyday life. My list consisted of these categories/needs :
At Home day – leggings, harems, tees and long sleeves/tanks
Play date or dinner date – leggings, harems, jeans, romper, tees and long sleeves, cardi/sweater.
Errands – Any of the above
Special Occassion – skirt and dress.
From everything above they have the most dresses for every type of occassion but for our everyday life, we don’t require much and all those pieces (jeans, leggings and cotton shirts) can be worn whenever, wherever and all together.
Keep their clothes separated/labelled or marked by size or age.
This can be a touch challenging, it is something I have done from the very beginning with Madison’s wardrobe and while sometimes it can be tricky to keep up with, it is definitely worth it. It allows you to know what is on it’s way out and what they will be in need of next. You can buy the cutest closet dividers (or make your own) that are labelled by age and can help keep their closets up to date and organized which will help you minimize the clutter and only keep what is used and necessary. I keep their pieces for everyday in their closets and I let them (like I have a choice) keep all their fancy or occasion pieces in my walk-in. At least I don’t have to go through tons of clothes to get them dressed everyday.
Pick the right pieces and keep them neutral.
Now that you have removed the clutter, it’s time to keep the good stuff. Two pairs of jeans, a black pair of leggings and a striped pair. Grey harems and a chunky knit sweater. A few tee shirts in different neutral shades, a cream blouse or tan collared shirt for example. Pieces that can make more then one outfit and are completely interchangeable among the others creating different/more outfits.
Colors are obviously nice to have but keeping most pieces primarily neutral will also help create a cohesive outfit no matter where they are going and what you are doing. It’s always appropriate no matter the occasion (unless you are going somewhere that calls for formal wear) and they will go with any and everything.
I’ll be sharing some of my favorite fall picks for the girls in my next post and maybe some snaps of the closets before and after.
If you’ve made it this far, I thank you for following along!
With Love,
Michelle and the minis xo