How to figure out how many clothes our family needs?
Question:How many pairs of pants/shirts should a child have? I feel like I will have all the laundry done and turn around and suddenly have another load to do. I think the only way to solve this problem is to get rid of some of them... what is enough??
Answers:
i figure enough for one week is plenty. I Homeschool so mine dont have school clothes. Each of my kids have 7 days clothes/undies/socks as well as a summer *going out* outfit and a *winter going out* outfit.
there is a range of dresses and shorts/t-shirts, with 7 outfits there is always a choice even if a few are in the wash process.
I cull at the beginning of each new season although they wear the same t-shirts in winter as they did in summer.
they have 2 sets of PJ's and bed socks, one dressing gown.
and one complete *winter outside* outfit (jacket, gloves,beanie etc)
getting rid of all the extra clothes has REALLY helped me keep on track with the washing and the "pile of washed clothes that end up on the lounge chair waiting to be folded". Having no extra clothing has helped with stopping my 3 year olds game of "pulling all her clothes out and throwing them into the washing basket". which has greatly reduced my washing loads
two weeks worth should do it;)Good Luck!
When mine were growing - and growing fast - it was 'one in the laundry, one on the kid, and two clean and folded on the shelf'.
Hello!
Per FLYLady.com, a site dedicated to helping people cull clutter from all aspects of their lives, the average child needs the following:
7 outfits and 2 nice dress-up outfits
Underwear for a week.
Socks for a week, all the same color. Get each child a different style, so you have no problems matching them at laundry time. You can also use colored permanent markers to give each child a different colored stripe on the toe or their initials.
3 pair of jeans
5 pair of shorts
7 T-shirts
2 sweat shirts
2 dress up out fits
1 casual outfit for going out to dinner, party etc.
Optional a sweater for cooler evenings.
They will also need a couple of outfits for yard work or hard play time. Get them used to changing out of their good clothes when they get home from church or school, etc
A friend of mine with 8 children in a small 3 bedroom home told me 3 pairs of school clothes (their school clothes were nice enough to also be used as church clothes) and 2-3 play outfits. More than that and the clothes just end up on the floor and back in the wash before necessary, creating extra work and mess.
She always had her children change out of their school clothes (hanging them up...there was always enough room in the closet because those few outfits took so little space) and into play clothes right after school. That way the school clothes stayed in better shape allowing them to be comfortably passed down through more than one child.
Well, my son has four pairs of shorts, a good pair of kakhis and two pairs of jeans. Plus, about ten polo type shirts.
LET THE KIDS DO THE LAUNDRY! :) I've got 3 kids 10, 6 & 5 but I don't worry so much about how many clothes they have because I figure even if you only have a few, they still wear them and they will still need washing. When my kids were 3 or 4 years old, they each got their own hamper in their room and I taught them how to do their own laundry. Yes, by 4 years old! They are perfectly capable at this age to put dirties in the hamper, sort whites and darks, stand on a stool and learn the washer settings (put a sticker on the washer dial where they should stop turning), add soap (under supervision), and transfer clean clothes to the dryer. The best part: then they can remove clothes from the dryer by themselves and hang up shirts (or at least get them on the hangers), put away underwear and socks and they can even learn to fold pants. After some training, you can leave them alone to do it and just check in on them every once in a while. My 10 yr old just does the whole routine before I even know her hamper is full! And if they don't do a great job, SO WHAT? At least YOU didn't have to do it! And your kids are learning to be responsible. You gotta love it!
I've two boys and this is what I've got for them
5 sets of school uniforms one for each day (polo shirt school sweat shirt school trousers)
5 sets of jeans
2 pairs of dress trousers
2 dress shirts 1 tie
7 track suits matching t-shirts and jumpers
7 pairs of pj's & short pj's
lots of socks & pants boxers
about 12 pairs of summer shorts & t-shirts
3 jackets one summer one winter and one rain
at least 4 pairs of trainers and a pair of school shoes.
They have more clothing than this but this is what typical week would be made up of not to mention the judo/karate/swim suits they need.I wish i could cut down on all there clothing but it's needed so it must be bought worn and washed and ironed.
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