Clothing Storage

I have gone back and forth over the years on how much clothing to store for my kids. Hand me downs are an important money saver in a big family. I have tried to always keep the best items and pass on the things I didn't like or throw away the things that were beyond salvage. When I clean out drawers as the kids grow I place all like sized items in a box and they go in the attic. I usually have no trouble keeping things straight or together. The last few weeks has brought an influx of hand me downs from neighbors and I am struggling to keep it all together. So part of my snow day yesterday was organizing and putting together correct sizes. I have two entire wardrobes for a four year old. My neighbor gave us so much stuff! I will pass on half to my friend with a two year old and keep the rest. Its all neatly put away in the boys closet for the next season. For Abby I have been boxing up Ayla's clothes as she grows out of them as well. I don't have quite as much stuff for her but a good base is always really good to have. You never know what situation you might find yourself in when they get to those stages. I haven't bought much for Abby at all. My clothing budget for all four kids rarely goes above $20 a month, if that. One of the big reasons is thrift stores. I find so much great stuff. I love to buy second hand. It is good for the environment, it reduces waste and its easy on our budget. I have found incredible deals on name brand clothes at thrift stores. Today, for instance I stopped at one of my favorite places. They had a deal, fill a paper sack with as much as you can for $10. I was able to grab a ton of church clothes for W and for my friend's two year old. I even got W a suit! I also got a couple of things for Abby to wear for summer and a few fun things for Ayla. For ten dollars I outfitted three kids (four if you count what I will give away). So I have some sizes bigger than I need, this is the beauty of preparedness!