Fall clothes

Well, it may still be 85 degrees in Florida, but next week we're heading up to Tennessee and Georgia, and they have MUCH nicer "fall" weather up there!  So today I took all of the clothes out of ALL of the drawers and closets, I brought out the bins I have with the next size up clothes for each of the kids, pulled out every jacket and sweatshirt, pajama and t-shirt...  The closets and dressers are now EMPTY!

First I sorted into "fits and doesn't fit" just by eyeballing.  Micah still had several 18 mos size shirts in his closet that aren't long enough and show his tummy.  So even though the 24 mos are a little big on the shoulder they cause a lot less budda belly to stick out during the day :).  I'd MUCH rather have the kids be cool and comfy and in clothes a little big then to have their clothes fit tight and them be uncomfortable or hot.  So... Off those go to the "doesn't fit" pile.

I sorted everything for each 'size range' (girls are together still) and then shorts, pants, short sleeved and long sleeved shirts, and all the PJ's for now went into a bin and set aside... too much at once :) 

Then I made Kristopher come first.  He stood there with one arm out to his side and I held up each of the shirts in both 4t (that he wore last year) and 5t (that were still in a bin).  Several of each size fit.  A few still too big, a lot were too small.  Then for the pants... I just held them up for now to narrow them down.  He had a LOT of jeans last year and only 1 pair of those fit!  But... several of his casual and dress pants still fit and I had a few hand-me-downs in a bin of 5t as well.  I'll have him try them on to see which will STAY UP later on.

Micah was next.  I was afraid of his!  I thought I had a bin somewhere of 24 months clothes for him that I hadn't gotten out yet- pants and cooler weather clothes.  I can't find it if I do!  So out of the back of his closet I pulled out mostly 12 months size onesies with long sleeves, LOTS of 12 months and 18 months long pants, and a few 18 months shirts.  I was afraid I was going to have to go on a house hunt for the other bin or else have to buy some things this week.  No need!  The 12 months onesies are snug- but in a good "this is warm" snug way, not a "this is tight" way.  They won't last through the entire "winter" months, but they'll work for next week. And the shirts that weren't onesies tended to be much LONGER than their short sleeved counterparts!  So Micah has a good set of tops with long sleeves!  Also, believe it or not, the pants that fit him best on his short little legs were size... 12 months!  He's SO little!  And pants also tend to have larger waist sizes than shorts (why is that???) and most fit him pretty decent.  Also, his little budda belly is above his diaper, so often his bottoms sit under his belly :)  I tried on probably 20 pr of pants on him- anything with a questionable waist- and he has a decent amount that will fit him this winter.  Honestly, probably more than he needs.

If you remember back when the kids first came home, a friend of mine mailed me 4 boxes of clothes for Micah!  A lot of those are a perfect fit for him this winter, and I'd saved a few of K's things as well.  Micah is set for the time being :)

Next will be the girls, which will be a little more confusing because Emma has so much longer legs than Brianna and a longer torso... but a smaller waist and a similar shoulder width.  So... SOME clothes fit them both, and some clothes fit one or the other.  With shirts and shorts I've basically figured it out, but now with long sleeves and pants the learning curve starts over again.  This is why I match up the kids' clothes and put them in the hanging shelves in the closet each week- anyone can grab something for each kid and know it'll fit them (like Mike or grandparents that might need an outfit for someone). 

Here's a few pictures of my morning mess...

The bed... sorted into piles... with 6 sizes worth of summer and fall clothes on it...

 

The pile of clothes that are too small and the hangers waiting to be put to good use

 

Empty bins waiting to house everything that's still too big...