Spring Wardrobes

Keeping kids clothed is a big job!  When the kids were out of school for Spring Break they cleaned out their closets and made a list of what they needed to buy for their Spring wardrobe.  (Abigail and I helped them.) Our general rule is 10 outfits for little kids and older kids have about 5 bottoms and 10 tops. (Abigail has a capsule wardrobe)  Less is more, and they love everything they have.

Yes, I did shop with all eight kids by myself!

 Another thing we do to teach responsibility and how to mange money is that when you turn ten years old you get the privilege of paying half of the money for your clothes.  It has been such a great system for our family.  I kids have learned so much!

1 Simple Rule to Keep Kids Clothes Organized

Clothes are a major part of our homes.  We have to launder, hang, fold, pick up, store, and wear clothes on a daily basis.  When you think about it,  clothes take up a lot of our time!  With many children in our home we also have a lot of clothes. To keep our drawers from looking like this:

We have a simple rule that works wonders

Have less clothes :)  

We have found that we need to limit the amount of clothes that we have by selecting our top 10.

This is what we do for our youngest kids.  We select our top (about) 10 outfits.  My third son always seems to have a lot of clothes.  He gets hand-me downs from his two brothers and new clothes from Grandmas so he helps me pick his favorite outfits (what he will really wear).  Having less is really a magical key to being able to enjoy what you have.  Why not have everything in your closet something that you enjoy wearing and look nice in? Don't hang onto worn out items and clothes you don't like.  Clean out your closets! 

It is also important to have clothes that mix and match.  When shirts can go with several pants or shorts you have a greater variety of outfits with less items!  

Building a Maternity Wardrobe

When you're pregnant I think most of us would agree, you often feel less than beautiful.  Our bodies are often awkward and swollen.  During my first few pregnancies the style of maternity clothes was, well . . . "tent like" and it left me feeling fat and frumpy.  Since I have spent over 4 1/2 years pregnant I have discovered a few ideas of what I can do to still feel great while gaining weight!

Step 1:  When it comes to building a maternity wardrobe I start with what I have. 

Maternity Shirts 

Maternity Dresses

You will notice that I don't own any maternity pants or shorts.  I discovered that the maternity pants that go up really high (over your belly) weren't very comfortable when my belly got really big.  When I wore maternity pants that fit under my belly, they felt like they would fall off if I bent over.  I discovered that for me it works best if I wear normal pants that are "low rise" style and one size bigger than I normally wear.  (They fit below my belly and I can zip them up:)

Step 2:  Then I look through my closet for normal items that I have that can still work when I am pregnant.

 Cardigans that are a short style.

 Skirts with elastic waist.

 Shirts that are a little big will help when my normal clothes are tight and maternity clothes are too big.

 "Low Rise" shorts and drawstring capris.

Shade undershirts that I use to layer still work to layer while I am pregnant.  

Step 3:  Create outfits.  I was amazed to realize that with just a few clothes I could create so many nice outfits for the summer.  

Shopping List:

I still need to buy:

sandals

colored capris

jean capris

black shirt +1 or 2 other shirts

It happened to be a snow day when I went through my clothes so I was fortunate to have two lovely fashion consultants to help me: