clothes storage

Over at Danielle Bean's blog there was a discussion last week as to how to store and pass down clothes with many children. I figured out that I needed to organize the clothes after I started bringing home clothes for the kids to grow into from the base thrift shop. As a manager I was "paid" in discount bags of clothes and since there were more stuff than room, I felt free to help myself. Rubbermaid bins with gender and size marked on the side have helped tremendously over the years. When a child goes through a growth spurt in the middle of a season I can rumage through his/her bin and find something right away. A seasonal sorting day helps me to determine what is needed to fill in each child's wardrobe.

While folks with few or widely spaced children may wish to give away most of their clothes each year, I have found it useful to hold onto possible sentimental items. I guess I got it from my mother. A few months back we found this dress, the only smocking project she ever finished. As a child I was unimpressed by my mother's talent and hard work. Mary, however, is making up for it, she has worn it every Sunday for 3 months straight. When I asked her to please wear a different dress she started crying.

"Why are you upset? Do you like it because Mommy used to wear it?"
"Yes, but..."
"Is is because the dress reminds you of Grammie?"
"Yes."
"I miss her too sweetie. Why don't you wear it to help us to remember to pray for her at Mass today."

I guess it doesn't matter if everyone at church thinks the child only owns 1 dress and the rest hang in the closet unworn. Mother made it to show her love for me and Mary wears it to show her love for both her Mommy and her Grammie.