How We Organize Kids Clothes with Four Kids in One Room

Our kids are all still sharing one room.  We made that decision almost two years ago now and even when we moved again, they got moved into the same room again.  They LOVE it.  Last week I mentioned to Anthony that maybe we should consider moving Sebastian and Gianna into their own room since the girls have been wanting to stay up later ("since we're older") and we're almost getting closer to the point where they could stand to have their own space with some privacy.  But you guys, they really love it so much that we both came to the conclusion that it's not quite time yet.  

So, in the same room they stay.  But, as you can imagine, it's not the easiest as far as logistics go.  Their room isn't tiny but it's definitely not huge either (I think the measurements are around 12' x 13').  The two sets of bunk beds fit fine plus the long dresser that holds most of the clothes but that's about all that fits.  And really, that's all we need to fit in this room.  Next door there's a dedicated play room (that will eventually become Sebastian and Gianna's room and even farther into the future, just Sebastian's room) and all of their toys are corralled there, so there's no need for a toy space in their bedroom.

With four kids though, comes a good amount of clothing, as you can imagine.  I have really purged and learned to intentionally buy clothes they really need in the past few years so their stash isn't as big as the twins' once was - they had a whole lot in their first years.   We're not minimalists (yet?), more capsule-wardrobe fans, so I can truly say they don't have an over abundance and it feels really good.  And, it's the only way this whole set-up would work without having to overflow into another room.  :)

Their everyday clothes are stored in this big, long dresser:

And by "their", I mean the three oldest kids.  Gianna's clothes don't fit so she has three small drawers in a small dresser in mine and Anthony's closet that hold all of her everyday clothes.  It's not ideal but it works.  We could set up a small dresser in the playroom but when there's space in our closet, why?  When she gets to be the girls' size, the time will have passed that she has either moved into a room with Sebastian for a little bit or she'll be in with the girls, so that will give us some more space, I think, to get her everyday clothes living in the same room as she.

When we first moved into this house and I started putting together their room and figuring things like this out, I really wanted to buy four of these dressers to set side-by-side on this wall.  They'd fit perfectly and each kid would have their own set of five drawers.  It would look like one big unit of drawers and in my head, it looks so good.  But, we don't have an Ikea close enough to us to go check out the quality of the dressers and I wasn't sold on the price of four plus shipping since we already had a dresser that would work.  So, I guess that one is still a "maybe someday..."

Inside the dresser, I used a few these curtain rod* boxes to separate sections - I cut them to fit the drawer back-to-front snugly so that they don't slide around.  Turns out, they hold little kid socks quite well.  ;)

My kids wear their pjs two or three nights before they get tossed in the hamper (per mom's rule) so, during those in between days, they get put into these baskets under one set of bunks.   

I got them at Dollar Tree for a buck each.  I'm currently waiting for these* in mint green to go on sale at Old Time Pottery.  Until then, the $1 bins work perfectly.  At night, when they get their pjs on, if my kids clothes from the day aren't dirty (they usually are during the summer) they put their clothes in these baskets to be worn the again next day (I only let them wear them twice in a row at most).  Maybe that sounds crazy to you but seriously, if they're not dirty, why send them to the hamper?  I wash the kids' laundry once a week and I'm not chomping at the bit to do it more often if it works this way.  

Behind the green baskets are fabric storage bags (similar*) that hold next season's clothes, including some pieces that are still too big. 

 

Each kid has their own (the twins have two they share since they wear the same size).  It's nice to have them accessible in the fall when we're wavering between hot days and cool nights here and it makes things a little easier when I have to swap out seasons.

We've been SO blessed with a couple of generous friends who have handed down clothes for the twins and clothes for Sebastian and so, we've got a hefty supply of clothes that are too big.  Then of course, Gianna has all of the twin's clothes too.  These all get stored in big plastic bins in the attic along with a bin of clothes that everyone has grown out of.

As far as clothes that are too small, I don't keep everything that my kids grow out of.  I'd say I maybe keep 30%.  Why?  Because I don't know what the future holds as far as babies/foster kids/adopted kids go.  ;)  I only keep stuff that's in mint condition though.  Play clothes I either sell in bulk, donate, recycle at H&M (if they're super stained or holey), or pass down to family - I usually sell what we've purchased and that money goes toward new clothes we might need and I pass down gifted clothes to cousins.

In their closet, I keep all of the kids nicer clothes - Sebastian's dress pants and button-down shirts and the girls' dresses/skirts/nice tops.  I bought two of these shoe shelves last year and now each kid has a shelf where they store their own shoes.  (We also still have this cabinet near our back door where they store the shoes they wear daily.)

All of those dots are hand-painted!  'Twas a fun time...really, I listened to an audio book while I painted away after bedtime; closed inside their closet.  Anthony was away on a trip so what else could I have done that was so fun?  ;)

I also installed these shelves (also while Anthony was on that trip) and on them are a few baskets (also from Dollar Tree) that hold swimsuits, hair bows, baseball caps, and the twins' school uniforms.

This has been my kids clothing situation for three seasons now so I finally felt like it was working well enough that I could pound out a post about it.  I hope it's helpful for any of you considering putting a few kids in the same room or anyone who already has that set-up but is struggling with logistics (like I was last year!)  If you're thinking about lodging kids together, we recommend it hands-down.  I had my own room growing up and my two younger sisters shared.  I always wished I had someone to share a room with...well, most of the time.  ;)  They always seemed to have more fun - more fun after bedtime when we were all supposed to be sleeping, more inside jokes only they knew, and someone to hide away with during thunderstorms.  ;)

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