Semi-Minimalistic Kid's Wardrobe Part 1 - The System

I don't always have nightmares, but when I do, they involve getting the girls dressed.

Than I realize I am awake, and experiencing an annoying if not horrifying, first world problem.

I shared a few days ago about how I was trying to survive streamline my mornings. One of the big things I started doing, was setting out outfits the night before. Doing so allowed me to see one thing very clear: the frustration on getting the girls dressed ISN'T just from them running around, socks that like to hide, and two opinionated fashionistas.

Their wardrobe is a haphazard collection of goodwill finds and hand-me-downs and were completely not thought out as a system. Tons of clothes, and very little practicality.

So, I sat down and thought about what a good semi-minimalist wardrobe system would be for them. Mark and I are encapsulating our wardrobe, with the popular capsule wardrobe model, but it took about 2 seconds for me to realize that model would not be great for kids.

Let's go to exhibit A:
The cardigan

That is a great capsule piece, because it allows layers and stretches fall clothes into winter clothes. But, for my kids, it makes a great napkin/tissue substitute/splatter screen. I am lucky if I get one day out of it before it goes into the hamper, where it sits being unusable until laundry day.

Because of this I decided to go with independent outfits vs. 30-40 pieces that go together for multiple outfits. By independent I mean it includes everything needed for that outfit down to tights (socks, shoes, underwear, coats etc. don't count).

So, the minimalist model I am using for my girl's winter wardrobe is:

• Independent outfits, enough to last at least a week and cover everything from play to church (10 for Valerie, 8 for Natalia)
• A few pairs of pajamas (4 for Valerie as she still wears them out sometimes, 2 for Natalia)
• A formal outfit, if needed (down to shoes)
• Socks to last the week, that are all the same style. We were going to color code by kid, but found white socks much cheaper, so we are getting about 20 pairs of white socks for the girls. Their feet are almost the same size, so it'll work.
• Underwear (10 for Natalia, more for Valerie once we start potty training)
• A pair of play shoes 
• A pair of black dress boots 
• 2 jackets 
• 1 coat
• 1 winter set (hat and gloves)
• Updated addition 3-4 very basic shirts that can stand in to finish most outfits, as Valerie dirties shirts quicker than pants. 

For Christopher, I decided on:

• 8 shirts (casual to button down)
• 4 pairs of pants (including dress jeans)
• 2 pairs of pajamas
• 10 pairs of socks (white, all the same) 
• 10 pairs of underwear 
• 1 complete formal outfit, if needed (down to shoes)
• 1 pair of tennis shoes 
• 1 pair of black boots 
• 2 jackets/over sweaters
• 1 coat 
• 2 winter sets (back up in back pack) 

An adequate, but simple, wardrobe will look different for any family but in theory this will work for us. Tomorrow, I am going to show you how I went about pairing down the excess, and building up, that wardrobe. I also plan on updating in a month or two on rather or not it works for us. I am sure you will be waiting on pins and needles!