5 Tips For Creating a Capsule Wardrobe for Kids
“Mom! I have nothing to wear!” Our seven-year-old daughter, Eva, dramatically announced.
A colossal sigh followed, as if to punctuate the seriousness of the situation.
This was day two of cooler fall weather here in Kansas City and day two of the getting-dressed-before-school drama.
“Just put on something warm enough,” I called across our apartment home, reminding myself to stay patient.
She began layering a polk-a-dot summer dress over pastel leggings, topped off with a graphic long-sleeved tee that read “Let it Snow.”
One look in the mirror and she flopped on her bed like an exasperated teenager. “See, I look like a snowflake-covered Easter egg! I can’t go to school like this.”
I really couldn’t argue with her.
She was up a clothing size this year, and I hadn’t yet put a fall wardrobe together for her.
Hence the drama.
Problems putting outfits together aren’t the norm at our house. Since transitioning to a minimalist lifestyle three years ago, our children have had capsule wardrobes. This simply means they have a few pieces of carefully selected clothes that are simple to mix and match.
Capsule wardrobes have been huge time and energy savers for myself and our three kids. Other benefits I’ve found of having a capsule wardrobe for kids include:
- Smaller laundry load
- Less mess in your child’s room
- More space
- Choosing outfits is simple (less decision fatigue)
- Kids can put away clothes independently when the amount is manageable
- Seasonal clothing changes become easier
- Your kids can dress themselves and always look put together
- Less stress (getting ready in the mornings)
- Shopping for clothes becomes simple (because you know the exact style and color scheme your child needs)
- Your kids wear only their favorite clothes and feel good in what they wear daily
Clearly, it was time for us to update our daughter’s fall/winter capsule wardrobe and restore our calm mornings.
I have five tips l consider when creating a capsule wardrobe for kids. I think they will help you, too.
Here are 5 tips for creating a functional capsule wardrobe for kids:
1. Make a master list
Make a master list of clothing your child needs for all seasons.
The master list for our girls for all seasons included:
6 shirts (3 long-sleeved, 3 short-sleeved)
6 dresses (3 longed-sleeved, 3 short-sleeved)
4 pairs of pants (3 leggings, 1 pair of jeans)
3 pairs of shorts
2 pairs of pajamas (one for summer, one for winter)
1 swimsuit
Sneakers
Flip flops
Dress shoes
8 pairs of underwater
6 pairs of socks
Cardigan
Lightweight jacket
The master list for our boy for all seasons included:
10 shirts (5 short sleeved, 5 long sleeved)
1 pair of jeans
3 pair knit pants
3 pairs of shorts
5 pajama onesies (because he’s 16 months old)
1 swimsuit
Sneakers
6 pairs of socks
Lightweight jacket
2. Choose a color scheme
Observe what colors your children love to wear. It’s likely they choose their favorite color as often as possible. Build your children’s wardrobe around these colors.
For our girls, clothing colors are primarily pink, purple and teal. Leggings are always black, which they can wear under any long sleeved dress this fall. Their cardigan is a neutral color, which they can layer over any summer dress paired with leggings for milder fall days.
For our boy, I used blue and red for the main colors and then built around that with neutral colors like grey and black.
The only rule to a simple kids’ capsule wardrobe is that all of the tops and bottoms have to match each other. Choose whatever color scheme you like, as long as every piece can be mixed and matched with everything else.
3. Let go of the extra
Go through your child’s wardrobe (include them in the decluttering process if you feel they are ready to help). Keep whatever fits the master list and color scheme. Let go of whatever does not. (Read more on getting your child on board with decluttering here.)
Consider donating unneeded clothes to a local non-profit in need of kid’s clothes, such a women’s shelter or an organization that helps refugee families.
4. Buy what you still need
After you’ve decluttered, decide what you still need to buy. I was able to easily see that our seven year old needed three long-sleeved dresses, jeans, and three pairs of leggings. I found the bottoms at a local thrift store and tops at Primary.com.
Consider the lifespan and impact of the pieces of clothing you’re purchasing before you buy. Will they be used by younger siblings? Do you plan to pass them on to other families once your children outgrow them?
Before capsule wardrobes, I was always looking for the best deal—the cheaper the clothes, the better. Capsule wardrobes brought fewer purchases and more frequent laundry. I wanted to consume more consciously and buy clothes that would last. Even though I paid a bit more for a dress, I knew our four year old, Elena, would be able to wear it soon. If I purchased unsustainably made clothing, I’d just have to buy more for Elena later.
Viewing clothes as sustainable purchases instead of disposable ones has a positive effect on our environment. Currently, the average American throws away 70 pounds of clothes each year. And a whopping 85% of used clothing goes into the landfills. Making sustainable purchases can help reduce these statistics.
Also, when our children see us making intentional and ethical purchases, we are teaching them to be conscious consumers.
5. Develop a wardrobe-management system
Once you’ve got your children’s capsule wardrobe assembled, decide what system you’ll use to manage it. Will you hang clothing or fold them? Will you put clothes away or is that your children’s responsibility? How often will you do laundry? This will likely take some experimenting to find what works best for your family.
I recommend encouraging your children to take ownership of their capsule wardrobe. When the number of clothes your children own isn’t overwhelming, they will be more interested in helping care for their clothing because the task is now manageable.
All of our kids’ clothes can fit in one drawer—I rotate out clothes that aren’t appropriate for the current season to keep numbers to a minimum. We use the KonMari folding method (we’ve adapted a quick version of it) and store folded clothing upright to keep all items visible in the drawer at one time. Our seven-year-old daughter or I do the folding, and then both of our girls put away their own clothes.
I do laundry about six times a week, and it works out wonderfully. We don’t have a clothes hamper, we just fill the empty washing machine, and once it’s full, we wash the clothes. When they are dry, we put them away. This way, clothing doesn’t pile up around the house. The entire washing, folding and putting away process takes 12 minutes total (as long as we’re not behind and have to fold/put away two loads or have too much help from our toddler).
If you’re considering creating a capsule wardrobe for your children, I can’t recommend it enough. Building a simple capsule wardrobe of interchangeable staples is a win-win. Your house will be free of clothing clutter and your children will begin caring for their wardrobes.
Why not get started today?
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Julia Ubbenga is a freelance journalist whose teachings on minimalism, simplicity, and intentional living have reached thousands of people worldwide through her blog. Julia practices what she preaches in her Kansas City apartment home with her husband, two extremely lively young daughters, and one-year-old son. You can also find her on Instagram.
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