The Outgrown Basket: A Simple System for Children’s Clothes

Children have a way of outgrowing clothes almost overnight. Add in hand-me-downs from family and friends, along with the things we buy ourselves, and it doesn’t take long for closets and drawers to become overflowing.

When my children were younger, I regularly went through their clothes and pulled out everything that no longer fit. With four older boys, I was often able to pass clothing from one child down to the next. I stored those clothes in tubs labeled by size and gender, so when another child grew into that size, I could pull out the tub and see what we already had before buying more.

Those years were busy, fun, and more than a little exhausting. At the time, it sometimes felt like the laundry and growing never stopped. Looking back now, I miss those days—the noise, the busyness, and having all the children little and together under one roof.

That system served our family well for many years. But before clothes can be sorted, labeled, donated, sold, or passed down, they need somewhere to go. Otherwise, the shirt that is too small gets pushed back into the drawer, and the jeans nobody wears stay hanging in the closet.

That is where an outgrown basket can help.

Now that our children are mostly grown and our 17-year-old daughter and 18-year-old son are the only ones still at home, our needs have changed. We no longer need tubs of hand-me-downs waiting for the next child. These days, clothing we no longer need usually goes in one of two directions: good, wearable pieces are donated, or selected items are placed in a tub in the Our Families Attic workroom to be resold.

The system may look different than it did when our children were little, but the purpose is still the same: keep clothing from becoming clutter and help good things find their next use.

One Basket for Each Child

The simplest place to begin is with one basket, bin, or tub for each child. Keep it in the child’s room or closet, somewhere easy to reach when you discover that a shirt is too small or a pair of pants no longer fits.

Even when our children shared bedrooms, I still kept a separate basket or tub for each child. This kept the clothes sorted from the beginning instead of creating one large pile that I would have to separate later.

Keeping each child’s clothing together also made it easier to know the approximate age and size. When the basket was full, I could decide what needed to be stored for a younger sibling and what could be passed along to another family who needed it.

The basket doesn’t need to be fancy. Use what you already have—a laundry basket, plastic tub, fabric bin, or even a sturdy box. The important part is giving those outgrown clothes a designated place to land.

A simple basket gives outgrown clothes a place to land.

When the Basket Is Full

When a child’s basket became full, I would sort through everything by size. As I sorted, I also checked each piece for stains, rips, excessive wear, or other damage.

Clothes that were still in good, wearable condition but that I didn’t need to save were donated so another family could use them. If something was badly stained, torn, or completely worn out, I threw it away. Depending on the fabric and condition, I sometimes kept an old shirt to cut up and use as a dusting or cleaning rag.

The clothes placed in the basket were generally clean already. If something had recently been worn or was dirty, I washed it before storing it, but I didn’t rewash every piece simply because the basket was full. The important rule was that dirty clothing never went into a storage tub.

Sometimes one basket would contain two or three different sizes. Maybe something had missed the previous sorting, or a brand fit differently than the number on its tag suggested. That was okay. I already had storage tubs organized by size, so I simply placed each piece into the correct one.

I used sturdy tubs with locking lids and labeled the outside with the size and gender. This made it much easier to find what we needed when the next child grew into that size—and prevented me from buying things we already had tucked away.

    When the lid no longer closes, it’s time to sort.

Shop What You Already Have First

Before buying clothes in the next size, I would first pull out the labeled tub and see what we already had. That showed me which pieces still worked and what we actually needed.

Maybe one child had plenty of shirts but needed a pair of shorts or new jeans. Sometimes we needed something specific for school, church, a special occasion, or an upcoming event. Looking through the stored clothes first helped me make a simple list and buy only what was missing.

That doesn’t mean we never went shopping and bought something cute simply because we liked it—we certainly did! But when a need came up, I tried to shop what we already had before shopping at a store.

Taking a few minutes to check those tubs saved money, prevented us from buying duplicates, and helped us make good use of the clothes that had already been passed down with love.

Let the Kids Help as They Grow

When the children were little, I was usually the one who noticed that something no longer fit. I might discover it while helping them get dressed, putting away laundry, or realizing that they wore the same few things while the rest of their clothes remained untouched.

As they got older, they developed their own version of the system. Usually, while cleaning their rooms—or at least clearing a path through them 😜—someone would ask, “Mom, what do you want me to do with these clothes? I don’t wear them anymore,” or, “These don’t fit.”

I would have them put everything into a basket, box, tub, or bag for me to sort later. Some pieces could be resold, some could be passed along to another family, and some were simply too worn out to keep.

And yes, plenty of perfectly good clothes landed there simply because one of the children didn’t like them and never wore them. That is another good use for the outgrown basket. Clothes don’t have to be too small to deserve a new home. If they are only taking up space and your child consistently passes them over, someone else may be happy to wear them.

Take a Deep Breath—This Season Won’t Last Forever

Raising my children has been the greatest blessing of my life. It has been an honor to raise the children God gave us. It is the best thing I have ever done—and it has also been the hardest.

I was once a young mama with five young children. I remember walking into bedrooms filled with toys, clothes covering the floor, and all the mess that comes from children playing and simply living life. It could be overwhelming and frustrating. Sometimes I didn’t even know where to begin.

In those moments, I would remind myself: This won’t last forever. It’s okay. Take a deep breath and work on one thing at a time. Let the children help. Make a game out of it when you can.

But “this won’t last forever” has two meanings.

The mess and chaos won’t last forever. The overflowing laundry baskets, toys underfoot, and what our family might jokingly call “Mount Derrick”—a mountain of clothes waiting to be sorted—will eventually disappear.

But our children won’t stay little forever either.

One day, they will stop outgrowing their clothes every few months. Their toys will no longer cover the floor, and they won’t need us to help them find their shoes, clean their rooms, or decide what to do with a shirt that no longer fits. The exhaustion will pass—but so will that precious season of having them little and together under one roof.

If you are living in that season now, give yourself grace. Don’t let the exhaustion and chaos steal all the happiness, laughter, joy, and memories waiting to be made with your children. You don’t have to enjoy every mess, and you certainly don’t have to keep everything. Just try to enjoy as many of the little moments as you can.

It’s okay to let the clothes go. Pass them down, donate them, resell them, turn an old shirt into a cleaning rag, or throw away what is too worn to use. You aren’t throwing away the memories. You are simply making room for the next season of your child’s life.

So grab a basket, bag, box, or tub. Take a deep breath and begin with one piece. The mess doesn’t have to be conquered all at once.

Take it one basket and one day at a time—and in the middle of it all, remember to enjoy those children God has given you. This season won’t last forever. 🩷