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The Easy Laundry Routine I’ve Started that Helps Me Declutter My Kids’ Clothes

Shifrah Combiths
Shifrah Combiths
With five children, Shifrah is learning a thing or two about how to keep a fairly organized and pretty clean house with a grateful heart in a way that leaves plenty of time for the people who matter most. Shifrah grew up in San Francisco, but has come to appreciate smaller town…read more
published Jun 8, 2022
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cardboard box with clothes on coffee table
Credit: Sarah Crowley

Laundry isn’t just about washing and drying clothes. Instead, there are ever-increasing rings of responsibility when it comes to dealing with all the laundry (so much laundry) that comes with raising a family. Of course, there is the washing and drying, but there’s also pre-treating stains, getting the kids to put the clothes inside their hampers (right-side out!!), folding the clothes, hanging the ones that need to be hung, and putting them all away.

But that’s not all! You also have to make sure that you do the laundry often enough so that everyone has clean undies. Then there’s keeping track of orphan socks; catching the sales for re-stocking seasonal items and outgrown or worn-out shoes; and culling the clothes that no longer fit – the last of which can feel particularly overwhelming. Going through each of your kids’ entire wardrobes when a season is over feels like it’s going to be an all-day project, and it was definitely a task I tended to put off out of sheer dread. 

The Tip That Helps Me Easily Declutter My Children’s Clothes

So how do you eliminate the excess clothing, painlessly? Add one simple thing to your laundry routine, right at the point where you’re handling laundry anyway: Grab a box or a bag and have it next to you while you fold clothes. 

Similar to the one-box method you might employ in your own closet, this tiny habit has a big impact because it allows you to incorporate a new habit (decluttering “on the go”) into an existing one that you can’t avoid (folding clothes). As you’re folding your children’s clothes, check whether each item is still in wearable condition and whether it’s one of the pieces you’ve noticed is too small. If your answer is yes to either of these questions, into the donation box it goes. Your items are clean and ready to be passed along as hand-me-downs or dropped off at your local donation center. 

I love a humble, simple, quick and easy solution that breaks down a big to-do into bite-size pieces. Especially when it comes to anything to do with laundry, I appreciate any and all help I can get! Doing this every time I do laundry means that, pretty soon, my children’s drawers will be full of only things that fit them and are in good condition. My seasonal decluttering session will now only take a few minutes and should only involve pulling out things that they never wear.