Works-For-Me-Wednesday: Kids’ Clothes Inventory *UPDATED*

One of the hardest things about shopping for kids is knowing what size to buy for what season. If you’re like me, you want to buy as many things as possible when they’re on clearance. Which means that sometimes you’re buying things at the end of the season for next year.

And that’s fine, because you can usually gauge your kids’ sizes and come pretty close to knowing what they’ll wear when.

The only problem with slowly accumulating a wardrobe is that you often times forget what you have already bought. Did you buy a hoodie for the fall already? How many pairs of jeans does he have in that size?

I’ve tried keeping a list, but it just hasn’t worked very well. A hash mark beside “Long Sleeve Shirts” just doesn’t do it for me when it comes to trying to coordinate a wardrobe.

In preparation for some fall/winter shopping for my boy, I decided I was going to do something that would make it easier to know what I have and what I need. The solution? Photos!

I laid out the clothes I have accumulated by size and type. Then, I took photos of the groups of items. For example, here’s a photo of the size 2T long sleeve shirts I already have. I did the same for pants. And shoes he will be growing into soon.Then, I printed the photos, noting the sizes with each photo. I slipped them into a very thin photo album, which is easy to store in the glovebox of the car or slip in my purse when I’m shopping. I even went ahead and took photos of the things I’ve already bought for next summer. That way as I’m shopping this fall, if I see a summer item on clearance, I know if it will fit into the wardrobe I’ve already begun working on.

So the photos are definitely working for me. Head on over to We Are THAT Family for more Works-For-Me-Wednesday!

**UPDATE** 3/2/2011

I still use this method and love it! In fact, I just updated my little photo album as I'm finishing up Caedmon's summer wardrobe before Little Sister is set to arrive next month.

Some extra things I've found that help:

* Be sure to group like-items for efficiency in photos. You don't have to see all of an item to get a general idea of what it looks like or remember it. i.e. this photo of his knit/play shorts for the summer.

* I leave all labels and tags on until we’re ready to wash and wear. That way if I decide not to use them or something, I have a better chance at resale. (I love buying stuff at resale places that still have the tags!) Also, it helps me remember why I go to this trouble – because I see the real price vs. the price I actually paid!

* If you have a special outfit planned for something, go ahead and take a shot of it on its own. This is Caedmon’s Easter outfit. (I actually paid *close to* full price for this outfit. It pains me. But the pregnancy hormones took over & my need to nest extended to Easter outfits. I can take comfort in knowing that I bought everything else on clearance.)

* Sometimes when you have patterns/details, a close-up is helpful.

* Also, when you put the photos in your book, be sure to note what size things are. Especially when you’re dealing with shoes!