Works for Me Wednesday--keeping baby clothes organized

When Stephen was a baby, he wore his clothes for a loooong time because he was so little for so long. And then I was bad about putting away things that didn't fit anymore and then we ran out of room for all his clothes. And then it would take me a weekend to sort through everything and get it all put away and by that time, I had newborn stuff mixed with 12 month stuff. Which, you know, made it real easy to sort through when Zachary came along. Yeah, right. Anyway, here's what I do now.

• I have all baby clothes sorted in boxes in these categories: 0-3 months, 3-6 months, 6-9 months and 9-12 months (after that it's 12-18 and 24 month/2T, etc).
• I keep the box that we're in (for instance right now we are in the 6-9 month box) empty in Marc-Adam's closet. The previous box (3-6 months) is sitting next to the changing table. I know it doesn't look very attractive, but it keeps me organized.
• As I get him dressed, if something doesn't fit, I put it in the box. If it does fit but only once more, then I make mental note and when it goes through the laundry and gets put away, it gets put in the box.
• When I realize that none of the 3-6 month clothes are fitting anymore, I do a sweep of his dresser and closet for any leftover 3-6 month clothes to put in the box (but by this time most of it's already there, so it only takes a few minutes). I throw in some cedar "packets" I made and the box goes in the attic.
• Then I pull the empty 6-9 month box out of the closet and put it next to the changing table. Usually by that time I can start unpacking the next box (9-12, in my case right now) .

And the whole thing starts over again.

This process keeps from having to spend hours sorting through all the clothes. And has a byproduct, it also keeps me from getting all teary about the clothes that don't fit and how big the boys are getting.

As always, check out Rocks in My Dryer for more tips!