Family Wardrobe Rules

Being the person in charge of clothing is one of the most challenging aspects of having a family, especially if you have young children who haven’t finished growing yet. Boxes of clothes that don’t fit anymore are most likely taking up your closet space, while bags of hand-me-downs are constantly given to you by friends and family – all stressful, time and space-consuming, and completely unnecessary.

If you want to get rid of all of that clutter and create functional and practical wardrobes for you and your family, here are some minimalist closet rules to follow:

Establish your needs before you go shopping

The best way to approach minimizing the wardrobes is to attack one family member’s closet at a time and lay it all out on the floor. Only by doing this can you realize just how many ripped, stained or simply unnecessary items of clothing each family member has. Once you get rid of that dispensable clothing, think about how wearable and versatile the items that are left truly are. Do they all fit properly? Are they all easily mixed and matched into many different outfits? When you are left with necessary pieces that are in good condition and that fit well, you will find the part of the wardrobe that is actually functional and worn the most, and it will be easy to build on or replace them with other necessary clothing items.

Embrace neutral colors

If you’re trying to downsize a wardrobe, you can’t go past neutral items, as far as versatility goes. Apart from denim pieces, whites, and blacks, as well as soft pastels and shades of grey, or even simple prints, such as stripes and polka dots, are all going to give you a more functional and variable closet. Besides neutral items, try to buy pieces in classic styles that won’t become outdated very quickly. Opt for articles such as jeans, hooded sweatshirts, and basic T-shirts that have a longer lifespan than trends and fads. If you have small children, these gender and color-neutral clothing items can also easily be passed down from one kid to another, saving you a lot of money in the long haul.

Buy quality, not quantity

Even though it may not make sense to buy a more expensive item of clothing, high-quality pieces will save you a lot of time and money in the long run. If you invest in a wardrobe basic, such as quality Adidas sneakers, not only will you be able to wear them with almost any outfit imaginable, but they will last you for many seasons to come.  Similarly, if you have young children that can wear hand-me-downs, investing in a good pair of jeans, for example, makes much more financial sense than buying ones that rip after the child’s first use, as all of your kids will be able to wear them and there won’t be any need for a new pair every month.

Make your own rules

Some people think that stylish ballet flats should be an unavoidable part of any wardrobe, while others love a good set of overalls for the kids, or even themselves. There’s no universal approach to minimizing a wardrobe since everyone has a different taste and different lifestyle needs. As long as you follow the rules of buying clothing that is wearable, versatile, and practical, you can incorporate any item into your new wardrobe that brings you joy and that you truly love wearing. So, take note of what makes you and your family members happy, and move away from the rest.

In order to have a useful and practical wardrobe, you need to reassess, get rid of, and replace unnecessary clothing items. So, tackle the closet of one person in your family today and repeat each week until every member of your family is completely happy with their new, simplified wardrobe.

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