How many outfits...or seperates do kids need?

[Sophiasmama]

Sophie will be in 3 half days a week preschool come September and was pondering how much clothing a school age child should own...loved to hear your answers...I'm going with 2 to 3 weeks worth of clothing, also we have cold winters....so lots of heavy stuff...vs. our summer buying. Thanks for sharing! Janine

[imagine]

Need? The answer for my family is three ( three days worth)

Three bottoms
Three tops (suitable for weather although buddy wears only short sleeve shirts and Hubby only wears long sleeve button down shirts to work)
Three second layers sweater hoddies or sweatshirts

The fourth set is not needed but nice to have for us it normally the opposite wear of daily wear that means casual for Hubby and dressier for the kids and me.

I also like have a few more of underwear and socks but they come in packages bigger than three so that works out.

This summer I limped a long with two everyday bottoms and a " hope none sees me pair" that was do able but not pleasant.

Sometimes we have more than this from hand me downs or presents or a super cool find at the thrift store.

Works for our family

[imagine]

Oh and we have cold winters so I like having extra mittens, hats, scarfs and coats etc on hand above the full set that everyone has.

I did not always have this " rule" when buddy was younger he had to wear socks on his hands to school once because he left his at school the day before. Now I feel more comfortable if i have extras in the drawer. They might not match or be liked but they will do to keep you warm with out resorting to socks on your hands until your good pair is found.

[dancemommy]

Wow- I wish I could live by that (3 outfits)- it would sure cut down on the clutter and laundry! I would want a few weeks worth of clothing. But it is not out of NEED- it is a want. I get sick of seeing my kids in the same clothes. I like having them dressed differently and cute every day, but that is just me. Personally, I do not have a ton of clothing. But my kids have more than enough. There is no way my older kids would agree to wearing the same thing to school twice in one week (I don't mean the same pair of jeans- I mean the exact same outfit). We don't spend a lot on clothing, but we have more than plenty.

[imagine]

Wow- I wish I could live by that (3 outfits)- it would sure cut down on the clutter and laundry! I would want a few weeks worth of clothing. But it is not out of NEED- it is a want. I get sick of seeing my kids in the same clothes. I like having them dressed differently and cute every day, but that is just me. Personally, I do not have a ton of clothing. But my kids have more than enough. There is no way my older kids would agree to wearing the same thing to school twice in one week (I don't mean the same pair of jeans- I mean the exact same outfit). We don't spend a lot on clothing, but we have more than plenty.

My kids look cute lol. Just be because you only have three of said items does not mean you only have three outfits. You can mix and match I have a girly girl.

Some one once gave me an experiment to do

Right now think of your last get together can you name what everyone was wearing?

Think of yesterday at work do you remember what your co workers were all wearing? How about the person with the desk next to you can you remember every outfit they wore last week?

It definitely was an eye opener to me.

[walker24]

My kids have way more than they need right now. Each of them was able to fill a full sized suitcase with clothes when we moved. I would guess at least 10 days without repeats. What's funny is they tend to wear the same things all the time.

We defintely took what they already have into consideration for school clothes buying. I think we are skipping it this year. Grandma bought them each a new pair of jeans, 2 shirts and a pair of shoes. We will need to buy winter coats and mittens soon.

[nuisance26]

~It depends on how often you do laundry. I do laundry twice a week so we only need 5 days worth for each season. And that's about what fits in the 5 dresser drawers my two school-aged children share.
DS has 4 pairs of jeans/slacks(combined), 4 pairs of sleep/lounge shorts, 2 pairs of sweatpants, 4 pairs of cargo shorts, 7 t-shirts, 4 long sleeve t-shirts and two sets of pj's. So he could go 11 days before needing to wash shirts.
DD has about 6 each of jeans, yoga pants, shorts/leggings(combined), skirts/dresses(combined),10 each of long and short sleeve shirts, and 2 pairs of pj's. DD could go about 20 days before needing clean shirts.
They each have about 6 sweatshirt/hoodies/fleece pullovers.
DD has 6 pairs of shoes including boots and DS has 3(sneaks, sandals and boots).
I think 2-3 weeks of clothes is a good estimate.~

[BlissMommy]

I'm probably not the best person to answer this, because my kids are ALL clothes horses. I break everything down for my girls into this range:
Dresses
Skirts
Jeans
Casual Pants
Long sleeved tops
short sleeved tops
sweaters
cardis

My 2 older girls are 10 and 12, so we also add in track suits, sweats, and then hoodies. I also have a 7 month old daughter and for her I add in tights, special occasion dresses, tutus, yes I am VERY bad.

I would say each of my kids has probably 2 weeks worth of clothing.

I have 2 boys, but their lists are more simple:
Jeans
Casual Pants
Shorts
Short sleeved shirts
Polos
Long sleeved shirts
Hoodies
Athletic Pants

[joyofsix]

I do laundry every day so they NEED 2outfits. They have 3 bottoms and 4 tops and one Sunday outfit. They have play clothes too. Probably 3 outfits worth.

[steelergal]

We also have a house with clothes horses! On my list this year was, (what was purchased):

Youngest:
3 pkgs socks (1 pkg bobby, 1 pkg low cut, 1 pkg fun) 12 altogether
2 pkgs of underware (9 altogether)
2 nice pairs of dress pants
3 pairs of jeans
1 pair of shorts
2 pairs of gym pants
1 Dress
2 tank tops
6 short sleeved shirts
5 long sleeved shirts
2 dress shirts
2 pairs of shoes (dress and athletic)
2 hoodies
1 sweater

Oldest:
1 pkg of underware (5 of them)
2 pkgs of socks (9 altogether)
4 bras
4 pairs of jeans
2 yoga pants
2 hoodies
3 shirts
1 sweater
1 pair of shoes (dress shoes- she was okay with the athletic shoes she has)
* She has $50 left in her budget to get additional items, which probably will be a new school bag and a few shirts.

I try to get enough that when I am working in the winter I can wait a week to do the laundry. I know my kids may have more than enough BUT with them being girls they like a few different choices. I know it may see like a lot but I seriously only spent about $100 on each child for everything! I found great deals on clearance racks and new with tags at goodwill (also buy one get 1 half off at Payless!).

[dancemommy]

Wow- you all amaze me :-) I really do not want to come off as snobby- just sharing. We have 4 kids. Just the youngest alone has at least 10 pairs of pajamas, 5 swim suits (but we do have a boat and pool so often these are her "outfits" for the day) a drawer full of dance clothing (she dances 4 days a week), and a closet packed full of outfits- summer on one side and winter on the other. I thought I was doing pretty well because when her older sister was this age I had to pack away one season in order to fit the next- haha. She has 10+ pairs of shoes too. Now, I must admit that MOST of the clothing has been hand me downs or gifts. I buy very little clothing for my kids. Something about the simplicity of having just 3 outfits is a bit appealing to me although not realistic for our family.

[Palooka]

This is a guess with my step-daughter.....

About 15-20 shirts
4 or 5 pairs of shoes
7 pairs of jeans
8 pairs of short
3 bra's
12 or so underwear
3 pajamas or sleeps in shirts and shorts
socks about 10ish

4 year old...guessing

6 pairs of underwear
10 pairs of socks
2 shoes
2 pairs of jeans
12 shirts
7 shorts
2 sweat pants

[missyali]

My kids get blessed with hand-me-downs and their drawers are overflowing. A blessing and a curse.
Walker24 is right, they tend to wear the same clothes anyway.

I don't have hard and fast rules about how many items they "need". I go through their drawers once a month or so and if it is in decent condition, fits their bodies and fits in the drawer, life is good. What doesn't fit them get donated, what is destroyed due to wear & tear gets repurposed and if their drawers still don't close we purge.

[dinah]

we are blessed with great-grandmas, grandmas, and aunties that purchase the bulk of andrew's clothes. he has a lot of everything, but we have purchased very little of it. he probably has 10 pants, 10 shirts, 10 sweaters, etc. he's got a ton of socks and underwear. not as many pj's, but at least a weeks worth.

he also wears a uniform to school so getting dressed in the morning is very easy!

[stinkbug]

I can't figure out why my grandkids have SO many clothes...at least 3-4 weeks worth of everything. And then my dd's gripe about how much laundry they have to do??? Really??? The amount of clothes that don't get worn at all is astounding.