Why Creating a Capsule Wardrobe for Your Kids Will Save Your Sanity

Yep. A capsule wardrobe your kids. Total game changer. I know you’re a mama with a busy schedule who is probably just skimming this post, so let me get right to it. 

I’m sure you’ve seen the trend of capsule wardrobes swarming the internet, and perhaps you’ve even started the process of creating one for yourself. 

And, while a personal capsule wardrobe may or may not be your style (although I totally recommend giving it a spin,) having one for your kids can literally change the way you do motherhood. 

Hold on, what’s a capsule wardrobe? 

Glad you asked, mama. A capsule wardrobe is simply a smaller wardrobe that just features key pieces that you can easily mix and match to create several outfits. It’s a way to simplify what’s in your closet and only wear pieces that make you feel amazing and can easily serve multiple functions. Most capsule wardrobes have a base of neutral tones with pops of color that speak to you. This makes it really easy to mix and match when the colors all work well together. (Want to start a capsule wardrobe for yourself? Start here!)

How would this look for my child’s wardrobe? 

Very similar. The same idea applies, but of course, your kids will have a few more clothes because kids make messes and often have at least one outfit change throughout the day. BUT, kids also grow. And they grow fast. Keeping their wardrobe simple and basic with a few standout pieces to help accessorize or add flare will save you so much time, energy, and money. 

How many times have you purchased (or been gifted) clothes for your kids that they never got to wear or only wore a few times? 

We’ve all been there. And it’s frustrating, feels wasteful, creates more clutter, and uses more time and energy when it comes to picking out outfits and doing laundry. Who has time for all of that? I sure don’t! 

When we have too many clothing options to choose from (whether its our own wardrobe or our kids’), we are literally inviting stress into our lives every time we have to get dress and get our children dressed. 

Depending on the age of your children, getting dressed can lead to meltdowns when they insist on wearing tutus in the dead of winter or refusing to wear this pair of pants because the light-up pants are in the closet. (I’ve never heard of light-up pants. I just kind of made that up.) 

It’s also extremely time consuming to get everyone dressed in the mornings - especially for the little ones who can’t get themselves dressed. Having a capsule wardrobe will cut that time in half simply due to the fact that there’s less clothes and clutter to choose from.

Get Started 

We’re moms , and we don’t have much time to sit there and go through mounds of clothes for hours on end. The key to creating that simplified lifestyle as a mama is to take it one bite-sized chunk at a time and let little by little progress add up. Now, if you have the time to tackle this in one day, great! (Your kids must be older than mine, ha!) Whether you have all the time in the world to do this in one sitting or you can only spend 10 minutes a day tackling this, these tips will help you. Promise. 

Every time you do your child’s laundry, sort through the clothes and make a pile of clothes to donate or toss. Toss clothes with holes and permanent stains. Donate clothes in good condition that you don’t absolutely love or are too small. (Yes, even if you plan to have more babies. I only kept select clothes from my first born for my second child that I loved. There were several gifted pieces I was never crazy about that got donated.) 

After the laundry is complete and you’re putting clothes away, do the same process above for the clothes that are currently in the closet and dresser. I’ve seen clothes with tags still on them that I know are not going to be worn and have tossed them in a donate bag. I know we tend to keep things that were gifts to be polite, but honestly, it’s more of a waste of money to let something sit in your closet and never get worn than it is to donate it so it can be a blessing for someone else. 

As you continue putting clothes away, move all of the clothes you LOVE to one side of the closet and look at the pattern. Do they tend to stick to a color palette or style? Take note of what you notice. Also, take note to make sure you have all of your basics covered. Do you have any essentials missing?

Create the Capsule 

Here are the exact rules that I stick to when creating and maintaining a capsule wardrobe for my kids: 

1. I try to only shop for the season we are immediately heading into or the season we are currently in. (Yes, you can still purchase items on sale this way.) Why? If you buy a bunch of clothes for the wintertime while its summertime but your child grows two inches by November, you just wasted a ton of time and money. Its hard to predict what you will need until you need it. Shopping for needs as they arise instead of trying to cover them way too far in advance will help you maintain a more minimalist, simplified lifestyle. 

2. I make sure my basics are covered and then build around that. I make sure to have plenty of plain leggings, jeans and t-shirts. Then, I add a few statement pieces such as jumpers, a few blouses, and a couple of cardigans for layering. Lastly, I add in some functional accessories that can help add variety to the outfits (hats and headbands work well here.) 

3. I keep colors neutral so they go well with everything. Not only do I feel like neutral and muted colors are a bit cuter; I know that my children will always look presentable, classy, and we can literally mix and match everything in their closets. Win-win.

4. For shoes, a pair of sneakers they can get dirty (love Chucks for this), a pair of cute, casual slip ons (TOMS or Zara), and a pair of seasonal shoes (sandals for warm weather and boots for cold weather)

5. When the season changes, I reassess the wardrobe. If the clothes still fit, great! How can they be applied to the next season? Most spring/summer clothing can turn into fall/winter clothing with a few knit pieces and some tights. It’s all about layering. If you need to get a bunch of new clothes for the season because of growth, that’s okay. You can sell or donate, or hold on to for the younger sibling. With a wardrobe of just pieces you love, it’s easy to keep things for the next child!

6. Make sure you put away clothes that you do plan to keep but aren’t season specific when the season’s change. Less temptation for your child to wear sandals in the dead of winter if they can’t see them! 

That’s it! Just take it one step at a time. Give yourself a month’s time to make this happen. No pressure, just grace. I promise, it’s worth it. You’ll be noticing a huge shift in everything that involves getting dressed from choosing outfits to the amount of time spent doing laundry to the number of meltdowns about outfit choices. 

Plus, I always say, once you simplify your wardrobe, it’s so much easier to simplify everything else.