organizing 2 boys sets of clothes

I feel like I have learned a lot after the first go round.  This time I am doing Jesse's closet a bit differently.

OWEN:
For Owen's I washed and hung EVERY.SINGLE.HAND-ME-DOWN that didn't have a stain.  I had bought so many hangers that they wouldn't even fit in his closet!  (at least this time I didn't have to buy many!)  I tried to hang all his clothes by size: newborn, 0-3 months, 3-6 months, 6-9 months etc.  If the size just said 3 months it went into the 0-3 month pile, better to see it when it was too big than after it was too small.  I even hung a lot of his pants until I realized I didn't have the space for both, now if it is a set I hang the pants over the bottom of the hanger and the shirt on top.  The miscellaneous pants I group by size and put a rubber band around them with a slip of paper saying the size (pic below of Jesse's) Lastly, I have a chest of drawers that we keep the clothes he currently fits in and wears daily.  This means I can fold laundry anywhere in the house, pile it in a basket and go right to the drawers put it away in less than a minute!  I have found that laundry happens during naptime and I never would have any hangers or I couldn't put them away bc he was sleeping.

If you aren't bored yet here is how Owen's 5 drawers are organized:

1. underwear (for when we get there), bathing suits/swim diapers, pjs and his beloved MeMe's
2. short sleeved t-shirts (b/c it is summer)  I fold them into little square piles, usually putting his "play" clothes in one pile, collared shirts in another and his nice tees in several more stacks.
3. shorts (b/c it is summer) and a few pairs of jeans and long pants
4. long sleeved tops and light weight jackets 
5. bed linens: sheets, pillowcases and blankets

In the top of his closet I keep big bins full of too big items sorted by: swim, hats, shoes/socks, and keepsake items.  I love having the keepsake bin in his room where if something gets too small or a toy that is special that he out grows I can just pop it in there!

Lastly, I have some fun teal baskets near his changing table and now big boy bed that hold: shoes, socks, belts and hats.  Owen likes to be able to access these things and is really good at helping me put them away!

JESSE:
The biggest thing this time is I sorted clothes before I washed them.  If it had a stain I tried to get it out or put it in the donate pile.  We are blessed that stained clothes don't have to be worn.  I didn't really concern myself too much with seasons and you never know how what size they will be when anyway.  But I did get rid of a lot of clothes that I didn't really like or love and kept a nice round selection of clothes.  I have realized the way I do laundry I only need about 7-10 top & pants or outfits in each size.  This time I did the same thing with Jesse's clothes, newborn, 0-3 months, 3-6 months, etc.  I, also, went an extra step and sorted the clothes by short sleeved, then long sleeved,outfits, jackets and finally pjs.  I use the hanging closet space just for clothes that are too big; therefore newborn and 0-3 month stuff is already in the drawers.  Here are Jesse's drawers starting at the top:

1. hats, socks, swaddle sacks, bobby covers, nursing covers
2. newborn clothes stacked by: pants, short sleeved onsies, long sleeved onsies, outfits, pj's and sleep sacks
3. 0-3 months sorted the same
4. blankets
5. crib sheets, crib protector sheets, breathable bumper for later

On the shelves beneath the changing table we have bins holding his cloth diapers and wipes, some disposable diapers and wipe, burp cloths and more blankets.  Of course, all the little things are there too on the side in a hanging rack: bulbs, q-tips, diaper rash cream, alcohol swabs, box of tissues, lotion etc.  (this stuff isnt actually in place yet....as I was typing it I realized I should add this to my list of things to do/organize!)

Here is where I am really changing up my system.  I will still use the closet for future sizes, but once the size hits 12 months I have found it is easier to sort by season.  Jesse's bottom row of clothes are sorted by summer and winter.  12-24 months are all lumped together.  Different brands run different sizes so even if the tag said 2T and Owen wore it with the rest of the 18 month clothes I kept them together. When kids hit these sizes they stay there for a while longer.  Sometimes all that grows is arm and leg lengths. I kept the smaller sizes towards the left and larger on the right, but it also helps that I have 2 boys and now Owen's clothes are handed down straight from his closet to Jesse's.  NO MORE SIZE SORTING!!

I can see how this might not work for girls as dresses and such could get wrinkled in the drawers, but for a mostly cotton t-shirt boy wardrobe it is awesome!

Top of Jesse's Closet; bins I mentioned

2 rows of hanging clothes, the bottom is the summer/winter section

the shorts/pants sorted by size

Anything, I can do now to make life easier later is my goal!