I have 2 sons and they are now in college. I loved dressing them in matching Gymboree, Hanna Andersson, and Mini Boden outfits. So I did a ton of storing clothes since I had multiple sizes of different clothing lines to match them up. This only lasted until they started elementary school. Then I was sad, but it was a lot easier. We live in Florida, so I had a tote of of my older son's winter clothes he would outgrow and just stick in my younger son's closet for the following year. The rest was all summer items and I would just move it into my younger son's closet and fold on the top shelf. As he grew, I just replaced the items hanging or in drawers with the top self items from his brother. I kept this up all through elementary school. By the time they were in middle school, there weren't any more hand-me-downs since my younger son grew faster and passed his older brother. I didn't buy volume of clothes once they were in school. It really was the little baby/toddler clothes that had me swimming in clothes for those years. I loved it though!!! My boys had one pair of sneakers, one pair of sandals, and one pair of dress shoes. I never did hand me down on any shoes because everyone walks/wears out shoes differently. They're no longer growing, but they still do the same with shoes. I have never had a lot of shoes for myself...no more than 10 pairs max. I have 3 pairs of jeans...I guess I've been minimal with clothes forever. It is holiday decorations and kitchen items that seem to mutiply in our house. Oh and my hubby has more clothes than anyone. Garage stuff...electronics/movies etc. I'm working on him to purge his stuff. Enjoy your kiddos little, time flies by so quickly!
I agree that bins of clothing to keep going through in the garage is too much. A little overflow for off season in the closet makes more sense, because you will know what is there and its convenient.
Agree with your approach. I did the same with our bins. I only keep what they like. We live in Canada and it can range from -40C to +40C in one year. I only keep half a week of clothes for warmer/cooler weather . I have set a rule and so far we never ran out of clothes. Only keep 1 size up, layers, no more that half a week’s worth and my kids must like it and try to pick colors that matches with everything. Which looks like this : 3 pants, 3 shorts + 1 skirt, 3-4 t-shirts, 2 vests, 1 pyjama and one soccer outfit for their practices ☺️. The rest I can get on my own or from bday’s and xmas.
I get it with the hand me downs... We have two boys aged 5 and 3. I find too that if I buy the eldest a new item say a t-shirt with a character on, I'd buy the youngest one too. Also friends are always offering extra I have a bag downstairs. I've been through recently and managed to get rid of a bag of stuff that's more worn to donate the the pre school for their spares.
Hey Shannon, can you do a video on yiur kitchen tour I mean how do you maintain minimalism in the kitchen with regards to utensils food storage containers etc.
So true that saving clothing for kids (that YOU love or think are cute) does not ensure that younger siblings will wear them. I have been excited many times to pull out a shirt or dress that I loved on my older daughter only to have her younger sister say "nah." Great piece of advice! Now I will not feel guilty about getting rid of items that I feel the younger ones might wear in a couple of years. Also, who has time or energy to manage, store, and shuffle around big totes all the time. Love the capsule wardrobe idea for kids!
One way I used to organize my son’s hand me downs, was sort them by size/age. Then I would put them in the upper shelves of his closet, and mark them with the age so I could pull them at a glance. Another thing I would do, when I received a box of hand me downs, I would go through it immediately, and decide what I think he may wear and donate the ones that I thought he wouldn’t. By the time he got to that age it was already sorted and minimized and we didn’t miss anything that I may have donated earlier as we didn’t remember what it was LOL
I was so excited when I heard you mention MiniMom because I love your channel and Hers too. I just saw her recent video where she mentions her boys capsule wardrobe and felt inspired too. I truly enjoy your channel especially when your mom is on. You two are so fun! God bless and protect you and your family.
I have to say that on a tight budget hand me downs saved me money. I did not receive from others as I have super tall boys now 6'5 and 6'3. I never kept shoes but I was glad of the bins of clothes I stored in the attic. Dealing with all the seasons you need more.Love your videos and I have to say I wish I had started my minimalist journey when my kids were younger.
90% of the time my kids don't match at all because they dress themselves LOL, I guess by capsule I just mean things that can be layered and worn through most of our year ( we live in a warm climate).
I have been working on getting rid of things I have not used or wear …I was very surprised at how much I repeat buy and never use ….I feel great looking around and know I have space to vacuum and keep cleaner in my home
One thing I have done with hand me downs is to only save one bin of each size. Also, I tend to swap out everything at the same time. Even if only a few items in the wardrobe are getting small I pack up all of that size and put the new size in the closet. I take it as an indicator of my child being too small for the majority of the outfits very soon, if not yet. That saves me time and energy only dealing with it once.
Good on you! Being a fellow kiwi your hubby may be able to relate to this; My husband and I recounted when we were kids how little clothing we had, 12 items max including footwear (we always ran around barefoot). They were all handmedowns and we wore them until they either fell apart or we grew out of them. Not once did I feel hard done by, we were too busy enjoying the great outdoors.
My first two girls were 3 yrs apart. I thought hand-me-downs were a good idea, but they always hit the season wrong! We are in Pennsylvania, no shorts and tees in the winter, and no snow suits in the summer! I just passed the clothes along as soon as they were out grown.
Same here I felt I was constantly going through my bins! I've been on my decluttering journey for 3 years and the funny thing is the more I declutter the more I want to be minimal! Cheers from beautiful Ontario Canada 🍃🍂🍁🍂🍃
I love Minimom too! - the two of you are great minimizing role models - thanks for the motivation and ideas - also love videos with your mom - she is adorable
This will make a HUGE difference. I use to keep a lot more clothes and would also “buy ahead” when I came across a great deal. Now I am very limited on what I keep. For “hand me downs” I only buy black snow pants and those get passed down. Same with sorrel snow boots. If the boots are a bit big, no biggie. Other than that I limit it to 1 box for both “hand me downs” and “size ahead” so it has to be a VERY special item to fit into a diaper box between 4 kids. (Minus the snow pants/shoes) Also, what I wasn’t expecting? I actually spend less overall on their clothes. Even buying when buying new.
Shannon, you have inspired me again. I too have a big bin full of hand me downs and I always forget what is in there. I'm going to declutter the bin just like you! Thank you for all your great videos!
I agree with storing the clothes and constantly rooting through the bins, it’s a pain. The only storage space we have is in our attic so I feel like I’m constantly getting bins down from the attic.
Hi Shannon. I just had my third baby in May. There is a five year age gap between her and my youngest son (I have two older boys). I felt the same way. We have lived minimally for about 6 years now. But the arrival of a third meant we had to make room for her. I suddenly felt my inventory in the house was too high to accommodate the very minimal baby things we were needing to bring in. Decluttering before baby arrives is a great choice 👍🏻 Congrats on the little one!
I made a system for my boys hand me downs. I have a 6 drawer Plastic drawer organizer and have them divided by size and season. So when the season changes my youngests current clothes go to donation and I pull out the next season. I have literally saved thousands of dollars in clothes and shoes and school uniforms (ie $50 each for an embroidered shirt). Not to mention trying to buy a seasonal item like a coat when you need one. They put them out in July and when you need one in September there are none.
So true. It's always good to declutter often. I find myself doing it monthly or more. Things that are relevant one week may become totally irrelevant the next. I love you're videos 💗💗 Also you look like a princess from a Disney movie you are SO PRETTY.
Love this Shannon! I also have two bins worth of clothing for my kids (girl and boy) to grow into. All received from family and friends. I'm going through it again and only keep the stuff I think they'll truly wear. I'll be coming along your next stage of the decluttering journey. I started about a year ago and got rid of so much in a few months. Then I got some health issues, preventing me from decluttering further. Now I'm getting better, the first thing I've started doing is decluttering again😀
Congratulations on your baby!! I must have missed your announcement. I'm a mom to 8 and I have been on a minimalist journey for 5 years or maybe my whole life , but anyway I do find that I do go through seasons of feeling completely overwhelmed by stuff and then I go deeper into a new level of minimalism. I am so inspired by the minimom as well.
Loved this video - capsule wardrobes are definitely the way to go with children. So glad you mentioned Minimom - her channel is awesome - she really is a die hard minimalist!
I enjoyed this video so much, but having just gone thru a hurricane with no electricity for 11 days and a mandate to not use washing machines for 2 weeks I was grateful that I have 2 weeks of clothing.
Well done Shannon! Managing kids’ clothing is a thing! 😳Happy for you that you are dealing with this before babe arrives. You have such valuable lessons to teach others on clothing and toy inventories. I am 62, raised 4 children so totally understand the overwhelm of these items. I am a passionate “declutterer” and never miss a thing once I part with it. Thanks for your videos Shannon.
This!!! So much freedom in this. I have 4 totes that I have to manage. Usually I consign. Even though it does make me some extra money, I just decided to get rid of it and I feel so much better! We shop at thrift stores anyways so buying “new” clothes isn’t much of a cost. It is “costing”me too much time and anxiety to keep it!!!! Love your videos!
Shannon, you always share great tips for decluttering successfully :) It is so important for our well-being to be open to letting things go when they become a burden. Look forward to your upcoming decluttering and any adventures 💕
Agree completely....trying to be more minimal but then ending up with more stuff that brings anxiety. Mini Mom has a great system too .. I think the old nesting before baby comes is probably kicking in too!!!
I think the more minimalist your are the easier it is to remove things from your spaces. What you have becomes 'the norm' or the base line for what you feel is a starting point - and then you re-evalute your decisions and systems and realise that you can simplify more and still be happy. I heard somewhere that letting go is like muscle training - the more you do it the easier it becomes and the better you get at the skill.
Hi Shannon I’ve had major surgery a few months ago and while resting I’ve been looking around and thinking same as you we’ve still got to much still 😂 after all the decluttering we’ve done it’s all my stuff really 😂 the girls have all left home now and they have taken all there stuff or donated stuff I defo need to go around my home again am feeling it same as you xxx
Oh my. I found this to be true. I have two boys (and a girl), so much of the clothes I saved for my oldest son, did not work for my younger son. He is a completely different body type for one, and will in no way wear jeans anymore. He is strictly into the comfort/sports wear style. I think I need to make a second go through and keep only a few staples. I’m tired of managing it all these years!
Loved this, Shannon. I’m also a mum of three and have been a minimalist for a decade now. I definitely got the urge to minimalise even more before our third came along last year. It definitely helps to calm the chaos of being outnumbered. Keep up the great work! Xx
I used to put hand me downs in clear plastic bags and write the season & size on the bag. Then I’d just get that bag out when it came to that season. But I understand what you’re saying. Whatever works for you is best.
This makes total sense to me. I don't have kids, but I know the whole rotating/grow-into bin thing would stress me out. Toys, clothes, whatever. Even before I started decluttering, that would have felt like an added burden. Good for you! Making life and home even better.
I have 8 kids, the oldest is 20 and the youngest is almost 7. I have saved so many clothes and my garage has always been full of bins. I really wish now I hadn't saved so much. I have spent so much time clothes sorting it's crazy. And the bins were always up so high I couldn't get to them without my husband's help which meant I always have had piles of clothes sitting around that the kids would give me when they didn't fit anymore because I would only pull bins down twice a year for seasonal change overs. And now I am finally realizing that I am pulling out clothes for the youngest that no one ever wore because no one liked them. But I kept saving anyway. It was a waste.
For anyone who still wants to keep hand me downs, here is what I do: 1. Only keep the number of clothes your children would wear, and give the rest away. No need to keep every single thing! 2. Keep in SIZE in different plastic bag with label, instead of jumbling everything together and having to go through the bin over and over again. Whenever a child of mine needs new set of wardrobe, I just take out the bag filled with the next size, and I am done. Shopping for new clothes and toys stresses me out and takes too much time, so for me personally, hand me downs is my prefered way to save time, money, and the environment.
I have been following you for about year now and I love being minimalist! I've been learning to shop second hand more. I wasn't planning on going through my 2 boys closets but I'm glad I did!
Unrelated but related to stress... I recently discovered vagus nerve exercises/ moves ... I can't believe how much calmer my body and mind feel from something so simple.. I've been so overly stressed for years.. i do a simple move that just takes 30 seconds whenever I feel myself getting stressed and it works... if anyone wants a link let me know. Also realizing I need to do a SERIOUS major declutter throughout my house!
Hey from 🇳🇿 New Zealand! I totally get it when you say you don’t want to be a part of the fast fashion culture but having to simplify is the most important thing right now. It’s always a tension for me too!Congratulations on your pregnancy too 🥰. Go AB’s 🏉
Ah hand-me-downs! We accepted SO many toys that were my nephew’s, and of course my kids got plenty themselves. It was too overwhelming! For example: we got a play kitchen with some dishes and food. I purchased more over time, and a refrigerator. It was all too much! I should have culled the hand-me-down items and only purchased a few extras . And forgotten the fridge. 😳 Another example was clothing, also handed down from my nephew. My son is almost 6 years younger than my nephew, and he was born in an opposite time of year. If I had it to do again, I would only keep/accept a couple items and donate the rest. Oh the items that I had stored in a small home! We used only a fraction of it all.
I love this!! I am doing the same thing over here. Its just really me and my daughter (14) but I have been striving to become even more minimal than I already am! I am Loving being able to clear out so much more! I have been able to downsize furniture, clothes, kitchen items etc...so freeing to live so much more simply! And I LOVE Bailey from minimom!! She is fantastic!! She was a huge inspiration (as well as you!) to really go super minimal!
God bless you Shannon! Good luck getting your boys to slow down long enough to try on all the Wear Now clothes! I just went from bribes to threats to begging getting my 8 year old to try on his fall collection of hand me downs 😆 oh I was pathetic 🤣. But eventually he did it! Thank you for the great advice, as always. Love, Sarra
I was so glad when I did away with the bins of clothes we stored in the basement and moved to one basket in the top of each closet for items between kids. We do also keep one bin of uniforms for school because they are embroidered and not easy or cheap to replace. Even with very minimal thrifting in these last 2 years, we’ve had most of what they have needed. I’d still love to minimize more, but each family member is happy with their current quantity of stuff. :) It is great to set these patterns when kids are small. I wish I would have done capsule wardrobes when our older kids were little. Our teen kids buy most of their own clothes now, and while they have more than I’d prefer, it is part of growing up and they are learning to manage their own stuff and finances. I miss the motivation that comes with nesting. Enjoy that season, but don’t push yourself too hard.
Dealing with kids things and kids clothes bring challenges. It’s a lot to coordinate and keep up with. I’m consigning a lot of items lately….and keep a small amount of “special” items. A hand me down system can get out of hand for sure. I try to visit and downsize through the seasons.
Love love your thinking - I was beginning to think that it was only me feeling the same - I’m ok for a while and then I feel I have too much and start again and it’s amazing how much more you can get rid of - looking forward to seeing your videos - love from Sydney Australia xx
Used to have a huge bin I kept my winter clothes in and would trade out twice a year. Finally realized I really didn't need all that winter stuff and donated most of it except for a few sweaters/sweatshirts/pants. Now with Covid keeping me in I find I need even less and just layer warmer clothes on top of my summer clothes as needed. Much easier. Love the soft guitar music in your videos. Are you or your husband playing it? All the best on your further decluttering adventure and with your new baby to be. 😀
Hey Shannon, I think minimalism is a process and not a point we get to. Our needs and hobbies are ever changing, so it's about constantly assessing what we actually need. I'm thinking about doing another round of the Minimalism Game during the month of October to push myself to get rid of more stuff! Thanks for sharing! 💗
Love this video! Definitely a constant challenge with kids clothes. Love your perspective as currently changing into the next size up and decluttering my daughter's wardrobe. Thank you Shannon! 🙏😊 Love your channel! X
We're going from a family of five to six we live in 900 square feet so ever inch counts. My two younger boys share a room and they have a 6 drawer dresser the bottom is for winter clothes the middle is for summer clothes and the top is for their extras... swimsuit,socks, pajamas. I don't keep my clothes in bins I keep them in Space bags doesn't take up much space at all. Decluttering never stops been minimal with my husband for 15 years. It's not a one and done thing ha ha ha
When my boys were smaller it was so much easier to pass the clothes down to the youngest. Now he has zero interest in wearing anything that his big brother has worn. No matter how nice I think the clothing is, he has his own taste and style. My oldest on the other hand doesn’t care what anything looks like as long as it’s comfy lol. It used to annoy me that my youngest didn’t want to hand me downs but now I understand that he shouldn’t be forced to wear something that isn’t his style or choice. I happily pass them on to other families and they are always grateful. They both have very limited clothing choices and it makes it so much easier to manage.
I agree with this so much! This reminds me of when people tell me I should force my kids to eat things they don't like LOL, we are not forced to do this so why do this to kids.
Hi Shannon… totally get where your coming from, I was happy with the house, but now it seems there’s still too much so I’m decluttering again, as getting on my nerves.. 🙄😀
Yes!! 🙌🏻 I saved and shared bins of clothing with my two older sisters for years (which did save us lots of money at the time), but now I’m the only one still having children, and when I recently moved, I donated at least 10 giant garbage bags filled with girls clothes. When we found out our fifth baby (due soon!) is a girl, I donated any remaining boy clothing we have. I bought a handful of cute, practical newborn baby girl items. It feels so great not to have to store all those old clothes and to just start fresh with a small amount for this new baby. Kids do not need a lot of clothes! Also you are right about buying what they like. My daughter is sporty. No need to save/purchase cute dresses-they just won’t get worn!
I have two children, one of each gender. Passing clothes down wasn’t an option for me. I’ve just made a capsule wardrobe for myself. I really like having so little. 😊
Congratulations on your pregnancy Shannon! Minimal mom has simplified her children's clothes in a way they can easily dress themselves. Sounds like you need to have loved ones adopt a minimal gift giving routine. You seem very stressed in this video; so minimalist on!!
Thank you! Yes I was trying to get through this box before my kids were back from school because if they were there they would have wanted to keep everything!
Exactly! Those were all clothes for my kids to grow into, which is crazy they don't need that much. After I was down sorting the stuff I went to my kids drawers and then only kept a few things out of that pile that they can use now. I didn't end up keeping that whole pile in the end, but I had already stopped videoing because my kids got home. =)
@@shannontorrens1 Excellent!! I like your honesty and motivation with minimalism. Plus with the baby on it's way it's great to streamline things. I've like your videos in the past and one observation, which is just my bias showing with minimalist you tubers, is when you have a video with the 5 of this or 10 ways, I don't watch. It's what everyone is doing. But like this video, called becoming more minimalist, I was interested. I think you have a great unique channel and I would encourage you to be just that.
Thank you Christina for that feedback, I really don't like making those list videos like you mentioned 5 of this and 10 ways to do that and recently I have decided to try to go back to my older format of just sharing our lives and how we are living as a minimalist family. The struggle is, on youtube "the algorithm" seems to love those videos of just listing things out. I feel like that is why most minimalist/ simple living channels seem to be just pumping out that same content. I am going to be experimenting with seeing if I can just make the videos I want and hopefully the algorithm will still share them with everyone. =) PS that is why I started my separate vlog channel, because every time I shared anything even a little off topic no one saw any of my videos, there is a lot of discussion on this lately among the youtube community. That the algorithm is almost forcing creators to NOT be creative. A very weird concept.
I like to watch mimimom to.I would love to have my house as miminial as hers.But my family are not miminal as I would like them to be.Have a great day.
![Declutter Motivation [8 DECLUTTERING Tips To START NOW]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/DbLqDa9P6XU/mqdefault.jpg)
I have 2 sons and they are now in college. I loved dressing them in matching Gymboree, Hanna Andersson, and Mini Boden outfits. So I did a ton of storing clothes since I had multiple sizes of different clothing lines to match them up. This only lasted until they started elementary school. Then I was sad, but it was a lot easier. We live in Florida, so I had a tote of of my older son's winter clothes he would outgrow and just stick in my younger son's closet for the following year. The rest was all summer items and I would just move it into my younger son's closet and fold on the top shelf. As he grew, I just replaced the items hanging or in drawers with the top self items from his brother. I kept this up all through elementary school. By the time they were in middle school, there weren't any more hand-me-downs since my younger son grew faster and passed his older brother. I didn't buy volume of clothes once they were in school. It really was the little baby/toddler clothes that had me swimming in clothes for those years. I loved it though!!! My boys had one pair of sneakers, one pair of sandals, and one pair of dress shoes. I never did hand me down on any shoes because everyone walks/wears out shoes differently. They're no longer growing, but they still do the same with shoes. I have never had a lot of shoes for myself...no more than 10 pairs max. I have 3 pairs of jeans...I guess I've been minimal with clothes forever. It is holiday decorations and kitchen items that seem to mutiply in our house. Oh and my hubby has more clothes than anyone. Garage stuff...electronics/movies etc. I'm working on him to purge his stuff. Enjoy your kiddos little, time flies by so quickly!
I agree that bins of clothing to keep going through in the garage is too much. A little overflow for off season in the closet makes more sense, because you will know what is there and its convenient.
Agree with your approach. I did the same with our bins. I only keep what they like. We live in Canada and it can range from -40C to +40C in one year. I only keep half a week of clothes for warmer/cooler weather . I have set a rule and so far we never ran out of clothes.
Only keep 1 size up, layers, no more that half a week’s worth and my kids must like it and try to pick colors that matches with everything. Which looks like this : 3 pants, 3 shorts + 1 skirt, 3-4 t-shirts, 2 vests, 1 pyjama and one soccer outfit for their practices ☺️. The rest I can get on my own or from bday’s and xmas.
I get it with the hand me downs... We have two boys aged 5 and 3. I find too that if I buy the eldest a new item say a t-shirt with a character on, I'd buy the youngest one too. Also friends are always offering extra I have a bag downstairs. I've been through recently and managed to get rid of a bag of stuff that's more worn to donate the the pre school for their spares.
I had three girls, hand me downs saved us a ton of money. It’s best to keep the bins by size
patricia at *a small wardrobe* talks beautifully on building a capsule wardrobe
you got this, shannon
Hey Shannon, can you do a video on yiur kitchen tour I mean how do you maintain minimalism in the kitchen with regards to utensils food storage containers etc.
So true that saving clothing for kids (that YOU love or think are cute) does not ensure that younger siblings will wear them. I have been excited many times to pull out a shirt or dress that I loved on my older daughter only to have her younger sister say "nah." Great piece of advice! Now I will not feel guilty about getting rid of items that I feel the younger ones might wear in a couple of years. Also, who has time or energy to manage, store, and shuffle around big totes all the time. Love the capsule wardrobe idea for kids!
One way I used to organize my son’s hand me downs, was sort them by size/age. Then I would put them in the upper shelves of his closet, and mark them with the age so I could pull them at a glance. Another thing I would do, when I received a box of hand me downs, I would go through it immediately, and decide what I think he may wear and donate the ones that I thought he wouldn’t. By the time he got to that age it was already sorted and minimized and we didn’t miss anything that I may have donated earlier as we didn’t remember what it was LOL
I was so excited when I heard you mention MiniMom because I love your channel and Hers too. I just saw her recent video where she mentions her boys capsule wardrobe and felt inspired too.
I truly enjoy your channel especially when your mom is on. You two are so fun!
God bless and protect you and your family.
I have to say that on a tight budget hand me downs saved me money. I did not receive from others as I have super tall boys now 6'5 and 6'3. I never kept shoes but I was glad of the bins of clothes I stored in the attic. Dealing with all the seasons you need more.Love your videos and I have to say I wish I had started my minimalist journey when my kids were younger.
You say “capsule”, I say daddy-can-dress-the-kids-and-they-even-match wardrobe
90% of the time my kids don't match at all because they dress themselves LOL, I guess by capsule I just mean things that can be layered and worn through most of our year ( we live in a warm climate).
I have been working on getting rid of things I have not used or wear …I was very surprised at how much I repeat buy and never use ….I feel great looking around and know I have space to vacuum and keep cleaner in my home
One thing I have done with hand me downs is to only save one bin of each size. Also, I tend to swap out everything at the same time. Even if only a few items in the wardrobe are getting small I pack up all of that size and put the new size in the closet. I take it as an indicator of my child being too small for the majority of the outfits very soon, if not yet. That saves me time and energy only dealing with it once.
Good on you!
Being a fellow kiwi your hubby may be able to relate to this;
My husband and I recounted when we were kids how little clothing we had, 12 items max including footwear (we always ran around barefoot). They were all handmedowns and we wore them until they either fell apart or we grew out of them. Not once did I feel hard done by, we were too busy enjoying the great outdoors.
My first two girls were 3 yrs apart. I thought hand-me-downs were a good idea, but they always hit the season wrong! We are in Pennsylvania, no shorts and tees in the winter, and no snow suits in the summer! I just passed the clothes along as soon as they were out grown.
Same here I felt I was constantly going through my bins! I've been on my decluttering journey for 3 years and the funny thing is the more I declutter the more I want to be minimal! Cheers from beautiful Ontario Canada 🍃🍂🍁🍂🍃
I love Minimom too! - the two of you are great minimizing role models - thanks for the motivation and ideas - also love videos with your mom - she is adorable
This will make a HUGE difference. I use to keep a lot more clothes and would also “buy ahead” when I came across a great deal. Now I am very limited on what I keep. For “hand me downs” I only buy black snow pants and those get passed down. Same with sorrel snow boots. If the boots are a bit big, no biggie.
Other than that I limit it to 1 box for both “hand me downs” and “size ahead” so it has to be a VERY special item to fit into a diaper box between 4 kids. (Minus the snow pants/shoes)
Also, what I wasn’t expecting? I actually spend less overall on their clothes. Even buying when buying new.
Great video! Kids clothes were always hard for me to pare down too. Now they are grown and I have grandkids and do nannying, it’s books and toys.
Shannon, you have inspired me again. I too have a big bin full of hand me downs and I always forget what is in there. I'm going to declutter the bin just like you! Thank you for all your great videos!
I am so happy I let this stuff go! I feel relieved.
I agree with storing the clothes and constantly rooting through the bins, it’s a pain. The only storage space we have is in our attic so I feel like I’m constantly getting bins down from the attic.
Hi Shannon. I just had my third baby in May. There is a five year age gap between her and my youngest son (I have two older boys).
I felt the same way. We have lived minimally for about 6 years now. But the arrival of a third meant we had to make room for her. I suddenly felt my inventory in the house was too high to accommodate the very minimal baby things we were needing to bring in.
Decluttering before baby arrives is a great choice 👍🏻
Congrats on the little one!
I made a system for my boys hand me downs. I have a 6 drawer Plastic drawer organizer and have them divided by size and season. So when the season changes my youngests current clothes go to donation and I pull out the next season. I have literally saved thousands of dollars in clothes and shoes and school uniforms (ie $50 each for an embroidered shirt). Not to mention trying to buy a seasonal item like a coat when you need one. They put them out in July and when you need one in September there are none.
Great declutter. I think this is going to be a good thing.❤️❤️
So true. It's always good to declutter often.
I find myself doing it monthly or more.
Things that are relevant one week may become totally irrelevant the next. I love you're videos 💗💗
Also you look like
a princess from a Disney movie you are
SO PRETTY.
Oh thank you! You are too kind. I agree decluttering is an on going task.
Love this Shannon! I also have two bins worth of clothing for my kids (girl and boy) to grow into. All received from family and friends. I'm going through it again and only keep the stuff I think they'll truly wear.
I'll be coming along your next stage of the decluttering journey. I started about a year ago and got rid of so much in a few months. Then I got some health issues, preventing me from decluttering further. Now I'm getting better, the first thing I've started doing is decluttering again😀
Congratulations on your baby!! I must have missed your announcement. I'm a mom to 8 and I have been on a minimalist journey for 5 years or maybe my whole life , but anyway I do find that I do go through seasons of feeling completely overwhelmed by stuff and then I go deeper into a new level of minimalism. I am so inspired by the minimom as well.
Thank you so much!!
Loved this video - capsule wardrobes are definitely the way to go with children. So glad you mentioned Minimom - her channel is awesome - she really is a die hard minimalist!
I enjoyed this video so much, but having just gone thru a hurricane with no electricity for 11 days and a mandate to not use washing machines for 2 weeks I was grateful that I have 2 weeks of clothing.
Sorry to hear that!
Well done Shannon! Managing kids’ clothing is a thing! 😳Happy for you that you are dealing with this before babe arrives. You have such valuable lessons to teach others on clothing and toy inventories.
I am 62, raised 4 children so totally understand the overwhelm of these items. I am a passionate “declutterer” and never miss a thing once I part with it.
Thanks for your videos Shannon.
I agree with Wendy. You’ve got lots to share. I’m 64, raised 3 boys and understand the “overwhelm”. Keep up the good work.
This!!! So much freedom in this. I have 4 totes that I have to manage. Usually I consign. Even though it does make me some extra money, I just decided to get rid of it and I feel so much better! We shop at thrift stores anyways so buying “new” clothes isn’t much of a cost. It is “costing”me too much time and anxiety to keep it!!!! Love your videos!
Hi Brooke, this is exactly what I was feeling. Like my time is worth more than sorting through clothes every month LOL.
Great video Shannon. It's great to declutter again before baby comes. Your hair looked so shiny today. Xx
It really is!
Glad you are reducing stress for yourself! Your decluttering encourages me, so thanks very much!!!
Shannon, you always share great tips for decluttering successfully :) It is so important for our well-being to be open to letting things go when they become a burden. Look forward to your upcoming decluttering and any adventures 💕
Agree completely....trying to be more minimal but then ending up with more stuff that brings anxiety. Mini Mom has a great system too .. I think the old nesting before baby comes is probably kicking in too!!!
Even I feel so much better now that you feel so much better about being even more minimal! Minimalism is contagious!!! 😂
I think the more minimalist your are the easier it is to remove things from your spaces. What you have becomes 'the norm' or the base line for what you feel is a starting point - and then you re-evalute your decisions and systems and realise that you can simplify more and still be happy. I heard somewhere that letting go is like muscle training - the more you do it the easier it becomes and the better you get at the skill.
Yes! This is exactly what I was trying to explain, it's like I have a new baseline and I feel we could get rid of more =)
If you shop at thrift you can get them new sizes as they need them without it being too expensive.
That is my plan =)
Hi Shannon I’ve had major surgery a few months ago and while resting I’ve been looking around and thinking same as you we’ve still got to much still 😂 after all the decluttering we’ve done it’s all my stuff really 😂 the girls have all left home now and they have taken all there stuff or donated stuff I defo need to go around my home again am feeling it same as you xxx
Oh my. I found this to be true. I have two boys (and a girl), so much of the clothes I saved for my oldest son, did not work for my younger son. He is a completely different body type for one, and will in no way wear jeans anymore. He is strictly into the comfort/sports wear style. I think I need to make a second go through and keep only a few staples. I’m tired of managing it all these years!
Loved this, Shannon. I’m also a mum of three and have been a minimalist for a decade now. I definitely got the urge to minimalise even more before our third came along last year. It definitely helps to calm the chaos of being outnumbered. Keep up the great work! Xx
Great idea! Totally understand getting overwhelmed with another body coming into the family space! Great job!
Thanks so much! 😊
I used to put hand me downs in clear plastic bags and write the season & size on the bag. Then I’d just get that bag out when it came to that season.
But I understand what you’re saying. Whatever works for you is best.
This makes total sense to me. I don't have kids, but I know the whole rotating/grow-into bin thing would stress me out. Toys, clothes, whatever. Even before I started decluttering, that would have felt like an added burden. Good for you! Making life and home even better.
I have 8 kids, the oldest is 20 and the youngest is almost 7. I have saved so many clothes and my garage has always been full of bins. I really wish now I hadn't saved so much. I have spent so much time clothes sorting it's crazy. And the bins were always up so high I couldn't get to them without my husband's help which meant I always have had piles of clothes sitting around that the kids would give me when they didn't fit anymore because I would only pull bins down twice a year for seasonal change overs. And now I am finally realizing that I am pulling out clothes for the youngest that no one ever wore because no one liked them. But I kept saving anyway. It was a waste.
Minimom is great so is small changes.
For anyone who still wants to keep hand me downs, here is what I do:
1. Only keep the number of clothes your children would wear, and give the rest away. No need to keep every single thing!
2. Keep in SIZE in different plastic bag with label, instead of jumbling everything together and having to go through the bin over and over again.
Whenever a child of mine needs new set of wardrobe, I just take out the bag filled with the next size, and I am done.
Shopping for new clothes and toys stresses me out and takes too much time, so for me personally, hand me downs is my prefered way to save time, money, and the environment.
Hi Shannon, I just loved watching this decluttering session. Can't wait to see the next ones.
Yay! Thank you!
We must be on the same wavelength! I did this yesterday as well💗💞
I have been following you for about year now and I love being minimalist! I've been learning to shop second hand more. I wasn't planning on going through my 2 boys closets but I'm glad I did!
That is awesome!
I'm trying to buy some more grey and black shirts to restock. After a year of wearing the same thing, all my clothes wore down
Unrelated but related to stress... I recently discovered vagus nerve exercises/ moves ... I can't believe how much calmer my body and mind feel from something so simple.. I've been so overly stressed for years.. i do a simple move that just takes 30 seconds whenever I feel myself getting stressed and it works... if anyone wants a link let me know. Also realizing I need to do a SERIOUS major declutter throughout my house!
Hey from 🇳🇿 New Zealand! I totally get it when you say you don’t want to be a part of the fast fashion culture but having to simplify is the most important thing right now. It’s always a tension for me too!Congratulations on your pregnancy too 🥰. Go AB’s 🏉
The baby outfits are so cute. 😍
Thank you! 🤗
Go Shannon, go Shannon! Cheering you on your journey, thanks so much for sharing! 🥰❤️
Such a heartfelt video. Thank you Shannon
Ah hand-me-downs! We accepted SO many toys that were my nephew’s, and of course my kids got plenty themselves. It was too overwhelming! For example: we got a play kitchen with some dishes and food. I purchased more over time, and a refrigerator. It was all too much! I should have culled the hand-me-down items and only purchased a few extras . And forgotten the fridge. 😳 Another example was clothing, also handed down from my nephew. My son is almost 6 years younger than my nephew, and he was born in an opposite time of year. If I had it to do again, I would only keep/accept a couple items and donate the rest. Oh the items that I had stored in a small home! We used only a fraction of it all.
I love this!! I am doing the same thing over here. Its just really me and my daughter (14) but I have been striving to become even more minimal than I already am! I am Loving being able to clear out so much more! I have been able to downsize furniture, clothes, kitchen items etc...so freeing to live so much more simply! And I LOVE Bailey from minimom!! She is fantastic!! She was a huge inspiration (as well as you!) to really go super minimal!
I also love her channel! It is very inspiring =)
God bless you Shannon! Good luck getting your boys to slow down long enough to try on all the Wear Now clothes! I just went from bribes to threats to begging getting my 8 year old to try on his fall collection of hand me downs 😆 oh I was pathetic 🤣. But eventually he did it! Thank you for the great advice, as always.
Love,
Sarra
Hi Sarra! That is the hard thing, they do not like to try anything on ever.
I’ve been feeling the same way…that I’m ready to go a bit deeper into minimizing, I’m excited to see what you are doing and get inspired!
You got this!
Hi Shannon, I enjoyed this decluttering session. It made a lot of sense.
I was so glad when I did away with the bins of clothes we stored in the basement and moved to one basket in the top of each closet for items between kids. We do also keep one bin of uniforms for school because they are embroidered and not easy or cheap to replace. Even with very minimal thrifting in these last 2 years, we’ve had most of what they have needed. I’d still love to minimize more, but each family member is happy with their current quantity of stuff. :)
It is great to set these patterns when kids are small. I wish I would have done capsule wardrobes when our older kids were little. Our teen kids buy most of their own clothes now, and while they have more than I’d prefer, it is part of growing up and they are learning to manage their own stuff and finances.
I miss the motivation that comes with nesting. Enjoy that season, but don’t push yourself too hard.
Dealing with kids things and kids clothes bring challenges. It’s a lot to coordinate and keep up with. I’m consigning a lot of items lately….and keep a small amount of “special” items. A hand me down system can get out of hand for sure. I try to visit and downsize through the seasons.
Congrats on Baby to Be!!!
Great idea! Clothes are readily available at a reasonable price .😋
Absolutely!!
I love minimom!!
I get that feeling as well. Love it
I love minimom too! I’m so glad she’s back. I love your channel as well, thanks for sharing your content and congratulations on your pregnancy! 🎉😀
Thank you so much!!
😊❤️
Love love your thinking - I was beginning to think that it was only me feeling the same - I’m ok for a while and then I feel I have too much and start again and it’s amazing how much more you can get rid of - looking forward to seeing your videos - love from Sydney Australia xx
Exactly!!
I love the minimom! ❤️
Used to have a huge bin I kept my winter clothes in and would trade out twice a year. Finally realized I really didn't need all that winter stuff and donated most of it except for a few sweaters/sweatshirts/pants. Now with Covid keeping me in I find I need even less and just layer warmer clothes on top of my summer clothes as needed. Much easier.
Love the soft guitar music in your videos. Are you or your husband playing it? All the best on your further decluttering adventure and with your new baby to be. 😀
I wish that was me playing the guitar, sadly I can't play any instruments.
Hey Shannon, I think minimalism is a process and not a point we get to. Our needs and hobbies are ever changing, so it's about constantly assessing what we actually need. I'm thinking about doing another round of the Minimalism Game during the month of October to push myself to get rid of more stuff! Thanks for sharing! 💗
I completely agree! It is a journey not a destination as they say LOL
I am doing this too! 23 wks pregnant--I have a theory it goes along with the nesting instinct ;)
Congratulations!
19wks with my 3rd and I’ve been on a decluttering rampage lately. Haha!
Love this video! Definitely a constant challenge with kids clothes. Love your perspective as currently changing into the next size up and decluttering my daughter's wardrobe. Thank you Shannon! 🙏😊 Love your channel! X
Im up to nearly 400 things gone thanks to your help. xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
I can SO relate!
I have a son and daughter and have them both on a 7 day rotational capsule wardrobe. It has been a game changer. I also got the idea from Minimom ❤️
We're going from a family of five to six we live in 900 square feet so ever inch counts. My two younger boys share a room and they have a 6 drawer dresser the bottom is for winter clothes the middle is for summer clothes and the top is for their extras... swimsuit,socks, pajamas. I don't keep my clothes in bins I keep them in Space bags doesn't take up much space at all. Decluttering never stops been minimal with my husband for 15 years. It's not a one and done thing ha ha ha
Congratulations on your new addition!
When my boys were smaller it was so much easier to pass the clothes down to the youngest. Now he has zero interest in wearing anything that his big brother has worn. No matter how nice I think the clothing is, he has his own taste and style. My oldest on the other hand doesn’t care what anything looks like as long as it’s comfy lol. It used to annoy me that my youngest didn’t want to hand me downs but now I understand that he shouldn’t be forced to wear something that isn’t his style or choice. I happily pass them on to other families and they are always grateful. They both have very limited clothing choices and it makes it so much easier to manage.
I agree with this so much! This reminds me of when people tell me I should force my kids to eat things they don't like LOL, we are not forced to do this so why do this to kids.
Good for you. Tina
I need to do the same in my closet. 😊
Hi Shannon… totally get where your coming from, I was happy with the house, but now it seems there’s still too much so I’m decluttering again, as getting on my nerves.. 🙄😀
I totally agree! I am in the same position.
Yes!! 🙌🏻 I saved and shared bins of clothing with my two older sisters for years (which did save us lots of money at the time), but now I’m the only one still having children, and when I recently moved, I donated at least 10 giant garbage bags filled with girls clothes. When we found out our fifth baby (due soon!) is a girl, I donated any remaining boy clothing we have. I bought a handful of cute, practical newborn baby girl items. It feels so great not to have to store all those old clothes and to just start fresh with a small amount for this new baby. Kids do not need a lot of clothes! Also you are right about buying what they like. My daughter is sporty. No need to save/purchase cute dresses-they just won’t get worn!
Congratulations on your fifth baby!
I have two boy's 7 year's apart, so I only ever save more expensive sweater's or dress clothe's.
That is what I am thinking, the age gap is going to be too large to keep these things for the new baby.
Thumbs up everytime 😊🤗
Yay! Thank you!
It’s so weird that the more I reduced the less tolerance I have for stuff.
Same here!
I have cleaning my house for the past two weeks 🤣
Love that!
I have two children, one of each gender. Passing clothes down wasn’t an option for me. I’ve just made a capsule wardrobe for myself. I really like having so little. 😊
♥️
Congratulations on your pregnancy Shannon! Minimal mom has simplified her children's clothes in a way they can easily dress themselves. Sounds like you need to have loved ones adopt a minimal gift giving routine. You seem very stressed in this video; so minimalist on!!
Thank you! Yes I was trying to get through this box before my kids were back from school because if they were there they would have wanted to keep everything!
Congratulations lovely 🌺💕💗🤗😊🍾
Thank you so much 😀
I needed this video
Where did you get the shoe boxes you used in the beginning of video?
Those are from Ikea =)
I love your shoe containers. Where did you get them from? Thank you!
Those are from Ikea, very affordable too.
When my daughter was little I used to accept all hand me downs until the house was overflowing and I had to finally say to everyone: no more!
Woohoo!!!
I'd go with minimom's suggestion and only have a very limited amount of T shirts, jeans etc. That pile you had to keep seems very big.
Exactly! Those were all clothes for my kids to grow into, which is crazy they don't need that much. After I was down sorting the stuff I went to my kids drawers and then only kept a few things out of that pile that they can use now. I didn't end up keeping that whole pile in the end, but I had already stopped videoing because my kids got home. =)
@@shannontorrens1 Excellent!! I like your honesty and motivation with minimalism. Plus with the baby on it's way it's great to streamline things. I've like your videos in the past and one observation, which is just my bias showing with minimalist you tubers, is when you have a video with the 5 of this or 10 ways, I don't watch. It's what everyone is doing. But like this video, called becoming more minimalist, I was interested. I think you have a great unique channel and I would encourage you to be just that.
Thank you Christina for that feedback, I really don't like making those list videos like you mentioned 5 of this and 10 ways to do that and recently I have decided to try to go back to my older format of just sharing our lives and how we are living as a minimalist family. The struggle is, on youtube "the algorithm" seems to love those videos of just listing things out. I feel like that is why most minimalist/ simple living channels seem to be just pumping out that same content. I am going to be experimenting with seeing if I can just make the videos I want and hopefully the algorithm will still share them with everyone. =) PS that is why I started my separate vlog channel, because every time I shared anything even a little off topic no one saw any of my videos, there is a lot of discussion on this lately among the youtube community. That the algorithm is almost forcing creators to NOT be creative. A very weird concept.
I like to watch mimimom to.I would love to have my house as miminial as hers.But my family are not miminal as I would like them to be.Have a great day.