Clothing storage for twins and multiples

My motto on clothing for twins is one I try to apply to all areas of my life... Better to minimize than to organize!

Minimize

In the first year or two of life, babies need an entirely new wardrobe every 3-6 months! The messes that get onto their clothes are gross so their little clothes need to be washed frequently. I don't like to leave a shirt covered in spit up or mushed bananas for long, so I do laundry every 2-3 days. For each clothing size, you only need about 6-10 outfits. One of those should be something special for holidays or special occasions.

You might be lucky enough to receive gifts and/or hand-me-downs. Don't let the allure of free clothing distract you from keeping a minimal baby wardrobe. Getting rid of extra will make your life so much easier. It will be easier to do laundry, fold laundry and choose an outfit each day. Pick your absolute favorites and donate the rest!

Organize

With twins, especially with boy girl sets, it's best to have some things they can share. Packages of all-white onesies will simplify matters. You'll thank me if you take my advice and just buy a big package of plain white socks (I like Old Navy with the grippy letters on the bottom) and let them share.

My closet storage for the twins consists of four large wire baskets. (wire or clear is best so you can see the items through the basket)

1. onesies and sweaters 
2. pajamas (they are mixed in the same basket even though some are boy or girl specific)
3. Boy clothes
4. girl clothes

I also have three smaller baskets for swim diapers and suits, socks and shoes, and hats. I only hang their special occasion outfits.

Too Big or Too Small?

As I mentioned above, babies outgrow their clothes quickly during the first two years of life. Make it easy on yourself and give yourself two extra baskets in the babies' closet. One for outgrown clothes. One for next size clothes (with twins, you may want to have two in the next size especially if boy/girl). When you realize during an outfit change that those red pants look like shorts on your son, you might be tempted to just toss it back with his clothes. If you have a basket in the closet for outgrown clothes, you'll have a place to keep it and you won't make the same red-pants mistake the following week.

Same goes for the next size of clothes. Remove tags and wash all clothes that are in the next size and keep them in a basket in the closet. That way when a handful of clothes have been outgrown you can start to slowly replace with the next size without dragging up big bins of clothes and making it a huge process.

Remember, only 10 items per size per child!

Best High Chairs for Twins & Mutiples

My days consist mainly of feeding and diapering two nine month old babies, so I've had a lot of time to think about what's necessary for those twins. For our older daughter, we had a throne style high chair. At $150, we believed that feedings would be.... I don't know? Glamorous? At the very least I thought it would make things easier. Goodness I didn't spend $150 on the chair I use at the dining table.

I was wrong. Wrong in a crusty old food in gross cracks kind of way. (If you are curious, this Chicco Polly high chair was the offender). The thing was the biggest pain in the rear to clean. I once threw the nasty pad in the washing machine on delicate and it came out in shreds. It was $37 to replace the secondary pad! That was disgusting to clean to begin with!

Along came IKEA to the rescue. For a few bucks more than the cost of a replacement pad (to a nasty, space hogging, hard to clean nightmare with 85 moving parts) I bought TWO new high chairs that answered my prayers. The IKEA Antilop High chair.

*cue angels singing*

The chairs are super cheap, ultra portable (bring them to the backyard, toss them in the trunk to bring to grandma's!), and so easy to clean.

There are a few cons that I've been happy to deal with due to all the positives. The warning sticker on the side is a big pain to remove, but with a little elbow grease and some goo-gone it does come off. The tray is also quite a pain to remove. You have to forcibly remove it and I once hit myself in the face while doing so. However, we do not use the trays unless we are eating outside or have company and need the extra table space. We prefer to have the babies be a part of our family meal and the chairs just pull right up to the table.