Handy hand-me-down tips.

Babies breeze through clothes faster than Paris Hilton through men. Before you even have time to rip the tags off that designer dress from your baby shower, your little one has somehow blown right past the size range altogether.

In honor of Spring (and the adorable clothes that come along with it!), I thought it timely to give some tips on organizing, storing, and getting rid of items no longer in use…at least until the next family member makes their debut.

When to Evaluate
Unless you’re the real Super Mom, weeding out the unusables each time you do laundry is simply unrealistic. For us normal folk, shooting for twice a year – or once each season – will do just fine. The seasons come with a natural reminder when it’s time to break out the sweaters or dig up the shorts. So make it easy on yourself and just tackle it when the weather demands.

What to Keep
There’s more to it than black and white, “keep” and “toss”. If you have a heart or plan to continue growing your family, there’s also “donate” and “hand-me-down”.

• Keep anything your baby still wears or will still fit into by next season.
• Toss everything that is stained, torn, or pilled. Nobody wants to be the smelly kid in class. *Tip* To give stained clothes a fighting chance, sprinkle some baking soda on the stain, then pour a small amount of club soda on the powder. Careful not to go overboard. Remember the volcano experiment from elementary school? Gently rub the mixture in with an old toothbrush.
• Set aside anything that is still in top shape but no longer fits your baby. These will come in handy as handy-me-downs for your next kiddo.
• Finally, start a pile of items that are in excess of what you need or that you have multiples of. Donating these will feel good to you, and even better to the lucky little one who truly needs them.

How to Organize
You can slice and dice the hand-me-down pile many different ways. You could organize by gender, size, age, or season, for example. There’s no right way, so just pick whichever method works best for you, but be consistent.

How to Store
Once you’ve decided on a method for separating the hand-me-downs for storage, find some sort of containers to keep things tidy and safe from bugs and mold. Large plastic bins are great if you have a lot of storage space, but vacuum-seal space bags are ideal if you’re cramped. They can even slide right under the crib or bed.

The last step is to devise some sort of labeling system so you know what’s what. The last thing you want to do is dig when it’s time to resurrect the reusables.