Well, let me start of by saying we lived through it. Actually this was one of the most efficient rounds of laundrygeddon that we have experienced. Ever.
We ended up getting an early start by going through Lucas’ dresser the evening before we were supposed to officially start. For some reason, that early start made all the difference.
The next morning, after breakfast, I popped in a movie, brought in all the boxes from the garage and got down to business.
I usually start with the oldest child and stair step my way through the kids from oldest to youngest. We sort through the dresser and other clothing using the method I describe here. Anything due to be handed down is set in a pile next to me where it waits until we get to the next youngest kid, who will try those on in addition to the clothing we pull from his dresser. Wash, rinse, repeat. When I get to the youngest, since he is my last, anything that is too small for him, but is still in good condition, goes into our donation box.
We took our time, taking breaks in between the “try on” sessions. And, and this is a big and 
….we had pizza for dinner. No, not delivery. I picked up 2 large take and bake pizzas and a few sodas from the grocery store. The kids love pizza so that helped smooth over the little bit of grumpiness that crept in by the end of the day.
The results: When all was said and done, I only needed by buy 1 pair of shoes! Can you believe it?! We had enough summer clothes in storage and enough items to hand down between brothers that I only needed to buy Lucas a pair of shoes.
Note: I generally don’t hand down shoes. My boys are far too hard on shoes for them to be of any use to anyone when they are done with them. The exception to that would be dress shoes which don’t see a lot of action.
So here are the new kicks…
Here they are. The only clothing I had to buy this season.
I asked him for an action shot. I think this is a cross between a soldier and a rock star.
We're done! Whoo Hoo!!!
How do you handle hand me downs?
