5 Tips To Simplify Kids Clothing

5 Tips To Simplify Kids Clothing

Being a busy working mom with two kids (or any number of kids) is NOT easy.

If we haven’t “met” yet, hello!

I’m Alison, I create Petit Mail, a snail mail subscription experience for preschoolers and early readers, work a full time job at a local non-profit and have two munchkins. Around the time I was pregnant with my son, simplifying and minimalism became regular words in my vocabulary.

I’ve learned so much and I have so many tips, ideas and resources that I want to share with you. These are the tools that I use at home every day to keep my life from feeling totally out of control!

5 Tips To Simplify Kids Clothing

  1. Accept Previously Loved Clothing – this helps to save so much money. You don’t have to keep everything you are given, and can donate or pass along items if you feel you have enough.
  2. Shop At Children’s Consignment Stores – you can find clothing at a fraction of the price, sometimes with the tags still on! Plus this keeps clothing out of the landfill. This works particularly well for babies and toddlers, when clothing is usually in excellent condition.
  3. Purchase Handmade Clothing (Or Make It Yourself!) – if you have less items, you can invest in beautiful, quality, handmade pieces. Support local makers and small business!
  4. Don’t Have More Than What You Need – Anyone ever notice that a lot of children will wear their favourite outfits all the time? Many children are natural minimalists at heart! Get your kids involved – they might be better at simplifying their closets than you are.
  5. Donate or Consign Frequently – I pass along our previously loved children’s clothing to other families regularly. We keep a bag/basket at the top of each child’s closet – as soon as something comes out of the laundry that we know is too small, it gets placed in the donation area. When the bag is full, we try to pass it along right away. We bring gently loved toys and books that our children have outgrown to a local consignment store.

This is just ONE of the areas where I have made changes to make our life at home easier.
You can also read more about how we have reduced our screen time at home to make more room for FAMILY time!

I often feel that weight of working mom guilt, but, one of my solutions has always been to spend short, quality amounts of time with my children – reading, creating, doing “special projects”. I wanted to share that experience with other families, so I created Petit Mail.

It’s an easy, fun experience for families of preschoolers and early readers.

Petit Mail story postcard subscriptions arrive once per month in bright, fun envelopes, addressed directly to your child. The illustrated stories are perfect for reading out loud together, and have activity suggestions and inspiration. Our themes include art, science, nature, imaginative play, and more!

You can get started by trying your first story postcard for just $10 (postage included) in Canada and the US.

Learn more about Petit Mail or about trying a story postcard.

Can’t wait to have you join our snail mail family!

-Alison

Non-Toy Gifts For Kids – Inspiring Creativity and Imagination

Lately I have been inspired by Non-Toy Gifts for kids.
 
Feel like your home is drowning in children’s toys?
It seems like many of the conversations I have with other moms are about getting rid of STUFF.
 
Non-Toy Gifts For Kids
 
 

 

I don’t know about you, but my kids don’t need much.
They play happily for hours with the simplest of things – what they really want is for someone to engage and interact with them.
 
There are other posts out there with non-toy gift ideas for kids, but they all seem really generic, like “a zoo membership”.
 
I wanted to come up with some really practical, creative non-toy ideas that are a little more specific.
I hope you find these ideas inspiring, and use some for your own gifting this year.
 

5 Non-Toy Gifts:  Ideas and Inspiration For Kids

 

Non-Toy Gift 1: New Outfit Experience

Take the special child in your life shopping for a new outfit.  The important part here is that you make it an experience that you do TOGETHER.  I do this with my daughter every year for her birthday and it’s so much fun! We go to a store and she gets to pick out a brand new outfit, but we turn the shopping day into an experience.  I think this would work well with nieces and nephews, grandchildren, and even close family friends!

Non-Toy Gift 2: A New Sleeping Bag and a Flashlight

Does this seem like a strange gift idea to you? We use our sleeping bags for camping together as a family BUT our children also LOVE using their sleeping bags when they play pretend, when they build forts and when we watch movies together during family time.  In my experience, this is a great gift idea that provides endless hours of play!

Non-Toy Gift 3: A Subscription!

I spend a lot of time sharing why I believe subscriptions are a fantastic non-toy gift, here are just a few great reasons:

  1. It’s the gift that keeps on giving (a gift keeps coming in the mail every month)
  2. Subscriptions encourage family connection and togetherness
  3. Subscriptions encourage learning
  4. Petit Mail story postcards don’t take up a lot of space in your home, can be saved and used again and again (or with future siblings) and can be recycled when you are finished with them.

Non-Toy Gift 4: A Photo Book

My children LOVE looking at photos of themselves. We talk about things that we’ve done together and that they have experiences.
This gift is a beautiful way to capture and share memories.

Non-Toy Gift 5: “Best Day Ever” Scavenger Hunt

Choose your child’s favourite activities, then buy gift cards for some of those things.
Turn this into a fun activity by wrapping the gift cards, then creating a way for your child to follow clues to search for the gift cards.

 

 

What do you think?  Would you try any of my ideas?

Think about a way to find gifts that “keep on giving” while making it fun.
I hope these 5 ideas sparked your imagination!

Non-Toy Gifts for Kids

 


Petit Mail is a bright, fun snail mail story postcard subscription experience for preschoolers and their family. 

Petit Mail Story Postcard

Discover The JOY of Snail Mail

Petit Mail is the fun way to introduce a new generation to the joy of snail mail.  Created and written by mom and entrepreneur Alison Butler, each story postcard is packaged, stamped and addressed by hand.

Every month, your Petit Mail story postcard arrives in your mailbox in a bright, colourful envelope, addressed with your child’s first name.

You can try your first story for just $10 (postage included). Our stories inspire reading, imagination, creative play and make learning FUN.