Non-school-uniform clothes requirements for reception age DC?

[TinyGargona]

Am trying to work out what effect wearing school uniform will have, on the total amount of clothes my DD will need.
Storage space is massively limited at ours. My DD will be in school uniform from Sept which is already taking up a lot of her wardrobe space and I haven't got all the logoed stuff yet.

Can I cull a lot of her current 'home' wardrobe or will she want to change when she gets home, ie she will need two separate outfits per day? (groan!)

And if I get rid of a load of stuff and only replace it minimally once outgrown or trashed, how best to deal with school holidays?

[noblegiraffe]

If she only wears it when she gets home she can wear it more than one day, it's only a few hours. Holidays you do end up seeing the same stuff worn quite a lot, summer I have to buy a decent stock of summer clothes for but at that point you can usually clear out the old uniform and use that space.

[louisejxxx]

I do as pp says - make ds wear a "home" outfit for a couple of afternoons if he decides he wants to get changed. It really does vary though...sometimes he will want to, sometimes he won't, sometimes he won't get chance because we've gone somewhere straight from school etc.

[cheeseandcrackers]

Ds never changes out of his uniform after school. They don't need many clothes for the holidays. I have found that the whole drawer of winter jumpers has been untouched all year and he only wears the t-shirts at the top of the pile so I see no problem in thinning out your DD's non-uniform wardrobe.

[Afreshstartplease]

Same as cheeseandcrackers!

I find mine live in the same clothes at weekend and I have to remind them that there are others in the drawer because I get sick of seeing the same things

[NotCitrus]

Depends what time you get home and also how mucky your child gets - one who comes home covered in glue, paint and yogurt and bolognese most days, you'd want to change! Though mine prefer changing into pyjamas rather than day clothes.

My ds had 3x sweatshirts and polos and trousers, then home clothes - say 3 long sleeved tops, 1 nice shirt, 3 T-shirts, 2-3 pairs trousers that he wore, couple jumpers/fleeces. Coat and raincoat and wellies, pants and socks. Some extras for growing into or that got ignored. Sandals, swimsuit.

Dd has more clothes as we still get hand-me-downs, but she refuses to wear dresses, skirts, leggings or any 'girly' tops so the active wardrobe is similar as for ds. Only will have to buy more uniform for full time school as she is a muck magnet!

[BathshebaDarkstone]

Mine never change when they come home, they have 2 home outfits each, apart from what my mum buys, she goes a bit crazy!

[TooTweeOrNotTooTwee]

I was wondering about exactly the same thing so glad you started this thread OP.

DD's wardrobe is completely full so her school uniform isn't even in it yet. I think I'll put all the summer clothes in the attic at some point and then have uniform and winter clothes in the wardrobe from September. I have slowed down (!) my non-school clothes buying...

[Believeitornot]

I think for ds he has a few pairs of trousers and shorts plus 3-4 t shirts and jumpers.
It's only a pain when we go on holiday and need a few more things!
School holidays I wash more

[mrz]

Mine changed out of uniform as soon as they got home and judging from encounters in the supermarket so do the children in my class.

It really depends on what your children do after school and how talented they are at finding dirt ...mine were experts!

[user789653241]

My ds never changes after school unless he got wet/dirty some how.

He only wears few of his favorite non uniform clothes, so he doesn't have many. And most of his clothes goes too small in his drawer/wardrobe without being worn.

[Ginmummy1]

I had a plan that DD would always get changed straight after school (unless going straight to a class) so as to preserve her clean school uniform. However, my normally good-humoured daughter was clearly tired after school, and it was such a battle to get her changed that we quickly gave up doing this. In any case, her school uniform was usually dirty so it created less laundry to leave it on her all day.

If your DD does want to get changed, I'd agree with the others that she can wear the same after-school clothes for a couple of days.

I'd agree with others that you can definitely trim down her wardrobe. Ditto cheeseandcrackers' comment about unused winter jumpers!

If you want to have a reduced wardrobe, you might want to take your DD with you when you go clothes shopping. That way she has a say in what she wears and is more likely to wear all the clothes she has.

[TinyGargona]

Thank you for your responses everyone this is really helpful! I'm feeling encouraged to go for a clear out

My DD sounds similar to your DC Not Citrus because at this age she is all about wearing comfortable stuff/no clothes at home in the evenings. I can see her wanting to change into pyjamas etc after school more than anything else.

I should also have said I work PT outside of home so she'll be going to her CM most days after school (till 6pm). Now I am thinking I will put a spare comfortable daytime outfit but also some pyjama sets to change into, into her CM bag. I don't bath her every night now so theoretically she could wear same PJs into bed as she usually fairly clean at CM pick up. Tho I wonder if DD might get more mucky at school when she is fending for herself over the day a bit more?

We have an excess of clothes currently because we are still lucky enough to be passed on hand me downs and I haven't got round to a big sort out. So I think I'll try what you said Twee and:
put away next year's summer stuff to grow into (but a thinned out version of the current bag), then pass on/charity shop/bin this summer's stuff, leaving in drawers 'only' school uniform + colder weather home clothes (heavily edited).

DD loves trying on her uniform atm so I'm just hoping that the feeling will last when I'm rushing her into it for real in the mornings.

[redskytonight]

My DC have about 6 home outfits. They very rarely change out of school uniforms after school, so we could get by with fewer apart from they seem to get through clothes at a rate of knots during the holidays!

[NotCitrus]

I've not known a childminder to bother getting children changed, but probably an idea for the CM to have a change of clothes for any circumstance anyway.

[noramum]

DD loves dresses so we have a decent selection during the year for her. Plus 2-3 trousers and tops, in Summer shorts and short sleeve T-shirts join in. I found covering Easter and Summer holidays difficult if we are not in a hot country. When DD goes to holiday camps her "uniform" is T-shirt and leggings, takes up no space in the wardrobe.

She goes to a childminder but none of the children change unless they go after that to a sports club. And I never saw anyone in a pyjama. Our CM tries to kick them out into the garden to let up steam for most of the time unless the weather is really bad so a second outfit would just create more washing. More than once I get DD back with dirt on her cardigan and skirt. In Reception I could guess her lunch choice each day by the look at the stains.

[onemouseplace]

DD had far too many out of school clothes during Reception and Yr1 as I hadn't appreciated how few she would need (and I used to stock up in advance in the sales). Neither of my children change when they get back from school.

The right amount would probably have been about 4-5 home outfits, with probably a few more dresses for the summer holidays. And I've found getting things that you can layer up really useful - so a dress with a long sleeved top underneath and a cardi on top for winter, which can then be worn in spring with the cardigan and then in summer on it's own.

DD is about to start Yr 2 and we are only just coming out of the excess clothes rut now I'm buying more carefully!

[SisterViktorine]

On a separate note- wardrobes are a massively inefficient way to store clothes. Could you put a couple of big plastic boxes under the rail and just keep school clothes folded up in those?

All DSs uniform fits in his under-bed drawer. If you get the non-iron stuff it's fine folded up.

[uhoh1973]

I store all the out of season clothes in a cupboard / attic e.g. coats, ski suits, jumpers etc as these take up tons of space.

[smellyboot]

Mine go to stuff after school like sports or after school club. They never ever change into normal clothes in the week. I have too many clothes as I get hand me downs and bought stuff cheap in sales previously. Now I realise they do only need 3-4 outfits really. They go to a lot of parties but they tend to be sport / activity based so they never really need smart clothes.
In summer they wear very cheap shorts and shirts that they can ruin.

[smellyboot]

In winter mine have one best cardigan/hoody or fleece and one they can trash. Any more sit unused in wardrobe

[leccybill]

Leave a bit of wardrobe space for any activities she might want to join. In R/Y1, my DD did swimming, Rainbows, dance and gymnastics- which all come with different kit!
Shoes-wise - I find I get by with just school shoes plus boots in winter, sandals in summer, and an all year round pair of trainers which can go through the wash.

Buy your school tights now because they'll sell out come November. Size up because they shrink! DD wears 7-8 even though she's the smallest kid in Y1.

[leccybill]

Oh, maybe have a school summer dress to hand - lots of girls go back wearing them if it's warm in September. She might outgrow it by next summer but they're only about £3 in Asda.

[georgetteheyersbonnet]

This is a really useful thread! At the moment I buy far too many clothes for nearly 4yo DD (I stock up in sales in advance, and buy bnwt bargains on ebay, so they are not massively expensive, but every season there are definitely unworn/not much worn clothes left over.) I know buy too much, but tbh I put loads of weight on after having DD and compensate by buying her lots of clothes now I can't buy nice ones for myself :( (plus they're a lot cheaper than adult clothes....)

I've already got some things stashed for up to 5-6yrs. It honestly had not occurred to me (duh) that they need far fewer things once they are in uniform most of the time. I guess I was still working on the assumption that they go through as many clothes as before (and DD is a super-messy child so can go through a fair few outfits in a day, especially at nursery when doing anything creative....) She has tons of "nursery clothes" (handmedowns, cheap supermarket basics) and a variety of other non-nursery stuff as well....

Plus my family often buy her things, especially party dresses, which adds even more...Honestly, when I was a small child (late 70s/early 80s) I only remember having a few clothes, and maybe one "best" dress a year. When DD was 18-24months I remember I counted one day and she had 10 "best" party dresses. 10! They were a mixture of lots of family gifts, handmedowns, and one or two I'd bought in the Gap sale, but still, that is ridiculous for a toddler Of course, clothes have become much cheaper now than in the 70s (globalisation, deflation etc.), but the excess of it all rather appalled me. And I hardly ever put DD in a nice dress because she was such a messy (BLW) baby....

So I'm glad to know that they need far fewer clothes once they're at school! Plus extremely relieved for my wallet Though, what do people do about choosing them? Do you just have one default shop you normally go to and get a mix and match capsule wardrobe at the start of the season? Or do you scan all what's on offer in different stores and buy stuff as you see something you like? Currently I tend to know what items are best in different shops and go to H&M for leggings, M&S for pants, JL for dresses, Boots for tights and so on, but once they need fewer clothes that would be a bit hit and miss and time-consuming. Wondering if people normally have a preferred shop and then just hit eg. Next or H&M twice a year and get everything to match?

[redskytonight]

I seem to remember the DC wearing a lot of supermarket clothes at that age. Or ones from shops that we pass frequently. Certainly it was very much a case of picking something up when we were there anyway (though I hate shopping, so this may have had nothing to do with the age).

The sizes get further apart so one size fits for longer ( until they hit puberty and grow out of everything in 2 minutes again ). So I found hand-me-downs/second hand stuff was more limited as the first-hand child was more likely to wear out the clothes.

Your child (if they don't already) is likely to be more definite about their own tastes as well. They may refuse to wear half the clothes you have lovingly stockpiled. Shortly after starting Reception DD refused to wear trousers (by age 9 she was refusing to wear skirts/dresses).

[onemouseplace]

Agree with redsky - they tend to go through sizes more slowly, so for me it's a case of having a look through her clothes a couple of times a year when the seasons change to see what is needed depending on what she has outgrown - for example DD didn't need any new shorts/ cropped jeans/ leggings this summer, but she did need new tops for some reason so I got some at the start of the season.

I don't buy everything to match so to speak, but I do tend to buy things in similar colours so things will go together. Then I'll buy more colourful dresses etc for summer.