We have arrived at the point where two large boxes are no longer enough to store our off-season or upcoming-sized clothes for the boys.  Not that they ever were enough, really…  Allow me to explain:  We've recently begun spring cleaning, and sifting and sorting through all the various sweaters, jackets and other "too big" or "time to pass along" clothing has given me grounds for reflection on The Beginning, that is, when we first discovered we were pregnant with twins, and how we began preparing for their arrival, in terms of layette*.

I knew we would need a few sleepers and things, and also figured it might be useful to have some items in sizes larger than newborn, so we wouldn't have to run out and buy clothes right away after the boys' arrival.  So I bought two nice, new, shiny plastic bins at Home Depot, and proudly labelled them "newborn" and "3-6 months".  Shortly after putting out the call to friends, colleagues and neighbours that we were collecting hand-me-downs for the impending arrival of our babies, the donations began to pour in, and I realised that we might benefit from a few more bins.  Back to Home Depot I waddled, this time emerging with three more bins, enough to get us through at least the first year in clothes, I figured.  Ha!

After arriving back home, I labelled my new bins smugly:  "6-12 months", "one year +", and another "newborn", as we seemed to be getting a lot of donations in that size.  Wasn't I clever to be so organized, I thought. 

I soon discovered that the size on the label on an article of clothing didn't necessarily match the actual size of a would-be baby, and so I called on my friend Carole, who had two children and was therefore clearly an expert in such matters, to come and assist me with the sorting process.  Carole was only too pleased to comply with my request, as she had recently cleaned out her garage, and had "a few things" to bring me.  Could we please pick her up, she requested, as it was maybe a bit too much to carry on the streetcar.  My husband obligingly drove over to get her, and when they arrived at the door,carting box after box and bag upon bag of baby clothes into our living room, I began to see that my meagre five bins were nowhere near enoughto house all thevarious clothes Iwould be "needing" for two babies.  I resigned myself to an evening ofsorting with Carole; each item was unfolded, assessed for size, and then assigned a bin: newborn, 3-6, 6-12, one year +, or "No Thanks".  Four hours later, we had re-lived every trendy moment in my friend's sons' lives, as well as a few fashion speculations based on other people's donations.  The result?  TEN neatly labelled bins of clothing, plus two large garbage bags to return to Carole's garage.

With my precious bins painstakingly arranged in the closet, save a few choice items laid out in the basket on our change/bath “station” (formerly known as our dining room table!), I felt well prepared to take on the challenge of clothing two little babies.  Not until they were born a month later did my husband and I realise that one outfit per day was not enough, that socks were optional, that onesies with multiple snaps didn't work for my dexterously un-gifted husband, and that you can never have too many bibs and receiving blankets for multiple colicky, barfy babies.  We also found that we were using the same few easy-to-manage outfits every day, and then doing laundry nightly so that we could use them again the following day.  In other words, 80% of my neatly sorted newborn outfits never saw the light of day, and were passed on to the next family in need without so much as a single spit up from either of our boys!

Once we got the hang of the "quality over quantity" idea with the clothes, we adjusted our closet organization accordingly.  Upon finishing one sizing stage, we immediately sold or passed on our no-longer-needed clothing, and picked out a few choice items from the next sized bin before passing along the remaining contents and reallocating the now-empty bin to a future size ("12-18 months", "winter", "2T", etc.)   We also found that as the boys grew, the donations slimmed, and we began to be left to our own devices when it came to outfitting our children.  (It was around this time that my Gymboree fetish began, much to the chagrin of my frugal husband!)

Now as I prepare for the "Summer of Size Three" (courtesy of two Gymboree trips and the TPOMBA clothing sale), I try in vain to stuff the winter coats—bought a size too large on purpose so we could get two years out of them—into the allotted "winter" bin.  As my babies pass the tail-end of the toddler stage and establish themselves firmly as preschoolers, I realise that the bin system may be passing its period of usefulness, that that we may actually have to eventually clear some space in the closet for these big boys' clothes!

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*Layette refers to the sleepers, sheets, blankets and other "cloth stuff" a baby needs.  Many commercial "suggested layette" lists are available online or from various manufacturers.  CLICK HERE for a Word doc created from personal experience as well as feedback from some of my prenatal clients.  This layette list is twins specific, and assumes a nightly laundry schedule (if you do laundry less frequently, you will need more of some items).  Remember that layette comprises only a small part of the many items you will need for two or more babies.

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