Back To School Clothing Inventory

The end of summer is a great time to declutter your children’s closets as they prepare to go back to school.  Why not make a game out of identifying what to discard, what to keep, what to repair and what to replace? 

Items needed:

• Safety pins
• Printed Fix-It and Match-Me Tickets
• Printed Back to School Clothing Inventory Table
• Box for discarded items
• Basket for items needing repair
• Bag for items needing to be matched with something else to make them wearable

Have your children try on all their clothing. Once they have modeled an item and a decision has been made, they can put the item in the discard bag, put it back in their closet/drawer or label with the appropriate ticket. The “Fix It” ticket can be filled out describing the needed repair, pinned to the item and placed in the designated basket.  The “Match Me” ticket could be placed on any item needing to be matched with something else to make a wearable outfit, then placed in a bag to take with you to ensure a proper match when shopping.  As you take inventory, it might be helpful to chart what they have and what will need to be replaced now or later on the printable clothing inventory table. The list could be used when shopping to help you avoid overbuying or forgetting needed items.

This article was written by Marilyn Albertson – USU Extension Associate Professor- Family and Consumer Sciences, Salt Lake County.