How to have an all-season wardrobe for your children (and never do the dreaded "clothes-switch" again!)

Yes, you read that right.   I have 7 children and it has been years since I did that awful task of switching out the out-of-season clothes for the in-season (and no, I don't live in Florida.  We have all four seasons here).  I have learned to simplify my children's wardrobes to be  appropriate all year round.   Not only does this eliminate the need for that terrible chore, it makes laundry so much easier, frees up storage space, and just makes life feel so much simpler.

Here are the types of clothing I buy for my children.

The boys:

T-shirts.  Simple short-sleeve t-shirts can be worn all year round, day and night.

Polo shirts.  Short sleeve polo shirts do well all year too.  Do we really need long sleeves if we're going to be donning a pull-over, jacket, or coat anyway?  Nah.

Jeans.  Yes, long jeans do get hot in the summer, but truthfully my children have never complained.  Some people don't even wear shorts as a modesty standard and they live.  If they get holes, cut-off jeans make great summer play clothes (and those are usually ready for the trash by winter anyway, so no need to put them in storage when temperatures drop.  There will probably be plenty more by next year.

Soft shorts.  Like basketball shorts.  These are great with t-shirts in the summer and make perfect sleeping clothes all year long.  My children don't even have pajamas.  My boys sleep in t-shirts and soft shorts.

 The girls:

Dresses.  I don't buy dresses that are intended only for fall or winter.  I try to buy simple cotton dress that do well all year round.  In the summer, the dress alone is enough.  In the winter, soft legging pants underneath look super cute.  If the dress is sleeveless, a simple t-shirt underneath is adorable.

Legging pants.  Perfect under dresses when the weather is chilly and also great to sleep in with t-shirts all year.

T-shirts.  Most of my girls' t-shirts are plain, solid colors to wear under dresses, but they do have a few they wear for sleeping or play clothes.

Nightgowns.  I do have nightgowns for my girls.  I just think they're adorable so I can't resist.



That is it!  They also wear regular tennis shoes all year round, as well as sandals in the summer.  And of course, when it's cold, they have fleece pull-overs and if it's really cold, a bigger coat to go on top of that.  They have one pull-over and coat apiece, so we keep that very simple as well.

It is such a relief not to have to deal with summer and winter clothes.  Everything is already out and at the ready, no matter what the temperature.  I'm not a fan of long sleeves or sweaters anyway, so it is not a great sacrifice for us.  This works for me and makes life so much easier!  The Great Clothes Switch?  I don't have time for that!

What if children were worth a million dollars?

I have seven children, all under the age of 11.  At home, I feel indescribably happy and blessed, and yet, well, normal.  When I go out in public, I am suddenly reminded of just how abnormal I am in this day and age.  People look at me like I have seven heads rather than seven children.  Yes, some people are nice and some people are just amazed.  But many, I will dare to say most, people make it very clear:  children are NOT valued in our culture.  On the contrary, they are seen as burdens and bothers.

Recently as my little parade was going up and down the aisles of the grocery store, I was taking in each face around me as we went past.  I was wondering what their faces would look like if instead of children, I was surrounded by things of great value:  nice clothes, an expensive handbag, precious jewelry, the keys to a luxury sports car in the parking lot to drive me home to my fabulous well-staffed mansion?  What if even they themselves were stacks of money equalling to millions of dollars?  Would they look down on me then?  Would they feel sorry for me or think me irresponsible or crazy?

The problem here is that society has everything backward.  They think children are something we need wealth to afford.  Children drain the wealth that we have.  Children are of so little value that thousands are killed every DAY.  The view that we are blessed if we can afford children is completely opposite of the biblical view that children ARE blessing.  Children don't drain our wealth, children ARE our wealth!  Don't believe me?  Read the Old Testament.  In the Old Testament, offspring was the highest form of blessing God bestowed on the nations He blessed.  They were greatly desired and valued because they were the future.  The people had a generational, long-term view of offspring that we rarely think about these days.  All we think of now is ourselves and the here-and-now.

What if my children were worth a million dollars?  How would people look at me then?  Well, guess what.  They ARE worth FAR more than a million dollars.  They are worth more than any price tag you could put on them.  They are priceless.  They are people, precious eternal souls, the only thing in the world that matters.  They are future adults, spouses, parents, grandparents.  They are brothers, sisters, friends.  How can any material thing be worth more than that?

I remember once I heard Jim Bob Duggar say each of his children were worth more than a trillion dollars and he felt like the richest man in the world.

I couldn't agree more.