The best way to store baby clothes

Last modified on Thursday 31 March 2022

Advertisement Promotion

Your baby may be teeny tiny, but they have a LOT of clothes. So working out how to organise their wardrobe – or where to store their old babygrows, pyjamas and everyday outfits in preparation for your next baby – can be tricky.

Especially if you have limited space, or if you’re planning on packing everything away for a year or more until you expand your family.

We’ve got loads of baby clothes storage ideas, including top tips for your baby closet organisation and how to fold baby clothes. (Yep, there IS a genius hack for that!)

Washing your baby clothes

To keep your baby clothes in the best possible condition, it’s a good idea to wash them before storing them away. This means you won’t be left with any stains which, after months in storage, are definitely not shifting.

If the baby clothes have been in drawers for a while, you should also wash them after unpacking to make sure there’s no dust or anything else that could irritate your baby’s delicate skin. And the same is true if the clothes are brand new – you should always wash baby clothes before use.

Here's our ultimate guide to washing baby clothes . And don't worry if you’re pushed for time: here’s a speed-read version ...

Divide up your baby clothes ... The first step is separating your baby’s clothes: lights in one pile, darks in another. That way you’ll keep your whites bright without a hint of grey in sight. Hurrah!

If anything has had contact with poo or sick, put this in another pile as it will need to be washed at a higher temperature before storing.

Check the care labels ... Some baby clothes are treated with special flame-resistant chemicals. Fabric softener can make this less effective, so always check before you add any to your wash.

Pick the right detergent ... Your baby’s skin is incredibly delicate, meaning you want to pick a laundry detergent that leaves their clothes soft and comfy.

Fairy Non Bio Sensitive Skin Dream Team is a favourite among our Netmums community (and we love it too!). Fairy Non Bio PODS® give clothes a gentle clean while Fairy Fabric Softener leaves everything huggably soft.

The whole Fairy Non Bio range has been voted the number one laundry brand for sensitive skin* making it a laundry must-have.

Dry clothes properly ... You want all the clothes you’re storing to be bone dry. Any dampness means mould is likely to grow, eww.

It’s up to you how you dry them. Just be sure to avoid the hottest setting on your tumble dryer to avoid shrinking your baby clothes. Check out even more tips for drying baby clothes quickly .

*Online panel of 3,433 women among which Fairy Non Bio detergent/softener was voted most often as the #1 detergent and fabric softener for sensitive skin.

All washed and ready? Then here are eight easy ways to organise baby clothes.

1. Find somewhere dry

You’ve made sure your baby clothes are clean and dry. To make sure they stay good as new (even if they’re packed away for a year or two), you’ll also want to store them somewhere damp-free.

Putting them up in the loft, if you have one, is ideal. Avoid anywhere that gets super cold, so no sheds or garages.

2. Get creative with your space

No loft? No problem. If you’re storing your baby clothes in preparation for another baby, think about any unused spaces in your home. Under beds and at the bottom of wardrobes are ideal for storage.

If you’re really pushed for space (just us?!) think about having a good declutter first. That should free up space for storing baby clothes. Check out these genius decluttering tips to get you started.

3. Sort and organise your baby's clothes

To make life easier later on, give the clothes a good sort through before packing them away. If you're really low on space, choose your favourite bits and pieces to keep and work out which ones you can get rid of.

Charity shops and local selling pages are a great way to pass on anything you don't want, or if there's no real wear left in them, there are lots of charities that accept scrap fabric donations.

Next up, sort your baby's clothes by size. That way, if you have another baby, you can simply grab the correct size boxes as they grow. A good tip is to organise the clothes into boxes for different sizes by age: 0-3 months, 3-6 months, 6-9 months and 9-12 months.

You might also want to sort by the type of clothing, for example babygrows in one box, outfits in another.

Oh, and don't forget to label all the boxes or bags clearly so you don't have to rummage for ages to find what you need!

4. Fold or roll

Okay, so chucking everything into bags is definitely the quickest way to store baby clothes. But it’s not going to save you any space. (Sorry!)

Instead, knowing how to fold baby clothes will not only keep them as crease-free as possible, it will also mean they take up less space. Getting the fold right can free up a surprising amount of space in boxes, bags and dresser drawers! We love this space-saving TikTok hack for rolling babygrows.

5. Use vacuum storage bags

If you don’t need the baby clothes for a while, a great space-saving trick is popping them in vacuum storage bags. These basically let you suck the air out of the bags, flattening the clothes inside as much as possible.

They’re a great storage solution if you have lots of baby clothes that you want to keep but have no drawer or closet space left.

6. Choose multi-purpose storage

When you have a baby, friends and family love to pass on their old baby clothes. Which is really kind, but can leave you short on space.

Canvas boxes are a great way to store the clothes ready for your newborn to grow into. Simply pop the boxes on the floor in their room and, when you need each age-range of clothes, move them into their drawers or wardrobe. You can then use the canvas box for toy storage instead.

7. Max out your wardrobe space

Spending hours googling ‘baby closet organisation’? (Yep, us too!) Even if your baby’s wardrobe looks fit to bursting, there are easy ways to free up more storage space. Look for stackable wardrobe drawers, baby wardrobe dividers and multi hangers.

They’re all great ways to store the next age range of baby clothes for your little one, ready for their next growth spurt.

8. Don't forget to re-wash!

Ready to unpack your baby clothes? Before dressing your baby in them, don’t forget to wash everything with Fairy Non Bio PODS ® and Fairy Fabric Softener .

Huggable softness guaranteed. Awww.

More top baby clothes storage tips

We've scoured the Netmums forum to bring you these top real-life tips from other mums and dads:

'Get rid of things like sleepsuits & vests if your short of space as these are the cheapest things to replace, but keep all the proper outfits in these bags & you'll reduce the space quite a lot but still get to keep all the nice things.'

'The vacuum bags are great, can be a bit expensive to buy loads in one hit but they really do keep it all compact and neat.'

'Anything with a mark/stain or thin knees will go. If it's well worn but still has life I'll pop it up to the local charity shop/collection for the women's shelter near me. Otherwise it gets kept.'

'We have kept everything, it is all in bin bags/boxes in the loft.  When we know if number 2 is a boy or girl we will sort out what we want to keep and send everything else to the charity shop.'

'My friends joke I'm the hoarder next door 'cause I can't part with anything yet I have one of the most minimal houses. It's all just well packed in the loft, shed and under the stairs.'

'I've got all our newborn stuff vacuum packed in the loft. This way it takes up far less room and keeps dry. I would keep most of the stuff for babies under 6 months. Once they are weaned their clothes get properly ruined and stained by food (always the banana) and there is hardly anything good enough to keep!'

Looking for more parenting hacks? Check out our articles below or swap ideas with other parents in our forum.

Related stories

How to get baby food stains out of clothes

CHAT: Clothes storage

How to hand wash baby clothes