Creating a Newborn’s Minimalist Wardrobe
After switching our older boys and myself to minimalist/capsules wardrobes over the last eighteen months or so, I know that having a smaller wardrobe for BabyT4 is something that I want to try. But I wasn’t sure how it would work with a newborn who is probably going to need a couple of outfit changes each day, if not because of a diaper explosion, then because of spit-up. So, I talked to some older and wiser mommas than I and was given these tips for using a minimalist wardrobe with a newborn.
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Things to Consider as You Create a Minimalist Wardrobe for Your Newborn
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How often will you wash laundry?
Just like when you were creating your capsule wardrobe for your older children, you will want to decide how often you will be washing clothes. If you are cloth diapering, you are probably going to be doing laundry a lot already, so it might not seem like that big of a deal. And if your older littles are already using this concept, then you will need to stay on top of laundry for them anyways and can just throw in those adorable newborn sleepers with all the other clothing.
The more you are going to do the laundry, the less items you will need for your newborn’s minimalist wardrobe.
Tip: Before baby arrives, teach your oldest child how to start the washing machine and dryer. This will give you peace of mind that the laundry will be done, build your child’s self-confidence, and teach your child valuable life skills. {Even a five or six-year-old can learn to start the laundry.}
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If you are going to have a color scheme, choose that now.
Color schemes make it easy to make new outfits, but I personally don’t really use one for my babies. For the first six months they are usually in sleepers and one-piece outfits, but after that I can see where it could come into use.
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Make a list of what you will need for your newborn’s minimalist wardrobe.
Because I know we will be washing at least every other day, I’m pretty sure we will be able to get away with a lot less than some of you who only wash once or twice a week.
What you will need:
*sleepers
*one-piece outfits
*receiving blankets/swaddle blankets
What you may want:
*two-piece outfits
*socks
*hats
*shoes
*cloth diapers- below you will find a link for my favorite place to get cloth diapers and the needed supplies.
Tip: If you are going to use cloth diapers, check out local mom groups to see if you can meet up and borrow/learn about the different kinds of diapers. Or see if there is a live class in your area. Online classes and articles are great, but there is something about getting your hands on the different kinds and trying them out that makes a big difference on what you think you might like versus what you KNOW you like. Sweet Bottoms Baby Boutique also has packages that come with several different types of diapers so you can try them out. {link above}
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Head to the local consignment and resale shops to grab those needed items for you newborn’s minimalist wardrobe.
Consignment shops and resale shops are awesome places to get those items on your list, especially if one of your reasons for creating a minimalist wardrobe is to save money. Just be picky about what you get. Look for good quality items without stains or pilling. Just because something is $1.50 doesn’t mean that it will actually be a great deal for you in the long run. 😊
Tip: Consider opening an account at local consignment/resale shops. That way you could possibly get some money back on items as baby grows out of them, or as you find things that you don’t really like. Once you get things going on your account, you might even have a running balance of money so that you don’t need to pay for new items that you need. Look into it!
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Ask for other things that you need.
Instead of clothes for your baby, unless there are still things on your list that you need, think about asking for: diapers- cloth or disposable, money for a professional doula to support you during pregnancy, labor, and the first weeks postpartum, toys/books, gift certificates for housecleaning or a massage, a professional postpartum doula, or breastfeeding supplies.
Bonus tip: Some HSA accounts can be used to cover birth and postpartum doula services. If you are interested in getting professional support in your new life as a momma, check into what your HSA will cover. A few insurance companies also cover doula services, so I recommend also checking with your health insurance provider.
As your baby grows, keep a list of the clothing that you already have in the next size and what you will need. You can also check out this post for more tips on changing sizes and seasons when you have a minimalist/capsule wardrobe.
What We Have:
Preemie {because my babies are early and usually little}:
*5 sleepers
*3 gowns
*4 onesies with a matching pant
*3 long sleeve onesies
*6 hats
*5 receiving blankets
Newborn:
*10 sleepers
*5 gowns
*4 2 piece outfits
*10 onesies
I’m sure we will also be getting some new things from family and friends. I’ll try to update you all later on how this worked for us and if I would do it again.
You May Also Like:
Changing Sizes and Seasons with a Minimalist Wardrobe
Love this idea! We inadvertently do a capsule wardrobe for our newborn size clothes since we don’t find out gender. With Baby A he grew out of 0-3 months so quickly his ended up capsule-ish and it is actually so nice to have a handful of clothes you love vs a closet full that are just cute because they are baby clothes. I’m planning to go through V’s massive amounts of baby clothes and donate anything I don’t love to our local crisis pregnancy center.
How do you know if your HSA covers doulas? We don’t currently have one but it is an option so I’d love to know ahead of time if it would be a good idea to use one next time around (an HSA, we definitely want a doula).
Donating those extra clothes to the local crisis pregnancy care center is a great idea when making your newborns capsule wardrobe!! I’m sure they so appreciate the donation!
As far as knowing if your HSA covers doula services, you would just have to call. I’m needing to get that on my list for the next couple of weeks, because it would make things so much easier for me, if I could just pay our doula with the HSA. 🙂
I will have to save this and refer to it for the next baby because man this daughter of mine has so many stuff that I barely even used because duh they do grow up so fast, I used to think that was an exaggeration lol
Yeah, that’s one of the reasons that I started looking into a minimalist wardrobe for newborns, because when I would get out the next size there were sooooo many things that still had tags on them, and that I had totally forgotten about!
This is awesome! I’m a “seasoned” mom and this is pretty much what we have always had for our babies. if just makes life easier! Your photos are beautiful, btw!
I’m looking forward to that easier part!! 😉 Thanks, for the compliment on the photos…they don’t always turn out how I want, but they are definitely improving!
I hadn’t heard the term capsule wardrobe before but I’m intrigued! We are in serious downsizing/minimalizing mode here. Feels good to simplify!
I honestly haven’t found a lot on capsule wardrobes for newborns, so I’m excited to see how this works for us! I love getting rid of things though, and purging while pregnant feels soooo good. 🙂
I am such a minimalist! This is a great list I wish I had when my Little’s were neeborns!
This is such a great idea. It’s insane how many clothes my newborn had and didn’t even wear! If/when there’s a #2, I definitely want to do something like this.
Gosh, I love minimalism and have been wanting so badly to do a capsule wardrobe. I’d love to do one for my kids as well, it just seems so intimidating sometimes! These are great tips regardless of whether you do a capsule wardrobe or not!
I’ll let you know how it goes!!! I love it for myself and the older boys, so I’m thinking it will be the same for the baby too. 🙂
I love this concept. We have SO many baby clothes, and honestly I do our laundry so frequently, that they aren’t needed at all. I would much rather donate or sell the ones I am indifferent about, and create a wardrobe that I love. Would you do a separate one for boys and girls at this age? Or Keep it gender neutral?
Hi Hannah, that is a great question about whether I would make it gender neutral or specific! I have only been blessed with boys so far, and their wardrobes are all boy for sure! I know if we are ever given a girl I will go all out on the girliness, so for me, I would make our newborn’s minimalist wardrobe gender specific. But I can definitely see how gender neutral could be appealing.
I learned early on with my kiddos that we did not need half as much as I thought we did. Being a minimalist certainly helps keeping the clothing down. I love the capsule idea, too.
How did this capsule wardrobe work out in practice? Did you have to make changes in the number of certain types of clothing? Also, how did you adjust it with size changes as Baby4 grew?
It worked out beautifully!! I didn’t get anymore items for any category and never felt like there wasn’t enough, but like I said, I wash laundry quite often, so maybe if you didn’t wash that often, it would need to be adjusted. I kept it pretty similar to this, just changing out some of the sleepers for more “clothes” around six months.