{Free Printables} Minimalist Back to School Clothes Checklist for Middle School Girls

Our free printable minimalist back to school clothes checklist is perfectly timed for our little ones trotting off to school again this fall.  Here’s how to go minimalist with back to school clothes and make it quick and easy.
The process of going minimalist with your children’s back to school clothes is fast: make a checklist, purge extra clothes, sort the decluttered items, then set up redundancy.  Let’s go through the process together step-by-step.

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How to Go Minimalist with Back to School Clothes

Going minimalist in your child’s closet may be one of your easier decluttering jobs if you get them on board with the process of living a simple uncluttered life. This is especially true during back to school season, when our temptation may be to hit all the department stores’ back to school sales and stock up on clothing pieces our kids may not even need or wear!
Step 1: Make a minimalist back to school clothing checklist.
You can use our free printable Minimalist Back to School Clothes Checklist for Middle School Girls if you don’t want to make your own clothing plan.  Click the pictures below to print the checklist or download the pdf checklist.

Minimalist Back to School Clothes Checklist for Middle School Girls

 
You can use our free printable checklist or make your own clothing plan specific to your school and child’s needs.  Write down your requirements for fall and winter clothes. Remember to include uniforms.  For middle school-aged girls, our minimalist back to school clothing checklist for fall and winter has these items:

Shirts

• 6 long sleeved shirts (patterns and designs are okay)
• 1 white layering tank top
• 3 short sleeved shirts for layering: 1 black, 1 white, 1 color which complements most of the long sleeve tops

Layers

• 1 sweater
• 1 cardigan (black or heather grey)
• 1 hoodie sweatshirt
• 1 light jacket (for Fall)
• 1 heavy coat (for Winter)

Pants

• 2 light blue jeans
• 2 dark wash jeans
• 1 black leggings
• 1 black pants
• 1 yoga/workout pants

Foundations

• 3 bras: 1 white or nude, 1 black, and 1 sports bra
• 10 pairs of underwear
• 12 pairs of socks: 5 white, 2 black, 5 colored or patterned (all matching)

Extras

• 1 solid colored skirt
• 1 dress
• 1 set of pajamas with pants
• 1 set of pajamas with shorts or a nightshirt

A minimalist clothing plan like this would end your daughter up with 26 pieces of clothing, not counting foundations, undergarments and socks.  Of course, you can customize the back to school clothes checklist as needed (for example, maybe your tween doesn’t need a sports bra yet, or maybe she wears bandeaus for layering).
Step 2: Purge the existing clothes in your child’s closet until they match your minimalist clothing checklist.
Take everything out of the closet. Put in clothing items as you check them off on the minimalist back to school clothing checklist. Next, take all the extra clothes out of the bedroom into a larger area like a living room or garage for sorting.
Step 3: Sort the decluttered items.
Using a general decluttering system, you’ll sort the rejected clothing items into groups: sell, donate, trash, or a special category: “back ups to keep in case of wear-out”.
We mothers know that kids tend to wear out their clothes when they play hard, and this will be even more noticeable when we cut down the number of items in wardrobe rotation.  More wear and more washings equal more worn out, stained and ripped clothing.
Keep your backups in a covered storage container in a garage or basement and clearly label the box as “Clothing Backups” with the child’s name, season, and size of clothing inside.
Step 4: Set up redundancy.
Make sure you have at least 12 pairs of socks, and make sure 5 pairs are plain white and that they are all the exact same sock. The 5 pairs of colored or patterned socks need to be the exact same socks. Yes, you have to buy 5 identical pairs.  When holes, stains, or lost socks happen, the remainders will still match up with no wasted loners!
There you have it: A quick and easy minimalist back to school clothing checklist to keep your kids looking spiffy, your frugal budget intact, and your closets under control.  Have a great school year!
We originally published Minimalist Back to School Clothes Checklist for Middle School Girls by Danelle Ice on Home Ever After on August 21, 2011.