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Thursday, March 24, 2011

Project Simplify: Kids Clothes and Toys


On Monday Eli and I rearranged pretty much the whole house. We moved the couch out of our room and into the kids' room where we will actually use it. To make room for that we moved the crib into a little alcove in our room. It looks adorable as a little nursery! Well, the office was in that spot so we had to find a new place for that...etc...etc... Because of the rearrangement I had to re-situate Esther's clothes. Just before I sat down to find out this week's hot spot on Simple Mom, I told Eli that organizing the kids' clothes would be on my to do list this week. How convenient to then find out that the official Hot Spot #3 is children's clothes and toys! I eagerly read Simple Mom's suggestions and tips on how to manage this troublesome area.

So Tuesday morning I dumped every stitch of their current clothes that I could find on the floor in my room.

Children's clothes are a challenge to stay on top of. Seasons change before I know it and the little munchkins just keep on growing! They crawl around on the floor and put holes in their jeans, they spill food, they play in the dirt... I already work hard to keep up with their changing wardrobe and their changing needs, so mostly I just refolded and put things back into place. But there were a few items to sort out and some to pass down.

Too big.
Too small.
Esther's too small.
To go OUT.
An example of the finished look.
The kids' clothes are in one half of an oversized closet in their room. The dresser and everything hides nicely when the door is closed. Clothes ready to be handed down stack on top of the dresser and their church clothes hang on a mini closet rod hung across the depth instead of the width of the closet. Yes, I realize that I have enough dresses to keep an army of little girls clothed for a month of Sundays. I have gone through them. Repeatedly. Really! They're just so cute! If only my daughters would stop growing...

Well, I was on a roll, so I put Esther down for her nap in my room and we tackled the toys next. It's amazing how many will accumulate after 3 baby showers, 4 Christmases, and 9 birthdays!

Who says organizing is drudgery?
I do sort toys regularly so there were only a few old or broken toys to get rid of. Mostly they just play with Duplos so I try not to have too many other little sets of building toys. I couldn't really get a picture of the after effect because everything just looked put away. The building toys are under the bunk bed, the toy dishes and larger sized cars are on shelves, and there's a small set of drawers in the closet with toy animals, army men, and matchbox cars. The stuffed animals go in a funky mesh sorter thing I found at IKEA for quite cheap. When Lucy settled down on the couch for her quiet time after we were done, she said, "Mom, our room looks so nice and clean!"

Really, there's a part of my that wants to toss it all and just let the kiddos play with the Five Best Toys of All Time.

1 comment:

  1. Very nice! And I totally understand about the dresses. My 3 year old is OBSESSED with dresses and cries when I make her wear pants for any reason. :)

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