Operation "5 people, 2 closets"

I am working on going through kid clothes and condensing Ardyn and Marek's clothing into what was once just Ardyn's closet and Ardyn's dresser space, to make room in the dresser and armoire drawers for baby things. This is not easy. Because the weather here is a bit "unpredictable" I am much happier when I keep summer and winter clothes out simultaneously. the only thing that I pack away each season is my own clothes and the snow gear and winter boots/swimsuits and towels. Previously, Ardyn's closet was split into two bars, one containing "good clothes" and one containing "play clothes." Although I have 5 more months, Ardyn's newest thing has been to take clothes off hangers and off the bottom bar (there's a reason she can only reach the play clothes) and it had gotten so excessive that she was snapping hangers apart and throwing clothes on the floor. I hadn't seen the FLOOR of her closet for a while. One day I went in and the ENTIRE bottom bar was empty. Nothing. Not one piece of clothing. Just the bar looking at me and a floor full of wadded up clothes and empty hangers (many broken.) I wanted, of course, to strangle the child... but at that moment I decided, no more bottom bar for Ardyn.

The children and I have had a nice little "talking to" about the clothing situation. They are not to get their own clothes out without permission. Ardyn has one drawer of shorts and tank tops that she can choose to put on if she feels the need to dress herself repeatedly. They also each have access to pajamas, socks, underwear, and undershirts. But even that needed to be condensed because the four drawers that house all but Marek's shirts belong to baby. So I crammed most of Ardyn's clothes on the top bar (they won't all fit) and all of Marek's onto the bottom bar. Marek's armoire was previously play clothes on the bottom bar and dress/good clothes on the top bar. So this time I decided that all play clothes are on the left of the bar's divider and all good clothes are on the right. I still have to go through Ardyn's clothes and sort them according to good and play, and some things need to get packed up again because she has outgrown most 4's and some 4/5's.  I just got a bunch of "new" things that I bought for each kid, from friends hand-me-downs, which I ADORE the opportunity to acquire. If any of you local friends have clothes or shoes or swimsuits for your kids that you want to resell, I am your girl. Even if you have play clothes to give away. I will be happy to look through totes and bags and piles and take what we need. I also try to keep my eyes out for used CROCS and tennis shoes. I always have a pair of good tennis shoes and a pair of play for each kid, and so I am always looking for inexpensive tennis shoes that still have life left in them for some time on the farm or in the sandbox.

So after condensing the"hung up" clothes, I still had lots of drawers to go through. I am not DONE by any means, but making progress rapidly. The kids stayed at Grandma's last night and this morning I was awake at 5:30 again. (ick) and I decided to just get up at 6:30, got dressed, and went to Walmart. I measured my closet organizer. When we moved in like 13 years ago I bought two of them, one for each closet we have. Evan and I used to have our own closets before kids. The only downside is that the "cube" like shelves that are on the left do not fit any CUBE Organizers because they are an odd width.

(shit, the power just went out :) I can still blog.

So anyway, I have had a hard time finding a container that uses that space efficiently, because if they fit within the 11 inch width, they are WAY too short for the 13" height and then you have all this shelf space you are not using. Recently there have been many more containers on the market that fit different shelf sizes and I decided it was time that I find myself some and make use of the shelve space in a better way. I wanted to find something that would allow the kids quick and easy access to underwear and socks, without the hassle of drawers that they couldn't open. So off to Walmart I went at 6:30 and found myself some perfect fitting bins. They had 5 left and I needed 6, (of course) so I just bought all they had. This morning I made labels for the bins with pictures for the kids and words for the grandparents and babysitters :)

I always keep shoes that the kids don't fit into yet, on those shelves, and in the top of the closet is a lidded tote for each kid marked for too small shoes. So if shoes get too small they get tossed in their top closet tote, and then I pull down the next size from the shelves. This works really well unless someone decides to get a stool and try to get down a cool pair of shoes they see on the shelf. I am excited to have the bins to put those shoes in, which will not only help me contain them and hold more, but also avoid confusion for babysitters about which shoes actually fit. Each child has an overdoor shoe organizer for "good shoes" and a "croc basket" on the porch on our shoe shelf, where we put play in the yard shoes, crocs, and flip flops. It will get interesting when we put one more kid's shoes in the mix. :)

So anyway, it was exciting to get the bins labeled and in place. I haven't showed the kids yet, but I am happy. Next it's pajamas and Ardyn's clothes- which need to be narrowed down and some packed away.

To label my containers I use the same adhesive backed pockets that I use to label the toy shelves and containers. Smead Self Adhesive Vinyl Pockets No. VP64SA. I adore them and have already come close to using a 100 pack. They hold 4x6 photos or paper, etc.

Well, power is FINALLY back on. The sun has come out, and the eggs have been gathered. The day continues!