Organize Your Life Day 7: Clothes

Everyday you and your children wake up and get dressed.

Option #1: You don’t have to think much about that vital step.

Option #2: You stare into your closet for far too long, listen to your kids complain about their clothing choices, or scramble last minute to find amidst the chaos of the household the shirt your child is supposed to wear today.

Let’s go with the first option.

Welcome to Organize Your Life Day 7: Clothes.

This is part of a mini-series on overcoming parenting (and life!) overwhelm and stress by organizing your life. Click here to see the introduction and links to other days.

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Your Style

Something that can slow down our mornings and add to the stress is when we look in the closet and don’t see anything we want to wear. I love and appreciate hand-me-downs. This has greatly blessed us financially among other ways. However, one down-side is that I have seen my closet increase with items I am grateful to have but don’t necessarily love.

Now, I am absolutely no fashion icon. I don’t put much stock in what other people are wearing, so I assume most people do the same when they look at me. More importantly, I sincerely don’t care what other people think of my clothes.

Therefore, my barometer for figuring out my style is not what’s popular, but instead, “Do I feel comfortable in this?” Do I feel comfortable in the style and fit or am I thinking about what I am wearing throughout the day?

The same is true for our kids. One of my children absolutely does not like wearing jeans. I used to keep a pair or two in his drawer and encourage him to try them because everyone needs a pair of jeans, right? Instead, when he is comfortable it is a non-issue.

Take a moment to think about your personal style. What colors and fits do you feel most comfortable wearing? It is much more encouraging to look in a scarce closet and see items you love than to look in a stuffed closet and feel stuck.

That brings us nicely to our next topic.

The Size of Your Wardrobe

After moving to an island in suitcases, I realized that when it comes to clothes, less really is more. Each of the children had one drawer for their clothes and a few nicer items hanging in the closet. Our adult wardrobes were slightly larger but not by much. Dressing that simply was really refreshing.

When we moved back to the States, our clothing options necessarily increased. Now we were back to multiple seasons, sports, maternity sizes, and various other wardrobe needs. However, we are still conscious to keep our clothing inventory limited. As we do laundry weekly, I like the kids to have enough to get through the week, plus a few extras.

In honesty, I am the worst in my family with this. I tend to keep more than I need. However, I do wear everything I have now, and I am hoping to teach my kids the joy of simplicity as I continue to improve.

Here are a few tips for keeping your amount of clothes manageable:

Only keep clothing items you actually wear and love.
If you’re not sure you can give something away, put it in a “half-way house.” A bin under the bed or in the garage works great. If you find you don’t miss it, it’s easy to move that item into the donation box. If you realize you actually do want to wear it, pull it back out. For me (who tends to be a bit indecisive) this has greatly increased the speed with which I can get through my closet.
Have the basics and then a few items to mix things up and express your personal style.
Don’t buy clothes because they are a good deal. Buy them because you love or need them.
If you buy new clothes or get hand-me-downs, take one item out of your closet for every item you put in.

Organizing the Morning

Getting out the door in the morning can raise the blood pressure of more than a few parents. Having an organized clothing routine helps those mornings run more smoothly.

That clothing routine actually starts when we take our clothes off. If we are not wearing specific clothing items, they should be put away in the drawers or closet or in the dirty clothes basket. Clothes (including jackets) should not be flung under the bed, onto the couch, or left on the bathroom floor. That alone will limit the frantic searches for missing favorites.

A word about our nemesis: socks. Socks are the worst. Many people are choosing the mismatched style these days. I am still a matching sock person (although it completely confuses one of my children as to why).

There are a few things we do to limit the single sock conundrum.

Teach from a very young age to fold your socks together whenever you take them off. Whether that is for bed before throwing them in the dirty clothes or when you jump on the trampoline, socks belong together.
Have one place to put all single socks when they come out of the wash.
Each person is responsible for folding their own laundry during the week. That includes going through the “Mismatch Sock Box” and looking for your own pairs. Following through with this helps kids see the time saver it is to keep socks together.

It’s a simple concept to keep clothes where they belong, but some of us need more reminding than others to get there. Rather than cleaning up after your kids, invite them to come do it every time. Be consistent, and you will see improvement. If you want more help teaching your kids to work, check this post. You can find more about teaching routines here.

The last thing that can really help the morning dressing routine is laying out clothes for the next day as part of the bedtime routine. This ensures that all the necessary items are around and gives Mom time to move that last load into the dryer if it has been forgotten.

The Physical Organization

When it comes to the physical organization of clothes, user-friendliness is the most important. Make sure kids’ drawers are easy to open and that they understand where everything belongs. I hang my clothes in order of dresses, short sleeves, three quarter sleeves, then long sleeves and sweaters. This makes it really quick and easy to find something appropriate for the day’s weather.

Organizing your closet doesn’t require a lot of fancy or expensive storage containers. Dressers don’t have to match and boxes work as well as plastic bins. Shoe boxes inside drawers are great for separating socks from underwear.

If your space is limited, consider rotating items seasonally. Folding and placing t-shirts so they sit vertically, like in a file folder, saves a lot of drawer space. It also allows you to see all your shirts at once for easy access. Shoes can similarly be placed toe down in a box to save on space.

I will admit that a newly organized closet looks amazing. However, the look is secondary (and truthfully may not last). The goal is to make your closets and drawers completely functional, saving time and stress so you can focus on the things that really matter in life.

Today’s Tasks

It is time to get up and do! Use the remainder of your hour today to get to work in your closets and drawers.

Begin by going through all your clothes and choosing to keep those items you love. The clothing you donate will be appreciated. If you recognize there are other items you’d love to have eventually, add them to a list in your Workbook.

Do the same for your children’s clothing. Especially removing items that no longer fit and adding needs to your list. I prefer having my kids lead in this effort, as they know what they like and wear and can try on any unknowns.

After simplifying your wardrobe, work on the physical organization. Fold or hang your clothes so they are easily accessible. If there are shelves, drawers, or other tools that would increase user-friendliness, purchase them now online or make a plan to do so.

Decide upon any routines that need to be implemented to simplify your mornings.

Next, add any necessary tasks to your Home Management Living List, and record any thoughts, take-aways, or future action items from Day 6.

Lastly, look forward to stress-free mornings…they are on their way!

If you have any challenges or questions concerning getting your clothes organized, please share in the comments.

Pat yourself on the back. We are half-way through Organize Your Life! Tomorrow we will take a moment to sit back and appreciate that with Organize Your Life Day 8: Organize Your Rest.