Sometimes the simplest solutions are the best solutions. I usually over-complicate things and then I end up with an annoying problem that aggravates everyone.
Take, for example, outgrown kids clothing. Because I didn’t have a plan for dealing with them, they tended to hang out in the closet until my poor husband had to get the kids dressed. Then they would come down wearing flood pants and belly-shirts. Once, my 2-year old came down wearing a pair of size 3-month pants as shorts. I kid you not. He looked like a sausage stuffed into biker shorts.
Now, I keep a storage container (or shopping bag) in each kid’s closet. As I discover a piece of clothing that doesn’t fit, it gets put into the bin. When it’s full, it gets closed up and passed down. I actually have a clothes-sharing process with a good friend who also has 2 boys. The clothes go from my kid, to her kid, to my kid and back to her kid. The bins make the transportation and organization easy.
What is it about little stuffed animals? They show up for every holiday, in every goodie bag and sometimes I think they breed. If left unchecked, they would take over my kid’s bedrooms in no time. Each kid gets one basket that they can fill with whatever stuffed animals they choose. When the basket is full, it’s time to purge. I’m not heartless, they can always keep the super-special ones, but the excess weenie-babies have to go.
Looks like this child has reached maximum capacity.
Pants hangers (or a lack thereof) are the bane of my laundry existence. Back in my working-outside-the-home days, I had plenty of pants hangers because half my paycheck went to the dry-cleaners. Now that I’m a wash-and-wear kind of girl, pants hangers were becoming scarce. I found myself hanging multiple pairs of pants on one hanger (and breaking them in the process) and using the kid’s plastic hangers (which also breed) for my pants. It was a small, annoying problem that made a big, annoying task (laundry) all the more annoying.
Solution? Go buy some pants hangers. Duh. $10 for 20 hangers at Marshalls. Worth every penny.
And in the spirit of making laundry easier, I like my kids to wear their jammies more than once. Why not? They’ve usually just had a bath when they put them on. But they usually end up on the floor, shoved under the bed or in the laundry basket because they had no where to put them until nighttime. A hook hung beside the bed gives them a place to hang those jammies until bedtime. There’s also room for a sweatshirt, baseball cap or bag of dirt…I do have boys, after all.
There’s nothing earth-shattering here. I just had to take a minute to implement a simple solution.
What annoying problem could you solve with a simple solution?
Edited to add: This stuff is easier to implement for those of us with young kids. Who has some tips for the moms of teenagers?
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You sound like my kind of gal. I try to find simple solutions, too. One I have in place- each kid has 3 hooks in their closet: one for their towel, one for their hair towel (my kids think they are fancy and use those turbo twist hair towels- actually, they do work really well for girl hair), one for their robe. No more wet towels on the floor!
And, I can put “pretty” towels in their bathroom that look nice and don’t get used (I haven’t done this, but I CAN).
The Comfort Girl´s last blog ..A Sewing Week
That’s brilliant! We’re always fighting The Battle of the Towels here. My boys don’t have enough hair for a turbo-twist towel, but I do! This idea could work for grown-up girls too! Love it!
I only have one child (almost 16 yrs. old) so I pick up his pjs every morning and put them back in the drawer:( My hubby tells me that his future wife is going to hate me. LOL! I love everything organized so I don’t keep a lot of extra stuff. That helps me stay organized too.
Melanie´s last blog ..The ever evolving craft room.
I loved reading this….I do a lot of the same things to keep my kids stuff in check. Once my “do not fit” bag of clothes reaches capacity, I take it to the basement and place them in plastic bins that are labeled by size. That way as boy #2 grows, I know what bin to grab. I like your jammie hook idea. I have the boys wear them two nights as well for the same reasons, but yes, they are usually scattered on their floor. Ugh. The best solution to get kids to be neater is usually giving them a place, bin or hook for everything. Or maybe that’s just my boys inheriting a bit of their mom’s OCD issues.
Now, who has some ideas for keeping my basement play room clean??
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Good post! My girls share a small bathroom with one medium sized towel bar. Their wet towels end up in their room on the floor. I put a large coat hook on the wall next to the shower & a smaller one on the back of the tub room door & voila!, no more wet towels on the floor.
Pam @ Design Fanatic´s last blog ..Nightstand Runner
Love the ideas! We use to have hats and sunglasses everywhere. Now we have a basket system. Each person gets a basket in our mudroom with their initials to put their hats and sunglasses in. (We live in the high desert.) I don’t care if they stuff the things in, as long as they put them away. I seem to have gone with baskets everywhere else in the house too!
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Sometimes the simplest solutions are the best! Hope you had a good weekend.
pk @ Room Remix´s last blog ..Sunny Sunday Inspiration – 3
I got tired of all of the paper, pencils, stickers, erasers, little notebooks and other various little things that seem to accumulate (but don’t really have a good home). Of course, the kids thought they were to important to throw in the trash. Now they each have one drawer for such things. When the drawer is full, we have to clean it out to make space for new things.
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I also have hooks in the closet for each kid: one for pajamas in the morning that they switch out with school uniforms, one for robes and one for jackets. It works great! They also each have a basket for stuffed animals. It really helps keep it under control.
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I’ve been sorting thru clothing lately and it is completely overwhelming. With two little girls, their daddy can’t seem to figure out whose clothes belong to who. My almost three year old is always in her 12 month old sisters clothes. I’ve just been sorting and storing in bins and trying to get everything out of their rooms that doesn’t currently fit. I keep planning for future seasons to buy less clothing, but it hasn’t happened yet. I’m thinking as clothing gets more expensive the older they are, I’ll really implement that plan – less laundry for me!
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I’m so with you! If you let it go, the sorting becomes overwhelming. I did it this weekend and it took HOURS to get everything organized. I pledge to stay on top of it now!
I just bought a hanger thing (like the star ) for my laundry room so that I can hang up my brooms, mops, and such instead of them falling on the floor. Great ideas!
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I have many of these things mentioned as well, but I have teenagers and no one USES these things. I am always putting shoes in the mudroom, and picking up towels. Sigh:)
That is the trick, isn’t it? Getting everyone else on board with your little fixes.
Who has some tips for the moms of teenagers?
Well, we are trying this…in our mudroom we have a shoe cubby system from Target; three tiers, maybe 6 cubbies each. Each child gets one row for their shoes. They are really good about taking them off but they don’t always put them in the cubbies. I have given the mandate- if I find them left on the floor, in front of the cubbies- they are mine for the week. On Sat they can pay me $1 for them back. I’m sure we’ll have some arguments on gym day
but maybe this will do the trick?!
It’s funny, but I’m doing the same things at my house! We must think alike! I have two boys who grow out of their clothes constantly and I keep a bin in their closet as well! I also have a hook by their bed for their night clothes too! lol Oh and I love storing things with decorative baskets! Have a great week!
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I have to admit, you had me laughing at the thought of your 2 yr old stuffed into 3-month pair of pants/shorts … and the stuffed animals popping up everywhere. I swear my family throws in a stuffed animal with every package they send us!
Have you seen the Boon Animal Bag? It’s similar to a bean bag but you fill it with your childs’ stuffed animals! It’s overpriced and I’ve considered making one … but, it’s not on the top of my “to-do list”. Maybe somebody will make one and link it up!
) Here’s the link in case you’re wondering! http://www.booninc.com/AnimalBag_oval.html
Jaime @ Our Journey´s last blog ..Travel Felt Mat TUTORIAL!
My husband always puts too small clothes on my kids too! I really need to coral those clothes in a bin!
Sarah
The Thriftress´s last blog ..Thrifty Vintage Finds
HA! I’m telling you, if there’s a too-small item anywhere in the closet or drawer, my husband will pull it out and put it on a kid. He has an uncanny knack for finding that stuff.
But at least he’s getting the kids dressed, right? No complaining from me.
Let’s see … letting my pantry get out of control. I need to redo it – already! sigh …
Great post! Have a wonderful week, Kimba!
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You’re asking moms of teenagers for tips? Well, as of today, I am a mom of only teenagers! My goodness, how did that happen?
One thing that does work for me with teenagers is to make it just as easy for them to be neat as it would be to be messy. I have hooks for them to hang their coats on–they’d never put them on a hanger in a coat closet. And I have laundry baskets right in their rooms, so they don’t have to go out of their way to put their dirty clothes somewhere.
But the thing that has worked best for me is to concentrate my cleaning efforts on the “public” areas of my house. For instance, I give the powder room a quick cleaning every day so it stays spic and span. Then I try not to worry about the kids’ spaces too much. My oldest son’s room was especially messy; he almost never cleaned his room. But now he’s gone, and I’m grateful that I didn’t spend his high school years yelling at him about his room.
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I’ll need a major sorting as the new one comes in august. Luckily enough, my boyfriend has a great eye for too small cloths and actually take them off if it’s too small or even too big. I must be one lucky lady!
Our problem more lie on the money to buy all those organizing stuff and the holes in the wall limitation since we’re in a rental.
I also have this tons of blanket (they really do breed) because we live in a really cold place.. We have about 10 of those in a 4¼… I wish I had a pretty basket to roll them and stuff them there.
As for the plushie, I’m lucky we don’t have so much… My daugther better like dolls and she put them in her play crib (okay, on the floor most of the time…) But I have no chance for the books, there’s always books everywhere… adult and children ones… I guess it’s not that bad
Books are the best thing to have a ton of!!!
Great ideas, Kimba!
I keep a basket for each kid in their closet for their “nighttime things”, as we call them. This is where they put jammies, blankies & stuffed “friends” they sleep with at night. It is SO much easier for them to just toss in the basket in the morning when they make their beds, and then gather what they need again for sleeping at bedtime.
Blessings,
Stacey
Stacey @ The Blessed Nest´s last blog ..Green Thumb Gardening Day Party!!!
I have 2 boys, 4 years and 2 years. In each of their closets they have a 3 drawer Rubbermaid organizer and a laundry basket. The Drawers hold socks, underwear and pajamas. I tell them they have 3 jobs every day, get dressed,brush your teeth and put away your dirty clothes. The older one can do it by himself now and all I have to say is ,”
Did you do your jobs?”. I always tell them it’s not mommy’s job to clean up the whole house, you have to help to. They get rewarded for doing their jobs dail.
I think the more simple the better with teenagers. Hooks, hooks, hooks! I love hooks for their bags, hats, backpacks, purses, belts, towels, necklaces, pj’s, robes. You get the idea. They all have their own laundry baskets in their closets, because it’s going to end up on the floor anyway and it might as well be in a basket. It’s weird, some of my messiest teens have grown up to be the neatest adults. Wonderful post!
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Teenagers Tips: the only thing that has worked is to install more hooks (and heavier duty-clothes get bigger as they age). We have at least a dozen hooks in each bedroom (this can apply to hubbies, too) and another handful on the way across from the main coat closet. Girls like to “see” everything they accessorize with so we use individual, colorful pegs for daughter’s room – spread around every wall and on the inside closet door. Another row of hooks hangs above the coat hooks (my son plays travel team baseball almost year-round and hubby has many fishing caps). For the collectible ball caps, they proudly hang on an old coat rack in son’s bedroom…an organized showpiece
We don’t wear shoes in our house – our townhouse parking area, and where the kids ride bikes, is coated with a black surface that sticks to shoes, and then unsticks onto our carpet (which is NOT top-notch and so doesn’t clean up particularly well). I was so frustrated with shoes strewn around and piled up in the entry way, sometimes to the point we couldn’t safely walk through it. Our entryway is just that – a step in, with the proper entry at the top of a flight of stairs. I set up our entry like our coat closet/mudroom. Shoe rack over the door to the garage, bench for a place to put them on/take them off, hooks for coats, umbrellas, etc, a lipstick and hair-check mirror, an oversized coir doormat as a rug. It’s not the fabulous entry of my house fantasies, but it beats breaking an ankle tripping over stuff, and neat and functional at this stage of our lives WORKS.
Yes! Yes! Yes! The most important thing is that it works! If it can be pretty someday, great! If not, that’s ok too. I just want things to work.
My boys stick thier jammies under their pillow. It seems to work well and they remember to wear them more than one night.
As for clothing, when my 4th one came along I got rid of everything but 10 outfits for each child. 3 rough play, 3 dressy, and the rest for in-between days. I don’t do as much laundry, spend way less money, and it’s easy to keep up with when changing out for the seasons.
I store the old stuff down in the basement on hanging rods for when it is time to sell it at a consighment sale. We don’t do hand me downs, my boys wear the same size and the clothes are usually worn to threads as there are not as many choices, but it works for us!
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My solution for “Mom’s w/ teenagers”……….close the bedroom door & don’t open it until they move out!
’nuff said!
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Haha…a bag of dirt! I wouldn’t be surprised if I found that in my son’s room.
A simple solution for around here…a hamper in the kids’ rooms. Duh. I need to do that.
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When I was growing up, we put our pjs under our pillow when we took them off so they were there again that night….
Mary Lou´s last blog ..Mary Lou Rutledge
Great ideas! I have two teenage boys. One of my solutions was to place a basket on the counter in their bathroom for all of their hair gel etc. I also gave them each a towel bar. This has helped in the bathroom but now moving onto bedroom solutions.
Joy´s last blog ..Weddings on a Budget
I love the hook idea. I actually have one in my daughter’s room, but it gets used for all sorts of things, but putting jammies there is a wonderful idea! Thanks SO much for sharing.
Thanks for the tips!! Love the PJ tip — I have been trying to come up with a solution for that one! I recently did a teen week and I must admit my teen’s room looks better. I got two HUGE frames (poster board size) and she took all of her magazine clippings, etc and made collages. Clip type curtain hooks work great on the curtain rod to display those “posters” that teens love. This would also work for kid’s art. I made one of those jewelry organizers from a frame that are around blog land — perfect organizing “art” for a teen. And a large frame — just put a plain piece of fabric under the glass — dry erase board. On Sunday night she fills in her “schedule” for the week. That one has helped me and her!!
Angie @ The Country Chic Cottage´s last blog ..Pepper Mill Finial Reveal
My husband is a language arts teacher (and a coach) so we get piles of papers, random books, extra athletic clothing piled up around the kitchen and dining room… so I put a basket by the back door and I just keep dumping his stuff in there. Every once in a while he’ll go through it and figure out what needs to go back to school, what should be washed, etc.
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love these solutions, kimba. i’ll add that there are these mesh things that you can hang in a kid’s closet that hold TONS of stuffed animals. There is a velcro fastener at the top to hook over the closet rod, then there are openings to SHOVE those little guys in. I think stuffed animals breed, don’t you? I got mine at the thrift store, but here’s a pic of one:http://www.amazon.com/TIER-HANGING-STORAGE-CLOSET-ORGANIZER/dp/B000GULUQM/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=home-garden&qid=1269890348&sr=8-1
Another thing that works for us: since we are a shoes off when you come in the door family, we keep socks in a basket downstairs, too.
Anna See´s last blog ..We’ll Miss You
Tip if you have a teenage boy:
Walk into the room with your eyes closed and tell him that you love him! You may have to yell it so that he hears it over the earplugs in his ears or if all else fails send him a text.
Hopefull´s last blog ..I Heart Saturday AND…..not UN-packing
Love this post – I love organizing ideas…it it the implementing I struggle with. I was laughing out loud picturing your 2 year old in the 18mo pants – Hilarious! Thanks for the ideas!
Missy´s last blog ..Birthday Party Hats
“Who has some tips for the moms of teenagers?”
CLOSE the DOOR!
lol
I have 3 teens: 17.5,15.5 & 13.5!
OOOH! I love the pj’s solution! I’m always trying to find a “good” place to put our clothes like that – pj’s, my hubby’s lounging pants, etc! They usually end up in a pile on our dressers! This is such a great idea!
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Great tips Kimba! Also…I just received my sweet little bird vase in the mail!!!
I Love it!!
Tonya Riggs´s last blog ..I ♥ UPS!
LOVE IT!! So simple, yet so easy – and I have two wee boys too, I think you read my mind.
Love the pjs on a hook idea!!
My girls wear theirs more than once too. They take a bath every night before bed, and get dressed in the morning, so I don’t see the point in wearing 7 different pairs each week. :s
Love the tips – especially the hook for jammies! I use a basket at the base of the stairs to collect items my daughter brings home from school, or wherever. When she goes up to her room, she takes the basket with her to put things away.
We also have a day each month where she has to go in her room and find 10 items to give away and 10 items to throw away (papers, etc). She loves it and it helps us purge!
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Thank you! With something so easy you would think that we would already be doing this . . yeah right!
~ Jill
Jill´s last blog ..Have you seen this yet? . .
We have a basket in almost every room. That way at the end of the day the kids throw everything in the basket and my house isn’t a pit. We sort through them during the weekend. Thanks for sharing your wonderful ideas!
Take care-
Kristin
Love the ideas! I usually pile the old clothes by the back door to take out to the tub in the garage…and until I do that, I have a pile of clothes by the back door! Ugh – BUT putting the tub in the closet – brilliant! Then I can sort the clothes into the appropriate tub in the garage only once a month or so and avoid the pile!
Love the hook idea – but, seriously, my boys leak through their diapers EVERY NIGHT and so we can’t ever wear pj’s two nights in a row. They’re both in size 6 overnights and we stop liquid early and this still happens…
As a side laugh – my husband recently put the 2 year old in the 4 year old’s shorts…thinking they were the little one’s pants =)
Jennifer´s last blog ..The Case for Make Believe: An excellent review over at SimpleKids