May. 4, 2008 - Laundry Room Update
Today has been an amazing day. I had a refreshing time organizing our kids' clothes. John assembled all three wardrobes with minimal help from me, since I was running around collecting dainty dresses and bins of socks. I finished the three girls clothes sections and I will tackle the boys' clothes tomorrow. I hung all the dresses and outfits and put all the other clothes in bins. Each bin is color matched to each child's color and then labeled with a simple word or phrase. Katie and Lily's first sight words will be "socks, shirts, and shorts" etc. 
That can be counted as Phonics, right?
Each girl also has a bin with pjs and beauty supplies. The are so excited to have a home for their hairbrush.
We found after four kids keeping track of which toothbrush belonged to who was frustrating, so each child got a color. Austin got blue, Sam is green, Katie is pink, Lily is lavender, and Rachel is yellow. We color match scrapbooks, toothbrushes, loveys, memory boxes, clothing bins and hangers, scissors, laundry baskets (with the help of some plastic friendly spray paint) and some school supplies if possible. I don't go out looking to color match, I look to see what would help keep our home running smoothly and efficiently.
(Just in case you wanted to know I had to take (TN) orange for my toothbrush because John refused and said he needed red....followed by a "Go Dawgs!") 
The kids enjoy having their own color. It gives them a sense of ownership and belonging.
My goal for this family closet is to streamline the way clothes are handled. I want to wash, dry. fold (on my soon to be installed counter top) and then take two steps and put away all clothes. I still put away linens in other parts of the house and my clothes but I can manange those.
Enjoy the pictures of my dream come true...
