posting boxes/ clothes organiser for kids

Jared, at pretty much any time of the day :) Clothes are so over rated..


Do you have a child thats hard to get ready in the morning? Or really anytime you need to go out? A child that would rather spend the whole day like this:

Amahli the uninhibited

instead of getting dressed?? Yes?? So do I. :)

But they are easy to deal with compared to the other one, WHO IS THE COMPLETE OPPOSITE.

Jumeirah, my gorgeous, anal, precise and meticulous child, has a problem. Getting dressed in the morning, pretty much every day, has become a major " I have to find the PERFECT outfit", even if we are just staying at home. She will have in mind exactly what she wants, from tshirt to shorts, undies, shoes, hair elastics, headband and even lipgloss. Shes painful and frustrating to watch as she runs around like a mad woman trying to find what shes looking for, the total opposite to me who finds whatever is least gross on the floor.
Before preschool started, three days earlier, she had this complete outfit ready to wear, set out on her bedroom floor. And if she cant find what she wants (unfortunately mostly my fault as I normally have at least 4 loads of washing still on the line or ready to be folded at any one time) she becomes a true nigthmare and wont wear anything and locks herself in her room. Shes been like this since she was little, having favourite dresses and tshirts was something I found cute. Now its not so much. Preschool, I had to make sure I knew what she wanted for the two days she attended so it was washed and ready in advance. As shes gotten older, shes learnt to deal with it a bit better, she plans ahead now and often tells me the night before what she will be wearing the next day, just in time for me to panic and wonder if its on the floor of the laundry, or wet in the machine, or still hanging on the line...

Luckily for me, school has a uniform :) She only has two choices, and its one shes made on Sunday and tells me so I can be prepared for the week. The problem we have been having is now after school. The uniform comes off as she hits the front door and it begins (the added bonus of being tired adds to a wonderful post school mix). Too many times since school started she has been a mess trying to find things and getting herself in such a state that it makes the afternoon unbearable.

And so, I found the perfect solution :)

This used to be a toy stacker thing... it wasnt strong enough to hold the toys and kept falling off the shelf but its perfect for clothes. ( It coast about $10 from some cheap storage place.)

And so last weekend, when I finally managed to get EVERYTHING washed, folded AND put away (I needed an award!!) I told her of our new plan for after school. She was to decide all the outfits she wanted to wear after school, pick them out and put them into each section of the hanging shelf. It would save her getting stressed in the afternoon and meant that I didnt have to spend the week trying to pre guess what she was going to want.

The first completed outfit ready to go

SHE LOVED IT and spent all afternoon planning clothes, head bands, and all other paraphanalia she needed. So far ( and its only tuesday mind you) its been great. She comes in, gets undressed, gets out her outfit out, and shes ready to play in minutes :)

Perfectly picked... down to the bracelet accessory


Such a happier afternoon :) Now its time to deal with Jared, and I think I will try the same method. This will give him independence to at least get his clothes out ready to put on in the morning. Should be fun!! Amahli, shes too cute to be clothed :) ( actually she stays nude cos I am so sick of changing her painted, then watered, then painted again clothes!!)

Today, whilst I was dealing with aobve mentioned ridiculous amounts of washing/folding crap, Amahli was busying herself somewhere... and then I found her. With a brand new box of tissues, happily pulling each one out.


I sighed (cos really I should have found her something but at least she was happy and really tissues are cheap :) ) and went to find her something to do with me. I found her old posting box I made for her only a few months ago, filled with scarves that she used to enjoy pulling out. Today it lasted all of a few seconds, she was way beyond simple scarves. Man who siad this child could grow up this fast??? (today she cut her first molar and shes only 15 months old!!)



And so I found this money box. All my kids have spent hours posting coins into milk bottles and then the smaller hole of a money box. amahli by passed the larger hole and spent 20 minutes carefully posting 5c pieces into this money box.. this little one is such a fascination to watch... I sat and watched her little brain work out how each piece would be picked up, then turned and placed in, and then watched her little face light up as each coin hit the bottom.

with help from a big sister

I wish she would slow down so I could watch her more :)