Mission Organization: Hand-Me-Downs

Having three children of the same sex makes hand-me-downs a given.  Keeping the boys' clothes sorted and in the right drawers is a constant, ongoing job, and since our boys are so close in size, getting the right clothes on the right kid can also present a challenge.

To keep things straight, I put a series of dots in the boys' clothes.  This helps with laundry sorting, while making it easy to change when an item is outgrown and passed on.  Here's how it works:

When Stone is wearing an item I place one dot on the tag.  When the item gets passed along to Cash I add  a dot, and when Holden inherits the well-loved article of clothing I add a third dot.  Funny thing, a lot of Stone's clothes are actually hand-me-downs from friends, so seeing another child's name written on a tag then crossed out, followed by a series of three dots is not an uncommon occurrence.

Each boy has his own set of drawers for clothes, but I do keep one large drawer full of matching outfits for quick dressing.  Keeping a series of three pants and three tops together sure makes getting dressed quick, keeps me from running to three separate places and streamlines the process.  All PJs are kept this way and placed in the bathroom within reach of the tub for easy access.  Oftentimes, keeping items in non-traditional places (socks by the back door, PJS in the bathroom or clean undies under the bathroom sink during potty training) will save you a ton of time and make the chore a lot easier.

I hope you're enjoying this organization series, there's much more to come!  I'm having a ton of fun sharing ideas and would love to get some of your best times.  What's one thing that you do that makes your life easier?  You never  know who you might save with your go-to tip...let's help a mother out!