The great seasonal clothing change-out
And by great I mean awful
Maybe you live where, as the world turns, you can just pop on a cotton sweater and call it a day. This post is not really for you, sorry!
Many of us have to change out the wardrobe for ourselves and our numerous offspring in Spring and Fall, and this terrible, unfair, overwhelming, Titanic not to say Sisyphean, and exhausting job is best tackled now, before our minds turn to the tidal wave of holiday activity.
I learned late in life — and I alone am left to tell you! — that having a third, temporary place to put the clothes you are removing (shorts and t-shirts and linen skirts in Fall, sweaters and corduroys and heavy trousers in Spring) mitigates the pain.
That place is probably a laundry basket for each room that does sit there for a few days or a week, or even a pile behind a chair that has to hang out a bit while you figure it all out.
It’s about realizing that if a bin contains the clothing for the current season, you can’t put last season’s clothing into it, nor can you put things in the drawers and closets if they already have the current clothes in them.
You need a third thing, which probably should not be the bed.
Sorting and putting last season’s clothes away is a separate job from getting this season’s clothing out!
I wrote more about it in this post.
See if that helps!
The School for Housewives brings you short, practical, and thoughtful messages to inspire you to make your home. For the longer version:
"By great I mean awful" LOL!
My "third place" is either a top drawer in the young children's dresser-- I just try and keep their wardrobes curated enough that the littler kids can fit everything into max 3 drawers in a dresser, leaving me usually at least one extra high up, inaccessible-to-them drawer. That's where I stash the things as I'm beginning the clothing change-out! It's especially helpful because the Stubborn Ones can't see that seasonally inappropriate item, like a sundress or fuzzy pjs, and if it's in a bin or basket in their room, they absolutely raid the bins like little raccoons! When I don't have that extra drawer available, for older kids say, I will use an under-bed storage box. I still prefer the top drawer system, because again, visual access to the seasonally-off clothes means they're more likely to dig into the bin and mess everything up!
My third place is dorm-style mesh collapsible laundry baskets. I use them when we travel, as well, so I store them in our duffle bags.