I've gathered together a few dozen clear plastic fruit baskets
and I bought some white containers, like you suggested. Where should
I start my organizing?
A good place to begin is with the children's clothing drawers. Here's
an efficient way to organize all their little pieces of clothing.
Start with one child's drawer or shelf. For each child you will need
at least four containers. Fruit baskets are excellent for this purpose
(2 kg. size) and you can get them for free.
Prepare one for socks, two more for underwear -- tops and bottoms.
You'll also need one or more baskets for eah child's odds and ends.
Boys have tzitziyos, kipas, belts, suspenders. Girls have bows,
headbands, ponytail holders etc. and maybe jewelry.
These are your basic categories.
If you wish, you can organize girls' or boys' T-shirts and outfits
into baskets, too. You'll probably want larger containers for these.
The white plastic ones you bought are just right: a strong shoe box
works well, too.
The personal items of older children might fit better into the larger
size container, too, since each piece is bigger to start with.
Sort all of the clothes by category and place them in the baskets.
Fold to fit - if you have time and inclination. But even if you don't,
the baskets themselves will keep the drawers tidy and organized.
Did you find that you couldn't get everything into the baskets? Consider
whether you have too many pieces of clothing for each child. You only
need enough of each type to get you from one wash to the next. For
example, if you do laundry twice a week, you might need about 4-5
of each plus one for emergencies. Women who wash laundry daily can
manage with even less.
If you see you have too many things, pick out the most useful ones
and store, or give away, the rest. Good chance you'll be weeding out
plenty.
Sometimes, the odds and ends baskets are too full, even after you've
taken out the extras. Simply divide their contents into two or more
baskets by category; say, kipas and tzitziyos in one,
belts and bowties in the other.
If you are storing clothes on shelves, label the front of the baskets
with cheap label-stickers or a piece of masking tape and a permanent
marker. This way you can see at a glance what's in each one. (No need
for labels when you store in drawers since you can easily see the
contents from the top.)
Labeling has another benefit. If you write the child's name and a
description or drawing of the contents on all your baskets, even those
in drawers, anyone can sort and put away the laundry, even
when the baskets are empty, or let the children put away folded clothes.
Kids love this kind of thing; they think it's a game.
Although baskets may seem to take up more space in a drawer than just
stuffing everything inside, the order is well worth the space it might
take. Every child (or you) will know at a glance exactly how well
stocked he is at any time. And those of you who have always been folding
clothes into little piles will also find the containers useful - the
baskets will maintain your groups perfectly without constant reorganizing.
You'll actually be saving space with the baskets because you can store
your clothes close together without anything getting mixed up.
When you're all done, invite the kids in and explain to each one how
to maintain the beautiful order you've created. Show them what each
basket is for and what they should put in each.
Be sure to share your infectious enthusiasm. It's catchy!
Are you getting hooked on this system? Most women do... Feel free
to extend this further, to your own and your husband's personal belongings,
too. It'll be a pleasure for both of you.
Vorhand invites you to call her for questions and comments at
02-651-0025 any time. Her consultation services are also available
in your home.
