What Does It Take?

What does it take for a larger family, or any family, to be organized when it comes to clothes?  As we all know, clothing is one of those basic needs we as parents take care of for our children.  I know for our family we have been blessed by the kindness of friends who have passed on clothing their children have outgrown to our little ones and so in turn we have done. There is nothing like opening bags of clothing to see what treasures lie inside. I say we are blessed because each day my children get not only a new outfit (different from the day before) but it is clean and fits them.  Well of course it does right?!  No, that is not the case for the orphans in Eastern Europe.  I know for our first adoption, Evelyn wore the same dirty outfit for 5 days straight. It smelled of urine, food, and sweat. Then there is always the case of meeting your child for the first time in the opposite sex's clothes.  So, I try to teach my little ones that it is a privilege to open our closets and get to choose a clean and well fitted outfit.  I do admit that we do have a lot of clothes and I am most happy to share how we find our clothing.  I do not think for one moment that where our clothes are purchased is of importance but rather how do I spend our money wisely when I do shop.  Some of the places we find great bargains include garage sales (loved garage sales in Colorado), consignment stores, and even the mall.  It does take time to find good bargains and to find clothes that fit as many children as we have but I feel that the money we save is so well worth it!  

Just the other day I realized it was time to begin my 4 day long switch over of the children's clothes from summer to fall/winter.  The thought of the task was a bit daunting but it was time so here I went up into the attic to bring down the totes.  I am one who likes to take care of our clothes so they will last.  We are not all that trendy so most of the styles of clothes will pass down quite well.  As a matter of fact, I realized that some of the clothes I was about to put on Carrington were once worn by my soon to be 15 year old daughter.  WOW!!  Throughout the year we have had clothes passed on to us so now it was not only time to see what we have but what actually fits each child.  Trying to get the triplets to hold still while you try on this piece of clothing or that piece is like trying to hold down a bull in a china shop.  But, after 4 days the task is done. 

Now for our family, having a dresser in each room for each child simply does not work.  So, what I decided to do was to convert our hall closets into dressers for all of the little ones.  Our hall closets are not deep like what you use for coats but more like closets with shelves for storage.  There are 2 closets so I made one the boys' and one the girls'.  My wonderful husband put labels on each shelf so every one would know which child was which shelf.  Given that Reagan is in a wheel chair and we are teaching her independence we put her items on the lowest shelf so she could reach them.  I also pair up each article of clothing so that when I tell Reagan or Ethan to go pick out an outfit for the day they will come out matching (a definite plus for me but my husband is good to go either way).  Again, trying to teach independence.

Ethan is the only one who uses an actual dresser as he has since birth and he has a certain order for his clothes,  Not to mention he needs a whole drawer just for his underwear collection:)  Madelaine has her own set up in her room so that is all on her as to how she sets that up.

What I like to do all year round is keep my eyes open for great deals on shoes and clothing.  For example. Ethan has such a wide and thick foot he still wears extra wide shoes and those are only sold at Stride Rite.  What I do is when they have their clearance sale I take my coupon in and stock up on every size tennis shoe they have in extra wide. After all, Ethan wears tennis shoes all year long so I don't have to worry about if he will fit them. It is just a matter of WHEN he will fit them. I also am a big believer in washing shoes because they tend to stink. This keeps our shoes looking pretty good so again I can pass some shoes down to siblings.

What I want to share with you all is how we make things work for our family.  Maybe some of you do the same and maybe some of you have different methods for keeping your house hold running smooth. One thing I think we can all gain is an appreciation of how different families do things differently and one is not necessarily better than the other.  I, for one, have learned a lot of great ideas from a friend of mine who has an even larger family. We often receive comments like "I don't know how you all do it. I have only--- children and I can't get it all done."  I try to tell people that really it is not all that hard because we know it has to be done and I just do what works for ME.  

As I stand back and look at the fruits of 4 days worth of labor I see a neatly organized clothes closet for my girls and one for my boys in addition to a dresser that is set up for Ethan to fully be able to dress himself and even put away his own clothes once they have been washed.  What I wish is that all of the children we have seen who are laying in the same dirty clothes would very soon have a mommy who would organize their closet and give them fresh clean clothes to wear.  It does not take a lot to do that.  What it does take is faith and perseverance.  Money, yes that too but that is not the only answer.  It just takes someone willing to follow the call of God.  Please think about organizing a closet of clothes for a little one.

This is the girls' closet.

My boys closet is a bit full but ready to be worn.

I hang up ALL boys shirts in one closet.

And the girls' dresses go in the same closet as well. Makes it easier picking out Sunday church clothes.

Stocking up on tennis shoes for the boys.  Poor Ethan thinks
you buy shoes from your closet.

Ethan's drawers are ready for him to get dressed by himself and even
put away his freshly washed clothes.  Look closely and you will
catch a glimpse of his superhero underwear collection:)