It's time to switch out the spring/summer wardrobe for the fall/winter. For most of us, 60% of our wardrobe is considered all year round and don't need to be put away, but there's no reason for your white linen skirts and thin cotton sweaters to sit in your closet untouched for the next 8 months.
Reasons to do the switch are most importantly:
- clearing room so your clothes aren't stuffed in the closet making it
impossible to see what you have
- clean your clothes and the closet itself (wiping down the shelves, cleaning the floor, vacuuming the baseboards and molding) to keep moths away
- to re-acquaint yourself with the clothes you have
Someone recently said she'd rather spend time with her kids than spending the hour or two switching out her closet. While I understand the sentiment (I hear it often), I think it's important to take the time to set up your things, whether it's your clothes or your kitchen, so the experience of doing everyday things is as easy and enjoyable as possible. Not only for your own sanity, but to show your children that taking care of your things is important.
It's a lesson I remember my father teaching me, and though I'm not terribly sentimental, I still have the shoe shine box he used to show me how to polish my shoes when I was young. Though I will say thank goodness that not every parent teaches their kids to do this or I wouldn't have a job ;O)
I never used to do this until you told me how. It's probably the most productive use of my time all year in terms of making things easier. I started last weekend by putting all the washables I won't wear until next Summer into the hamper (baby steps)
ReplyDeleteI agree. I have a kid, she is 3 and she knows how important clean up is. By seeing me organize and clean, she has already learned to put her stuff away and wipe up after herself. I think children like seeing/need to see their parent(s) engage in meaningful domestic activities, and they can get used to helping out with a tiny task of their own as an enjoyable time spent together - even if just once in a while.
ReplyDeletethanks for saying katy. as someone who doesn't have children myself, people don't always think i understand children so thanks for the back-up!
ReplyDelete:O)
So true!
ReplyDeleteAnd making the switch saves you valuable time EVERY morning so you can connect with your children before whisking them away to school or serving them breakfast.
I'm a stay at home mum with a 2 month and a 2 year old so I know when you have only 2 sec. to pick out your clothes before someone needs you ASAP.
Your sweet 3 year old niece sings "clean up time clean up time, everybody help - let's put all the toys away on the shelf"! It's a song that was passed down from her grandma, to me, to her!
ReplyDeletexo