Organization For Kid's Clean Laundry

It's a hang-up of mine for my kids to be in unmatched or messy clothes. Maybe it seems petty to some, but to me, it makes them look sloppy and unclean. I feel like it's important to teach the kids that, as Christians, we should always look our best to set an example. Besides that, studies have been done that show that your attitude and behaviour match your attire. I know if I'm sitting around in my pajamas, I will naturally feel lazy. But if I get up, get dressed, fix my hair, and get ready to start my day, even if I'm not going anywhere, I feel better about myself and I'm much more productive. That being said, every mother knows what a pain it is to pick out everybody's clothes every morning! Plus, when you have a child in the family like my Eli who thinks everytime he gets a drop of water on his pants they need to be changed, the end result is a dresser that's full of shirts, but no pants, 4 pair of unmatched socks, and that one odd glove! That makes it very hard to look your best! We also don't like to stifle their growing independence and individuality. Picking out their own clothes every morning is a big deal to little ones and makes them feel very grown up. We like for the kids to practice responsibility in all areas of life, including getting themselves ready for the day. So, where do you draw the line? How do you keep the kiddos looking sharp, but also allow them to be in charge of their own attire? Well, we've devised, what we think is a pretty good system in our house that allows the kids to get themselves dressed every morning, in clothes that actually match!! I thought I'd share our plan, using Eli as an example: When it's time to fold and put away his clean clothes, I match up the outfits: pants, a shirt, socks, and a pair underwear, and slip everything into a gallon zip lock bag. If I don't have enough bags, I use rubberbands, though we risk losing pieces that way, so I prefer the bags. Then we put his clothes into 3 drawers: The top drawer for "Day-time Clothes", the second drawer for "Outside Clothes", and the last drawer for pajamas. He knows which drawers are which (In the past we've added pictures to the drawers of the child who has a hard time remembering. Like a sun for daytime clothes, moon for pajamas, etc.). That way, every morning, he just goes to his top drawer, pulls out his bag, and he has everything he needs. Later, if he's going outside to help Daddy work on the car, I tell him to put on some of his outside clothes, and he knows just what to do. As the kids get older and start wanting to match up their own clothes, we sit together and match them up before they put them away. This may not seem like that big of a deal to some, but for me it saves so much time. With this plan and a few other simple routines to follow every morning, everything runs smoothly, allowing me to get up, get ready, and have breakfast done by the time everyone comes in. The kids know to wake up, make their beds, grab a bag of clothes to put on, brush their teeth, and meet at the table for breakfast. When the day starts out so smoothly, it sets the pace for the rest of the day. Now, if I could just find that match to that one odd glove...