Organizing Outfits for the Week

By Jessica Ackerman of WallDecorandHomeAccents

One of the biggest hassles on school mornings can be helping the kids find something to wear. No matter how many new outfits they have or how packed their closets are with clothes, it is inevitable that clothing delays will happen. How can you take back the morning and simplify the search for clothes? Try a little bit of planning and thinking ahead to get your kids moving without a lot of fuss.

What’s the Weather?

Before looking at the clothes in your child’s closet, take a peek at the weather forecast for the week. Make note of days when it will be excessively warm, bitterly cold, rainy or snowy. Jot those days on a scrap sheet of paper and bring it with you to the closet.

Input & Selection

While it may be possible to pick outfits for the week for younger children, once they reach elementary school age, children like to have input into what they wear. Ask your child to help you go through the closet and select five outfits for the week. Talk with her about what the weather is supposed to be like and about events or sports practices that may be scheduled for that week. Once five appropriate outfits have been chosen it is time to add the accessories.

Accessories

Besides any jewelry, accessories can also encompass socks, stockings, underwear and other essentials. Set aside what is needed for each outfit, so that there is no mad dash in the morning to find a pair of socks or to discover that there is a run in the favorite pair of tights at the last minute. By having everything together, children will be able to get themselves dressed quickly and efficiently in the morning. Do not forget to discuss shoes and which ones will be worn with each outfit, as well.

Organize

Set up a separate area of the closet or dresser where the selected outfits can be placed. It can be a hanging shelf that is labeled with the days of the week, or it can be one side of the closet bar. No matter where you put them, be sure that they are easy for children to reach and remove. If the closet is too full, when the child is trying to pull out the day’s outfit other clothes may fall off hangers or get tossed aside. The easier it is for the child to get at the clothing, the easier the morning will go.

Twenty minutes of organizing the week’s school outfits can be 20 minutes saved from arguing, fussing and hassle each day. A good day to lay out the clothing is on a Sunday, as you can arrange pieces for the entire week. Make sure that your child provides input and helps select the clothing or the system will fail.

About the Author:

Jessica Ackerman, is a consultant with WallDecorandHomeAccents.com and describes how to decorate with outdoor thermometer wall clocks and tree wall art hanging.