I finally had it this weekend when it took swimming through a sea of winter wear just to get out of the door. Despite my best efforts to corral the chaos, there were hats, mittens, gloves and scarves everywhere in the front hall. I could probably have jumped off of the upstairs landing, executed a not-so-perfect swan dive and still not get hurt, thanks to the padding of a pile of soft, colorful acrylic.
You know what leaves me shaking my head the most? The fact that even though there were all of those mittens and gloves all over the place, the kids still often went outside without any protection for their hands, because they couldn’t find matching pairs. After our second trip to Target for more bargain gloves I knew we needed a better system.
Up until this point, we’ve been using containers to store the various winter pieces. I’ve tried everything from cardboard boxes hidden in the closet to a pretty wicker basket right by the door. The results weren’t pretty. Most of the time things wound up back on the floor, as the kids rooted around trying to find what they needed. Plus, even the attractive basket didn’t look all that appealing when it was overstuffed or kicked over.
So I finally got smart. We headed over to target in search for a hanging shoe organizer. These things can organize much more than shoes and have come a long way in recent years. I opted to pass by the cheaper all plastic ones that would not only tear in a few months or weeks but also look pretty bad. Instead, for a little more money (still under $15) I found one made out of canvas with reinforced eyelets for hanging.
Because the front hall sees so much action and is crowded as it is, I hung the organizer on the back of the guest bedroom door, where it is seldom seen but still within easy reach. Each family member got a row of pockets, in age order, making it easy to retrieve and put away the hats, gloves and mittens. The top row is reserved for shared items, such as scarves and neck warmers, as well as special stuffed animal friends who accompany one child everywhere.
In the summer, we can simply switch out the winter gear for baseball hats, sun hats and sunscreen, or remove the organizer for the season.
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