First day of school was a success!
My little divas had a fabulous day. Loved their teachers. Loved seeing all of their friends again. Loved their new sparkly shoes that light up with each step signaling to the world that they are coming a mile away. I loved seeing them so happy. And I loved having an hour and a half of peace during Kole’s nap (bliss!). And I loved that I didn’t get nearly as emotional as I usually do. A few tears, but nothing I couldn’t hide under my sunglasses. Like I said – the day was a success!
I got lots of questions yesterday about where I shop for my girls. Nothing special. I just head to the mall. All of the malls in San Diego are outdoor malls. They are very sunny, happy places to be. :) Here is a breakdown of where I bought the outfits in the picture I shared:
My go to stores for my girls are Gap Kids (has always been my favorite), Children’s Place (hit and miss), Gymboree, and lately Justice (Addison’s favorite – she loves anything that sparkles!). Once in a while I check out Old Navy. I had coupons to all of these stores so we got the girls some fun stuff for the school year.
I mentioned in my
“Back to School Checklist” post that I was trying to find a way to organize my girls school clothes for the week. I really needed to come up with something to reduce the drama each morning that usually takes place when it’s time to figure out what to wear. I had seen so many fun ideas on Pinterest and was going to come up with something really beautiful and spectacular. Then I remembered that I have no time right now for beautiful and spectacular so instead I did what I do have time for: easy and practical. I had the girls pick out their outfits for the week including socks and accessories.
Then I grabbed some scissors, a black marker and some gallon sized Ziploc bags that I had on hand.
I wrote each day of the week on the bags (twice so El and Ad each have their own) and then cut a small hole in them to slip the hanger through. LOVE IT! The bags hold their socks and accessories and remind my girls what they are wearing each day.
El’s first day outfit ready to go!
Addison’s too!
A few more examples:
The bags are big and strong enough to also hold things like leggings and skirts.
Whatever doesn’t go on the hanger fits in the bag!
El’s outfits for the first week. They are all Ellie approved: extremely comfortable.
Ad’s outfits for the first week. They are all Addison approved: extremely fashionable.
My girls never change. :)
A lot of the ideas I’d seen on Pinterest were great, but took up too much closet space. I love that the outfits/bags fit nicely in the girls’ closets and everything we need is all in one place ready to go! I also love that this didn’t cost a cent and took me about two minutes to put together. I’m so excited about my new system for organizing outfits! One more way to minimize stress in the morning. Which we desperately need. Because a certain two year old is so good at maximizing it.
I guess easy and practical isn’t so bad after all.
:)
xoxo, Erin
I couldn’t believe the pictures of the girls. Not only do they look adorable, but they have grown so much.
So happy to hear that their first day back was such a success for them and you. ;)
Love the zip lock idea.
Have a great week!
Seriously, girl, you are amazing. I love the Ziploc baggie idea (plus, the wanna-be-environmentalist in me likes that you can reuse them (in theory) indefinitely!). Thanks for sharing!
I love your easy and very practical idea!
I have a 6-partition fabric shelving thing in my twins’ bedroom so in winter I set out 3 outfits at a time each, but in summer (9 months of the year, here in South Africa), the clothes are light so I can put out both kids’ clothes in one partition.
Actually, hang on – I wrote a post here
http://takechargesolutions.org/blog/2011/10/21/31-days-how-do-you-organise-my-kids-clothes/
Your girls look so cute!
First off, your girls are so cute! Love the ziploc bag idea. I actually used one of the ideas you shared a few weeks back and love it as well. So much easier to have everything ready for the week. My 1st grader is a little of a diva herself and picking clothes could get difficult :) With her picking her clothes with me…not so much whining {love!!!}. Thanks for sharing all your great finds and your awesome ideas!!!
This is a great idea and is easy and not expensive. While I have two boys starting preschool next week, and even though you’d think boys aren’t particular about their clothes, my boys are VERY picky about their clothes. I think I’m going to have to implement this system in my house for sure.
I did this very same thing the first year I had my first ‘real’ job! My mom ironed, I co-ordinated. A good way to do things never goews out of style!
One more week and I’ll be doing this too… I never thought I would say this, but I am GLAD that my children wear uniforms. All we have to decide is which color shirt to wear each day!
Wow!!! what a great idea!! I am going to also implement this for myself for the two days a week I work part time!! I love that your girls’ outfits are all so colour coordinated!
Thanks everyone! Erin – I’m so glad you are going to try this! We are only on day two but it’s working like a charm so far. :)
Such cute clothes! Love your ziploc idea too! My daughter is so picky with her clothes. Do you stick with the basics like leggings and tunics? I think we need more that she can mix and match with. She has so many clothes that she doesn’t even wear. I get frustrated when trying to shop with her because she is picky and I just don’t know what to get her that she will get the most use out of. I am the same way when I shop for myself.
Olivia from Toronto, Canada said…
I think this is a great idea Erin. I wore school uniforms form Grade three right through to the end of High school. There are three girls and one brother in our family. It helps when sisters don’t borow clothes from one another.Your system will be a time saver.
Erin I do not have a blog so I have to go under annonoymus. Enjoy your day. Olivia
I think I need to do this for myself!
Had to tell you I bought your mascara suggestion, and I LOVE it. Mascara has been a constant battle for me, but this stuff is great. No flaking, no itchy eyes. Thanks for sharing!!
I love putting the whole outfit in a big zip for trips! Throw all those bags in a hotel drawer (cuz those drawers are gross :))makes it easy travelling too in a carry on or on a car trip, quick and easy access, all together :) voilia! We switched schools and now are in UNIFORMS!!!! can I get an amen?! No more morning drama…:) well, of that nature anyways :)
Love this! I have clothing dividers for my kids for outfits M-F, but never thought about accessories! This is perfect, I’m so doing this! The girls’ clothes are adorable..do you find that buying girl clothes is so much and easier (and fun!) than buying boys? I have this problem with my son and daughter LOL!
Hi Beth! Sounds like you know all about outfit drama at your house too. :) My girls love leggings and skirts so we buy those the most. They both hate pants and I just stopped buying them! We have the same problem with forgetting to even wear stuff they have so I’m hoping that picking out our outfits for the week like this will help us to be creative.
Fun to hear from you Olivia! Thanks for the sweet comment. :)
Anna – YEA! I’m so thrilled you like the mascara! Isn’t it great!? I have tried so many and I just keep going back to that one.
Amanda – I’m jealous of the uniforms! That would solve problems pretty quickly. :)
Hollie – YES!! It really is so much more fun to shop for girls. I wish I could have one more girl just for the shopping! (Baby girl clothes are my favorite!) :)
What a great idea! I’ll have to remember this for the future when my daughter starts school.
Great idea! Love all the cute outfits.
Debbie
Happy first day of school. I love Addison’s glamour…My oldest loves shine, shimmer and peace signs! Can’t believe summer is over…
Great work, Erin. Cute is good but not if it doesn’t actually save you any time or effort.
I use a similar idea with the giant ziplock bags when packing for my children. I put complete outfits in the bags, as seen in this post. http://www.twenty5seven.org/2012/07/packing-for-children.html
It’s good because it keeps *everything* together (clothes, socks, headbands etc) so there’s no thinking needed and no last minute searching for accessories.
Having a hard time deciding which is cuter, the idea -or- your girls clothes! I say this as I’m eyeing my sons nike t-shirt for tomorrow. BORING. Oh, well, I’ll have sparkles when my girls are old enough for school!! Thanks for sharing!!
Okay I’m liking this idea for me :)! Glad they had such a good first day.
I so know why I have boys. Outfits? wha? my boys don’t care if they have different socks on. t.shrit, shorts, shoes. good to go. matching? whatev!!
Heaven help Kole if mom starts putting matching socks in baggies for you:)
GREAT idea Erin!!!
Thats a great system for clothing !