I can't believe I'm this excited about this ...

But I am! As I mentioned on Facebook, I'm "embarking on an adventure of organizational magnitude." After much thinking, researching, and chatting with others who are doing this, I decided to make a family closet.

My friends, I'm goin' Duggar.

Don't worry, it won't be stocked with denim skirts and modest bathingsuits. And, its just for the kids. The hubs and I will keep our closet to ourselves. The big difference is that now, I'll be able to walk across my bedroom floor to get to
my closet!

You see, up until late last night, we had what could best be described as a "floordrobe."

Here's how laundry went down in our house: People disrobe and put dirty clothes in the apppropriate laundry basket in the laundry room (most of the time). Clothes were washed, and then dried. So far, so good. Here's where it all fell to peices. The clean laundry then ended up on our bedroom floor, and without the time to fold everything, then walk it down the hall and put it away, it would sit in said heap on the floor.

Wall to wall clothing, the hubs called it.

"Wait!" you're saying. "Why are YOU walking it down the hall and putting it away? Isn't that what your minions/dear children are for?" In theory, its a great idea, but never worked. IF they brought it down to their room, I still couldn't gurarrentee that the clothes would make it to the dresser, and IF they made it to the dresser I couldn't gurrentee that the clean clothes would stay in the dresser and not get mixed up on the floor with the dirty clothes that didn't make it to the laundry room (see above).

Laundry Carnage.

Now, imagine, EVERY STINKING DAY, going through this ginormous pile of clothing on the floor of the master bedroom trying to find something, ANYTHING to wear! My friends, its nothing short of a miracle that we walk out the door with clothes on each day.

Seriously.

So when I heard about the idea of a family cloest via the Duggars, I was intrigued. And when I found that I friend of mine is transitioning her family's wardrobe into one, I became interested. And when I was all over the web several days ago, looking at other people's succes stories, I was positivley salivating.

I know. I'm talking about laundry. This shouldn't get me going like it does. BUT, when you look at the pure magnitude of seven people's clothing, and the chore that washing, drying and putting away can be, then it makes sense that an organizational system that would make the use of clothing in our house easier, is there any question that I'm as giddy as I am?

I didn't think so.

So, onto logistics.

Some people move the closet right into the laundry room. Since ours is a glorified cloest, its not an option, and besides, I don't want it all going down in the same room. Ben and Will's room is directly next to the laundry room, and quite frankly, all they did there was sleep. Katie's room turned out to have a whopping 22 square feet more than Alex and James' room, so Katie moved to the boys' room, and all four boys moved into Katie's room. At the moment, its a set of bunk beds, a twin with box spring, and the crib, and its really NOT crowded. When Ben gets bigger, we'll bring in a second set of bunk beds, and it should work well. Add some shelving for their personal effects, and we're good.

Katie has no problem. Except that her room still automatically turns into the guest bedroom when need be.

Moving onto the new "closet." When you walk in, the wall that is on your right and the adjacent wall will have two rows of wire shelves. The first is low enough for little ones to retreive their clothes and the second will be high enough to store things out of reach. EVERYTHING will be hung. Well, almost everything. On the shelf where the clothes hang, the kids will have buckets; one for underwear, one for undershirts, and one for socks. (I'll get to the sock organization idea that someone emailed to my HS group soon.)

So, when its time to get dressed, the kiddoes go to the big cloest, pull clothes from the rack and put the hanger in the big box in the middle of the floor. Dirty clothes go in the laundry baskets that are on the wall on the left of the room when you first walk in. When the baskets are full, I bring them to the laundry room, wash and dry, bring back to the big closet. Then, all the clothes go onto hangers, are hung in each child's spot, ready to go until the next day!

I was talking to a friend about this the other day, and she thought it was a great idea for me, since I'm a very visual person. I can now tell at a glance what everyone has, what they need, and what they have coming up. I've purchased things for someone to grow into, or put things away to pass down, and sure enough, I forget about it because I don't see it. Also, out of season clothes will stay in this room, up high, so that I don't have to pack them up and lug them to the basement.

Its giving me bumps of the goose just thinking about it. :)

Hopefully, this afternoon I'll be able to go out and purchase the shelving and then the hubs will have the materials available for when he has time to work on the project. I've got to tell you, I was really surprised to hear that he was in favor of the idea, but the way he sees it, if its going to bring more organization to the faulty system we currently have, he's for it. I got a good egg there, 'eh? :)

So, there you have it! I have to tell you, I was reading the Duggar's book the other day, and I came across something that really helped me to take plunge on this. Back when Jim Bob and Michelle had "only" six or seven kids (ha!), JB suggested they get two washers and dryers. Michelle thought this was crazy, because no one else has two of each! JB made the point that their family was larger than normal, and so they had to start thinking about what would make their lives easier. Just because most people aren't going to dedicate an entire bedroom to clothing, doesn't mean that I shouldn't do it if it will make life easier. Hey, maybe laundry will be fun again!!