Ridiculously Simple Laundry Trick for Organizing Shared Closets Leave a comment
Sometimes I feel like I’m the Queen of the Obvious.
Welcome to my kingdom.
I’ve recently come up with a solution that’s so obvious, I’m pretty sure every mom of more than one kid has been doing it since she washed her first load of baby-plus-toddler laundry.
But whatever. I don’t write for the moms who already have it together. I write for people like me who are just grateful for super simple tricks to help keep closets (more) organized and their laundry routines (more) headache free.
So what is the organizing solution that has improved our home? I assigned different colored hangers to each of my three kids.
Those who didn’t know there were people out there who hadn’t thought of this, pat yourselves on the back and move right along.
Those of you whose eyes have narrowed because this has never occurred to you, and therefore you wonder if it would actually make a difference, read on.
I Don’t Have to Keep Doorknobs Straight
I know. That sentence doesn’t seem to make sense. But it’s actually a big deal. My former system for keeping kids’ clothing straight as it came out of the dryer was to designate a different doorknob for each person on which to hang their clothes.
But I had to remember which doorknob was designated for which kid.
And I often didn’t remember.
Or I thought I remembered even though I didn’t actually remember and then clothes got mixed up.
Facts that might help you understand:
- I have four easily accessible doorknobs within range of my laundry room.
- I have three man-sized people in my home. One actual man (my husband) and two pretty-much-men teenage boys.
- My kids wear uniforms at their public schools. All in the same colors. So even my daughter’s clothing looks similar at a glance.
When I’m putting clothes on white, black or pink hangers as they come out of the dryer, that’s the only time I have to figure out who the item belongs to. I figure out whose shirt it is, hang it, and I’m done.
No more brain power required. And I just hang them all on the emptiest, closest doorknob. Together.
Mama Answers Fewer Questions
My kids caught on quickly. This shouldn’t surprise me. They’re smart people. But you might not have known they were smart for all the times they felt it was necessary to ask me which clothes were whose.
Since checking size tags is so hard(?), it really helps them to be able to see immediately which things are theirs, and that there are, in fact, clean clothes for them and not just for the better-loved brother.
Less Mess in the Shared Closet/Room
Even though there were clearly(ish) divided sides of the closet, the combination of the boys forgetting that fact and me absentmindedly putting things on the wrong side while having animated discussions with myself meant that clothes were often pulled off of hangers, tried on, and then dropped on the floor because they belonged to the other person.
Solving that problem is worth the cost of the hangers, for sure.
What Kind of Hangers?
FYI, I’m going to use affiliate links to the stuff I mention.
I had planned on getting velvet hangers in different colors for my kids. I love (love love love) my own velvet hangers.
But velvet hangers, especially ones in different colors, are expensive.
So while walking past a display of plastic hangers during back to school/dorm time, I grabbed some. For, like, $3.something a pack.
They work fine. Probably better for my kids.
Here is an example (using my referral link) of some similar ones on Amazon, but I got mine cheaper.
I’d love to know your best tricks for keeping clothes straight in shared closets.
–Nony
