Aug 16, 2020
With summer coming to a close and families everywhere shifting back to more structured learning, a little organizing magic can go a long way to ease the transition.
You can start with just a small tiny step, one room at a time.
The most important thing is to START.
Today, I will take you to our girls’ closet space
This rack is adjustable, and it was less than $5 at Walmart. All I had to do was simply secure it between the two walls.
It is easy to access containers for accessories, and there are low hooks for little hands to easily put away belongings.
These hair accessories are placed where both girls can easily access them.
…and the best part?
I re-purposed an old picture frame into a necklace organizer: recycling at work, and in general, less is more.
One of the top questions I’m asked by a lot from parents is about setting up spaces for siblings with different ages:
I recommend thinking about a way you can separate activities on the higher level out of reach of the younger child – this works like magic.
In case you are wondering, the hair accessories are organized with door hangers (I got these door hangers – used for hanging wreaths – from the Dollar store.)
Emily also has accessories she can wear – and these are kept on low hooks that are at her height. She is able to choose what to wear on her own.
In case you are wondering, the hair accessories are organized with door hangers (I got these door hangers – used for hanging wreaths – from the Dollar store.)
Emily also has accessories she can wear – and these are kept on low hooks that are at her height. She is able to choose what to wear on her own.
Things to consider! Only put out something your child can manage by herself – i.e. currently, Emily (younger daughter) can put a barrette or headband in her hair on her own, so that is what is available to her.
Also, only put out appropriate clothing for the current weather. If only winter clothing is available in the winter, then we can avoid saying “Don’t wear that” or “That’s not appropriate” when they choose to wear shorts in the middle of winter.
If you set up the closet the right way, your morning routine becomes much smoother and happier!
I love this type of shelving – it’s so flexible to add containers and hooks where we need them. The green container is where we keep Emily’s socks. Each container has two pairs of socks, with different colors for her to match with her choice of her outfit for the day.
These baskets are full of Chelyn’s (older daughter) clothing accessories:
Each basket is labeled and supplied for a single category such as socks, underwear, tights, pants, and shirts.
For Chelyn, as soon as I got out all of her pants, shirts, and tights for cooler weather, she was able to manage on her own.
Now…this is where it really gets good…
As we are packing away the warm-weather clothes, we decided together RIGHT THEN AND THERE which clothes most likely will not fit next spring, and those clothes went immediately to the garage to this container to be donated.
Below this low rack for clothing, a series of baskets are available for Emily’s clothing.
Again, each basket has only one type of clothing stored inside.
Just so you know, Emily had only two choices when she was younger in each baskets. The number increased as she got older and became more responsible.
By the way, the bottom basket is where I keep Emily’s extra clothes, under wears and socks – it’s my back-up supply to replenish and have the right number of choices available.
There is one more thing worth mentioning:
We do laundry three times a week. After clothes are washed and dried, folding laundry is one’s of my girls’ responsibilities.
You want to know the best part? They know where everything goes!
In the Montessori world, we know that the set-up matters: how the space is set up can make or break the opportunity for independence.
Want a little more Montessori magic in your life?
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