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| | Tue, 24 Jun 2008 13:47:51 +0000 | | 
With three little kids under the age of 7, I have a lot of laundry. Onesies, socks, training pants—all changed at least a dozen times a day. One caveat, however, is that the clothes are all fairly small—so I can stuff a lot of them into one laundry load.
For my friends with teenagers, however, the stuff-14-outfits-in-the-washer days are over. As they tell me, all the stuffing seems to happen in their teens’ closets and drawers.
The problem with organizing most teens’ laundry is usually that they have way too many clothes. Stuck in the middle of childhood and adulthood, they often have several sizes stuffed in their drawers. Choosing between the styles of their friends and the preferences of their parents, they often have several styles stuffed in their closets, too.
Then when the charge comes to clean their rooms, many teens scoop up the entire stuffed contents and dump them into the hamper – clean clothes and all. (And every parent who has ever washed a teen’s shirt—and wondered if it had even been worn—knows exactly what I mean.)
The only way to achieve laundry victory is to set aside part of a day to help your child go through her complete wardrobe. Look at it as a special time together, and try to make it as fun as possible. Pick up their favorite Starbucks drink, let them choose the music (you can choose the volume), and get to work.
Here are some questions to ask about each item:
- Does it fit?
- Does it flatter?
- Does the teen like it?
- Does the parent approve of the style?
- Is it modest? (For help from other moms who have helped their own teens with modesty, click here. And for help from teens who are helping other teens with modesty, click here.)
- Does it go with anything else in the wardrobe?
- Can it be stored away for a different season, to make space in the closet now?
Any item that fails the test needs to be set aside. Chances are, you’ll still have plenty of clothes that work that the castoffs won’t be missed.
It might even be helpful to help your teen with a sort of personal fashion show: she can try on different outfits that work, then take a quick picture of the outfit. Then she can hang the photo on a hanger with the complete outfit, or tuck it in a drawer with the rest of the outfit’s accessories. This step will also help identify outfits that are “almost” complete—like the shirt that is cute, but just needs a camisole. Or the outfit that looks great, but doesn’t have the right shoes. Keep a running shopping list as you go, and a reward for finishing could be a trip to the mall to find the few items needed.
Once the clothes are all sorted, it’s time to put them back in the closet. And here’s where efficient storage is essential.
Here are some of our favorite clothes organizers for teens.
If you live in an older home without closets, or need to double the closet space for two kids sharing a room, a stand-alone wardrobe is an easy addition. Look at the extra storage space provided from one of these two-piece storage wardrobes (available in five colors, and delivered right to your door):
The sporty style of this locker storage furniture is both adds color and storage in a durable, long-lasting pieces. They come in a variety of colors for either guys’ or girls’ rooms.
For even more girly-style locker room furniture, we found this Baubles Locker Furniture for Girls. We like the portable feature of this rolling dresser — and it perfectly matches the rest of the Baubles collection, from this stylish bench to this study loft bed.
Speaking of rolling furniture, these next two pieces are some of our all-time closet favorites. They are affordable, colorful, and perfect for storing teens’ many accessories. From the larger, rolling drawer organizer chests to the smaller stunning storage solutions, the drawers keep accessories organized, while the wheels keep essentials accessible.
If you have a sporty teen, however, the accessories may be less baubles and hair accessories — and more balls and hats. This sturdy sports organizer center will keep it all together — and off the floor.
And for all those shoes, some families like to keep shoes all together in mudroom organizers like these shoe closets.
Other families (and teens) prefer to keep the clothes by the outfits. In that case, creative space-saving solutions are needed, like the classic over-the-door shoe holder (upgraded here from cheap plastic to sturdy chrome), and the retail-inspired revolving shoe tree. For low-maintenance sorting, these rolling see-through bins stash shoes in no time.
Finally, if you simply cannot get your teen to pick up her shoes from the floor, at least get a rug to match.
Good luck on those teen rooms — and be sure to send us photos of your room makeovers!
Between loads of laundry, I’ll be posting laundry solutions for everyone in the house. Stay tuned for easy, practical tips that will get you to the bottom of the hamper and out the laundry room door.
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| | Wed, 11 Jun 2008 20:20:41 +0000 | |  Halfway through the hamper, we’re taking a break from our laundry series to bring you a virtual tour of laundry rooms we love. Hang on to your spin cycle — we’ve got paint colors, storage ideas, and laundry room designs for every size washload.
A good place to soak up how-to information is from This Old House, which has a helpful article on laundry room design. One room that caught my eye was this laundry room with deep green walls. Though the cabinets and appliances are modern, the green walls and cottage chair bring a mix of old and new. A vintage chalkboard or vintage advertising sign hung on the wall would add even more.
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But it is easy being green — or at least using the color in the laundry room. The fresh color also works well on the floor, as this room from Martha Stewart Living shows.
One of my favorite rooms was this cheerful room from Better Homes and Gardens “Lively Laundry Rooms.” Designer details like wallpaper and a chandelier make one of the hardest-working rooms in the house also one of the most beautifully styled.
And check out this Cadillac of all laundry rooms from HGTV. From its sleek turquoise blue and stainless steel color scheme, to the flat screen TV and iPod speaker dock — I’d be re-washing clean clothes just to have an excuse to be in this incredible room.
On the practical side, having storage on wheels is very helpful in the laundry room. Where space is at a minimum, carts and hampers can be rolled away when not in use.
For efficient use of space even in small laundry rooms, consider hanging sorting bags directly over the washer, like in this closet laundry room on BHG.
Stay tuned for more laundry organizing this week. Happy folding!
Between loads of laundry, I’ll be posting laundry solutions for everyone in the house. Stay tuned for easy, practical tips that will get you to the bottom of the hamper and out the laundry room door.
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| | Tue, 03 Jun 2008 19:12:03 +0000 | | 
We’re slowly climbing up the growth chart — and the laundry pile — as we get the laundry organized.
Today, we’re heading into my son’s bedroom for ideas for older kids and ‘tweens. No bulldozer needed (anymore) — we’ve found storage solutions that work, and we’re sharing them with you.
Regular DesignTalk readers might remember the retro-music theme we had in our son’s room in our old house — and with a few changes, the theme traveled with us.
One change was how we organized his laundry. In his old room, we used to organize his clothes in cubbies on a shelf in his closet.
That was in our old house, where we had a separate room for him to play his many instruments (and make a lot of noise.) Since we’ve moved, his instruments have been jumbled in his room. To give him a special creative place, I surprised him one day by converting his closet into a tiny studio. We’ll be featuring the closet makeover in a separate post, but here’s a couple quick peeks from the iPhone:
The part I want to show, is the little space we reserved in his closet for clothes. This is the same style of storage cubbies that we used in our daughter’s room — but with music-themed labels.
Especially for the busy schedules of older kids and ‘tweens, having a place to put items for each day of the week is so helpful. From P.E. to baseball, the uniforms are easy to put away — and easy to find.
For everyday clothes, we utilized the drawers in his storage bed, adding tubs and labels inside the drawers to keep things organized. (The labels are from his old closet — simply duct-taped inside the tubs.)
The most important step, before we moved the music equipment into the closet, was to go through all his clothes, trying to put together complete outfits like we did with the baby and the toddler. Except this time, unlike our daughter who had too many clothes, we found out the poor kid had only two pairs of shorts that fit. And one pair was really pajamas.
So for older kids, having a “try-it-on” day is essential to make sense out of their laundry.
Anything that doesn’t fit, anything that doesn’t suit their style, anything that doesn’t meet your modesty standards, needs to go. It’s a little bit of work for a Saturday, but perhaps folding it in with a shopping (and ice cream!) trip might sweeten the deal. The reward, besides time together getting to know your growing child more (and a double scoop of mint chip!), is sanity in the mornings.
Between loads of laundry, I’ll be posting laundry solutions for everyone in the house. Stay tuned for easy, practical tips that will get you to the bottom of the hamper and out the laundry room door.
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| | Thu, 29 May 2008 19:22:28 +0000 | | 
A friend of mine recently said, “I don’t do laundry because we need more clothes to wear. I do laundry because there are always dirty clothes in the hamper.”
Sound familiar?
During one recent afternoon folding session, I realized that my children already had clothes to wear, in their drawers. Why on earth was I still folding laundry?
The answer was simple. We had way too many clothes.
I’ll use my daughter as an example. Sandwiched between two boys, it has been so much fun to pick out clothes for her. Like dressing a little doll, I (and her aunties, and her grandmas, and her friends) have had so much fun shopping for sweet little outfits for her to wear. All that resulted in way too many choices when it came to getting dressed in the morning.
So, like I did for the baby, I set out all her clothes in complete outfits, including undershirts, socks, tights, and accessories.
Once assembled, it was easy to see the pieces of her wardrobe that fit together – and easy to eliminate the random t-shirts, stained skirts, and torn socks that simply didn’t belong.
The harder decision, was what to do with 14 complete outfits. Seriously – what little girl needs 14 outfits? I weeded out the off-season clothes, and the clothes that didn’t quite fit. I stored off-season items and grow-into outfits in vintage suitcases, which decorate an out-of-the-way ledge in her room.
That brought us down closer to 10 outfits. After a few more disqualifications, we narrowed it down to about 7 regular outfits, and two special dresses.
Depending on your family’s schedule, I think most kids can easily get by with 7 outfits or less. That leaves enough for juice spills, potty training, and play clothes – and only doing laundry a few times a week.
Since my little girl (sigh) is quickly growing up, she wants to do much more “all by herself.” We found a way to help her do that — and ensure she has a semi-presentable outfit each day. Instead of organizing her clothes by type — like “shirts, skirts, and shorts” — we organized them by day of the week. Since I already sorted her clothes into outfits, each one simply dropped into the day of the week. This also made it easy to save play clothes for at-home days, and nicer outfits for errands and play dates.
These bins are rather plain for a little girls’ room, but I tried to dress them up a bit with labels made from vintage maps. A little bubble marks “today.”
For a bit more color, I like these rolling organizer bins.
Or even these affordable fabric bins, which can sit on existing shelves or these wire frames. (And see our son’s old room for and idea of how to label baskets like these.)
Between loads of laundry, I’ll be posting laundry solutions for everyone in the house. Stay tuned for easy, practical tips that will get you to the bottom of the hamper and out the laundry room door.
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| | Wed, 21 May 2008 18:36:18 +0000 | | 
Yesterday, we fought the battle of laundry day, and won.
Today, we take home the plunder, and try to put everything away. We’re sharing tips and tricks for every age, starting today with baby laundry.
For the littlest one, I still use a little trick that I first started during a busy travel season. Each laundry day (which is nearly every day around here), I tuck an entire outfit — including onesie, socks, and diaper — into a gallon-size ziploc bag.
His outfits are instantly available, no matter if dad, grandma, or a babysitter is dressing him. It also makes tossing an extra outfit into the diaper bag — and getting out the door — a breeze. I store his completed bags in wire baskets in the closet. (With labels like the ones we used on fabric baskets in another closet.)
It’s cheap, it’s portable, and it really works.
Between loads of laundry, I’ll be posting laundry solutions for everyone in the house. Stay tuned for easy, practical tips that will get you to the bottom of the hamper and out the laundry room door.
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| | Tue, 20 May 2008 19:59:29 +0000 | | 
In the ongoing war against the laundry monster, laundry day is the most decisive battle.
Whether your laundry day is everyday, or one day all its own, don’t lead the charge without a well-planned attack.
As I stand upon my own conquered laundry foe, I have strategic tips that will turn the Tide in your own war.
1. Fortification. Chances are, if you are battling your own laundry monster — you are deep in the trenches, simply fending off sieges from the enemy. Before you can come out ahead, you need to fortify your position. The best place to start is with a good folding table. The dining room table is off-limits, deep in enemy territory. You need a place that is safe from the bombardment of homework, crafts, and dinner.
We use several small tables put together, like these. When the war is over, they are great to reuse for dinner parties, kids’ tables, and even an occasional peacetime fort. To create more space in my small laundry storage room, I hung curtains from the ceiling in front of a stack of unsightly storage tubs. The tables fit nicely in front, and are easy to roll away when I need to access the long-term storage behind.
2. Stockpile. To defeat the enemy, you are going to need plenty of ammo. You don’t want to be deep in the throws of battle and run out, so I have my laundry supplies delivered right to my door. They store easily between the machines in this handy caddy, which can also provide more flat space for folding.
3. Transport. Make sure you have sturdy baskets to ensure safe transport of troops and supplies. These baskets come in five colors, to coordinate with your decor. They look much better than standard plastic laundry baskets, too.
4. Raid. Go through your home and gather every piece of dirty laundry you can find. Look under beds and behind doors, and beware of the closet ambush.
5. Siege. Start washing loads, and just keep going. Once you get caught up, it might be helpful to fold as you go – but with three little ones, it’s easiest for me to keep going throughout the day and fold it all at night when they’re in bed. I keep my clean laundry in extra-large galvanized trash cans, but these painted cans are much more colorful.
“Folding time” is my time to talk on the phone or listen to music without the little infantry attacking at my ankles. Folding all at once also gives me an undistracted time for the most decisive time of the war: the counter attack.
6. Counter Attack. When the clothes come through on the other side, the most important time has arrived. Before I place any folded item on the counter, I ask:
- Does it fit?
- Does it flatter?
- Does it belong in this season?
If it doesn’t fit, or doesn’t look good, it gets tossed into a basket I keep under the table. Though this sounds easy, it can be an emotional struggle to take any item down. Regardless if I’ve had the shirt for years, or spent $80 on the jeans – if they don’t work, they don’t make it to the counter. I don’t sort them yet or try to put them in long-term storage at this point – I simply toss the casualties aside for now.
7. Penetrate enemy lines. Before I put everything away (and we’ll have great tips for this in each section by age), I infiltrate the enemy territory. Here’s why.
Every item still stuffed in the dresser, or tossed aside on the floor, probably doesn’t fit or flatter in the first place. You know the type: the shirt that’s a little too tight, the Thomas the Train t-shirt your 6-year-old is now too cool to wear, and the tights that have an “icky” pilled texture that your daughter won’t touch. Corral these deserters, bring them in for interrogation, and ask the same tough questions you did with the first rounds of laundry.
8. Discharge. Once the laundry is sorted, folded, and culled, it’s time to put it all away. But assimilating all that laundry back into the daily routine is not easy – so stay tuned this week as we give specific recommendations for every age, from baby to hubby.
The battle is tough, but the rewards are great: Laundry Freeeeeeedom!
(Image from imdb. Shameless attempt to use a picture of Mel Gibson is mine.)
Between loads of laundry, I’ll be posting laundry solutions for everyone in the house. Stay tuned for easy, practical tips that will get you to the bottom of the hamper and out the laundry room door.
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| | Fri, 16 May 2008 17:28:33 +0000 | | 
When I move into a new house, the first thing I want to do is paint the walls.
Well, almost.
First, I have to fold the laundry. For five people.
Somewhere along with the lost socks, I’ve found a few organizing solutions that have streamlined our schedule, made mornings manageable, and given me hope that I’ll get to those paint cans soon.
Between loads of laundry, I’ll be posting laundry solutions for everyone in the house. Stay tuned for easy, practical tips that will get you to the bottom of the hamper and to the top of your own redecorating list.
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| | Fri, 09 May 2008 17:43:40 +0000 | |  Spring is the best time of year for eating outside. The weather is not too hot, the fresh air is so refreshing, and the mosquitoes are not quite mobilized. And if you have kids, cleanup is convenient, too: just hose them, the deck, and the patio down and call it good.
The inconvenience often comes in the middle of the meal — usually just as I’m ready to take my first bite — the waitress requests come in.
“Mom, may I have some juice?”
“Honey, do we have a beer in the fridge?”
“I’ll take a Diet Coke, if you’ve got one.”
 In and out the patio door I go, temporarily blinded by the shift from light to shade. Once I open the fridge, it becomes a balancing act of fresh food and leftovers as I try to excavate the various drinks we’ve stuffed in there to chill. Some are even in the freezer, for that quick-cool attempt. (And sometimes a can of Coke explodes in that process, just to make sure I have something to clean up inside.) I balance half a dozen drinks on the way back outside, just in time to serve seconds.
So when I started seeing attractive deck and patio coolers, I knew I needed to put one on my wish list. Not only will an outside cooler save a few trips inside during dinner, it will free up precious space in our little fridge. Stocked with a variety of drinks, it will effortlessly serve our guests while freeing up precious space inside the kitchen. Stocked with water, it will keep the kids hydrated outside, while freeing up precious silence inside. (No selfish motives here, of course.)
This party fridge cooler is a low-maintenance way to both store and chill drinks. Easy to stock with both cans and bottles, it just plugs in when you’re ready to chill the drinks — no last-minute trip to the gas station for ice. The extra tray space would work well for lemon slices, mixers, and snacks — and it is a party solution that you could roll inside to use in the winter months.
This Bar on Wheels portable entertainment cooler works in the same way, but also has a 4-hour backup battery system to keep drinks cool on the go.
For a stylish deck box that doesn’t look like a cooler, this wood deck cooler box would serve as extra seating and storage, too.
For a vintage look, this Coca-Cola can cooler can either cool or heat foods, and would work for a backyard baseball barbeque, or a major league tailgate party. Best of all, it would keep the exploding cans of Coke out of my freezer.
The secret to refreshing patio style?
Just chill out.
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| | Mon, 28 Apr 2008 19:37:15 +0000 | | 
Today is my little girl’s birthday, and it’s pouring rain. Obviously, the planned picnic at the playground is out. I have a hunch that the rain won’t dampen my daughter’s day, however — because rainy days are perfect for tea parties. And my little girly-girl loves tea parties! In fact, on a recent trip to the thrift store, I turned around to see this scene:
In the two minutes it had taken to walk in the store and put the baby in a cart, this little girl had pulled a tea cup, saucer, and swizzle stick from the shelves — and pulled up a table and chair to create her own little party. (She even took off her shoes! Apparently, my children feel way too much “at home” in the thrift store.)
So for today’s birthday tea, we’re pulling out all the details that little (and big) girls giggle for: sweet little tables, dainty cups, pretty tablecloths, and of course, tasty treats.
And as a birthday gift to you, dear readers, we’ve steeped a selection of some sweet tea-themed details for your own little girls. Because it’s always tea time somewhere!
First, if you are going to make a “proper” cup of tea, you need a proper teapot. This stainless steel whistling tea kettle would be a stylish accent in either a traditional country kitchen or on a sleek modern stove.
Personally, I appreciate the auto-shut-off function of an electric tea kettle. (And we’ll spare the embarrassing stories of unwatched pots that boiled just fine. Trust me, auto-shut-off is an excellent feature to have.)
Next, the tea party is really about the presentation. (Well, that and the sugar, but that goes without saying.) Little people like sitting in little seats, and here are a few of our favorites.
My daughter would absolutely squeal for this princess table and chairs. Pink and purple, with princess crowns and upholstered heart cushions? Tell me she wouldn’t be the envy of all the little girls in the neighborhood. It’s absolutely a sugar-sweet overload for me, but if I were not such a tomboy-mom I would get it for sure.
This Poodles in Paris set would be the perfect set to share a party with stuffed animals, especially if your little girl is a puppies fan, or has a popular Paris-themed bedroom.
Because I also have two boys, I like the classic design of this Nantucket table and chairs set.
Now that the table is in place, it’s time to set it with sweet treats. Even cookies from a box would look better on these covered candy stands.
And the party doesn’t have to stop when the teacup is empty. This “tea party” themed bedding will certainly bring sweet dreams of unlimited sugar cubes. It comes in toddler-size bedding, too.
Enough shopping, it’s time for tea!
Before I put on the kettle, let me say a big “Happy Birthday” to my favorite tea fan. We love you, Bellie!
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| | Sat, 19 Apr 2008 12:51:57 +0000 | | 
Every year I say the same thing.
“Next year is going to be different.”
“Next year I will have my taxes done early.”
“Next year I will finally get my paperwork organized.”
The problem usually comes in the all-nighters I pull the few days before taxes are due. After digging out from the avalanche of financial papers that takes over my kitchen table during that time, the only “Schedule” I want to see is the one for my masseuse.
But this year (I can see my husband rolling his eyes across the room now) — it really is going to be different. One shovel at a time, I’m digging out from the foot-high paperwork drifts. The first step is to store the important papers in something that is more attractive than the mail truck that picked up my return at 11:52 Monday night.
Thankfully, finding a stylish filing cabinet is not as hard as completing a Schedule A. Check our deductions for filing cabinets that are sure to bring a return on your investment.
- Diversified. From bold colors to rich wood, file cabinets come in a variety of styles to fit every décor. You can even find a style to fit popular decorating schemes, such as Traditional, Modern, or Country Cottage.
- Offshore Accounts. With so many styles available, you no longer need to keep a file cabinet hidden under the desk. Place a new file cabinet “off-shore” from a traditional office, and see great returns as an end table, nightstand, or entryway table. This is a great option for those without an extra room for a home office – and you’ll be able to file your bills during TV commercials.
- Lateral Move. Though most file cabinets are the vertical, two-drawer style, you may want to opt for a lateral file cabinet. Depending on your storage needs, a lateral file cabinet can double as a sofa table, dresser, or buffet.
- Itemized Storage. Many file cabinets have an extra drawer for office supplies or electronic equipment. When used as an end table or nightstand, these drawers are perfect for remote controls or bedside reading.
With your taxes neatly filed in a stylish new cabinet, you can put your feet up while you shop for ways to spend your tax return. And what about those of us who haven’t filed our taxes yet this year? With such attractive options for tax organization, we’re running out of excuses.
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