Sorting kids clothes: a second job

It sounds easy, right? Sort out the outgrown kids clothes. Well, it's not. Let me know tell you a bit about the (at least) twice yearly process I go through.

The consignment stores are now taking fall clothes which is my cue to start combing through the kids closets. I go through the closets and drawers of each child and take out what is too small. Then I divide the clothes into the fall pile, and the summer pile. The summer pile gets put into a storage bin and gets dealt with in the early spring since I can't consign any of it right now. The fall pile (and anything that was put in a storage bin last fall) is now ready to be sorted. I have to ask myself the following questions:

Is this in good condition/no stains? If not, it goes to donation pile. If it is in good condition, is it an item that a) a friend could use? or b)is it nice enough that the consignment store will take it? After that decision is made it either goes in the friend bag, or the consignment pile. If it goes into the consignment pile, it also has to be put on a hanger. (Do I have enough hangers? What if the hanger has a different size listed on it?-- then I take of the size clip. What is the best hanger for this item?)

Other things I think about as well is whether an item that was worn last fall may still fit this fall, and for how long? Since my son is not outgrowing his clothes quite as fast now, this can be a tricky question.

Further, once all the sorting is done, the closets and drawers need to reorganized, and made ready for the upcoming seasons clothes. At that point I can see what they will need for the next season.

(not my clothes... for illustrative purposes only)

Oh, and then I need to haul all the various clothes to the donation center, to my friends, and to the consignment stores! With two kids in tow! Sheesh!

Smiles

Back from the beach!

We're back from the beach. It was a good vacation... the weather was nice, we got to visit with family, and the kids had a lot of fun. Thankfully, both kids loved being on the beach this year. Emmett love to play in the sand and jump the waves. And Molly just took it all in and enjoyed it all. We visited a water park in Myrtle Beach.... it was good experience, but I don't think we'll take the kids back there until they are a good bit older. Emmett and I went to a planetarium which was interesting, even though the IMAX movie was a bit overwhelming for him. And the rest of the time we were on the beach or just relaxing. It all went by way too fast. Can't believe tomorrow is Monday already.

a little lax

McGurkus has been spending some time at the beach... and less time on the computer. Therefore, less blogging. However, I have had plenty of time to think about things I want to blog about! Coming up soon.... beach with the kids, unsolicited advice about parenting, more favorite kids items, favorite books.

Until then, take a look at this great post:
Why having a toddler is like being at a frat party

Numbers

2nd week of the new job. So far, so good. Too early to give an accurate representation of what it will be like, but outlook is good.

3 days left until we head to the beach! Yea! Looking forward to vacation time. Really hoping for both the kids to enjoy it this year. Last year with a 6 week old, I was basically hanging out inside nursing and watching TV. Should be a lot more fun this time!

1 year until Emmett goes to Kindergarten!

1 year until my 20th high school reunion. Can I really be that old?

And only 164 days until Christmas. :)

Tolerance, or lack thereof.

Today, my 4 year old's whining seems whinier. And my 1 year old's crying is louder and screechier. Or is it just me?

I think it is just me. I am not sure why, but it is just one of those days. Tolerance is not something I seem to have a lot of right now. Maybe it is because vacation is near and I am ready to go. Maybe it is because my project list is so long, but I seem to never be able to cross many things off of it. Maybe it is because I have had one too many nights lately with broken sleep. Who knows.

Tomorrow is a new day.

What do you do when you want a mini van, but you don't want a mini van?

You buy a microvan! The Mazda5. 

Ok, I know you are thinking about that previous post where I said I wanted a minivan. Well, the Mazda5 is really a mini minivan and it had all the things we liked about a minivan, without the downsides. I shall explain. As I mentioned in my earlier post, these were my reasons for wanting a minivan:

1. To be able to drive to the beach for vacation without having things shoved in the door pockets and under the passengers feet.

2. So that the back of my seat won't get kicked as easily

3. So it will be easier to toss the kids in with the sliding doors.

4. So we can buy and haul large items from Home Depot and Ikea.

5. So we can have guests go with us somewhere without having to take multiple cars.

We get all those met with the Mazda. 

And here are the bonus points:

1. It doesn't really look like a minivan. (Double bonus: my husband doesn't mind driving it since it is less soccer mom-ish.)

2. It is easier to drive and park. 

3. It gets much better gas mileage. 

4. It is at a much better price point than a regular minivan.

We still get a third row, sliding doors, etc. The only thing you sacrifice is less cargo space (but is still a good bit of space, if you don't plan to use your third row very often). I think it will be great for our family of four.