September 18, 2007
Nothing to say but that's okay
Should one limit their blogging to when they have something to say?
I, for one, think not.
It's Tuesday now. I don't have anything exciting to say from the weekend.
I did take some pictures the other day when I hauled out all the totes for the Great Seasonal Clothing Swap.
For any of you who don't live in states with *seasons* or own a herd of children, the gist of the Swap is that when it goes from hot to cold we have to put away most of the t-shirts and shorts, and drag out the sweats and long sleeved shirts.
Why put away *most* ?? Ha ha ha! because in Michigan the transition time is not one of steadily declining temps from summer into fall where, at one point, you can say "ahh, we have moved from summer to fall and will not need our summer clothes." Indeed, we instead oscillate back and forth insanely, where one day might be high 80's and the next day in the 40's. And back and forth again. And again. And again. Necessitating a fairly long season of having a little bit of everything out.
Which drags the Great Seasonal Clothing Swap out in a frustrating manner if you'd prefer your totes of clothing to live in, say, the basement, attic, or back closet rather than the living room, where you have space to sort and pile and open and close totes.
So I did take a picture of the stacks and stacks of totes. Why not just one tote per child? Because their sizes are always in transition and some things must necessarily sit, tidily (or not so much) toted for several years. There is a big difference between recently-outgrown size 10 jeans and a small 6 year old, for example. And the in between child, unfortunately for the clothing, is of the opposite gender.
And of course there is also the totes of "I believe this will still fit next summer" and all of that. It adds up to a lot of totes.
But you don't really want to see the heaps of totes, do you? They're not really very interesting pictures. Although, I guess I will say the pictures of little boys in their floatie swimming suits - especially those worn as helmets - were amusing. Buzz went through a day or two of insisting on wearing the floatie suit over his clothes, with cowboy boots, too. Crazy boy.
Anyway, today I hope to wrap up the tote job to the point of stacking them back in the closet, where they are much more difficult to access but at least not trying to pass for living room decor, nor tempting anyone to scale them.
My, that's a lot of words for having nothing to say!
Posted by Kim at September 18, 2007 9:38 AMI still have a few weeks before I have to do the "switch", though some mornings kids are scrambling to find the sweatshirt we left out from the last switch.
And *I* ,for one, enjoy any pics you share--so why doncha post a few. :)
Posted by: Kerri at September 16, 2007 10:18 PMAh, yes...the Great Seasonal Clothing Switch...such joy.
I have only one tote of off-season clothes per boy...
but zillions of boxes of off-size clothes in the basement. :-/
We did the Great Seasonal Clothing swap this weekend too. So overwhelming. Not only with all the old clothes everywhere, but overwhelmed with all the new clothes we are going to have to buy because things don't fit anymore!
Posted by: Erin at September 18, 2007 1:12 PMWe did the Great Seasonal Clothing swap this weekend too. So overwhelming. Not only with all the old clothes everywhere, but overwhelmed with all the new clothes we are going to have to buy because things don't fit anymore!
Posted by: Erin at September 18, 2007 1:12 PMI always want to live where there are seasons- until I read something like this. ;-) I hope you're having fun doing it. Sometimes I like tasks like this, kind of like forced organization and looking forward to something different.
Aaackk! I haven't even thought of the Great Seasonal Clothing swap yet! I'm already behind!!! Of course, my usual swap takes place when the children are begging for long sleeves.
Posted by: karen at September 18, 2007 10:07 PMI never do the seasonal swap. Of course, this results in children running around in shorts and tshirts, complaining that it is cold in the house in January. Hmmm...Perhaps I should rethink this?
Posted by: Barbie at September 18, 2007 10:38 PMMy method is just to buy all-season clothes and LAYER, LAYER, LAYER!!! (My mother says I'm just lazy!)
My mother, however, (who has 3, yes 3, closets for her clothes) insists on doing the seasonal clothes packing and toting!! (Actually, the WonderHusband does the toting, up and down the basement stairs!)
Posted by: Theresa at September 19, 2007 7:33 AMOh, how the kids LOVE the Great Swap. It's like Christmas! Of course, it's a full-day event, with the organization before and laundry after, and the fashion show all during. And ours isn't in the living room, it's the whole house! Each child has their own "dressing room" and sorts in there.
Having four girls but only one boy, david is usually exempt from the Great Swap. He always wears the same thing - T shirts and jeans - no matter what the weather. He adds a hoodie in spring and fall and a jacket in the winter (although we haven't needed our jackets since moving to the south at ALL.)
Each child here has two totes. One "NOW," one "SOON." "NOW" is full of clothes they can wear now (yes, a wordsmith I am with the labelmaker,) the right size regardless of season. Soon is full of clothes that will be the right size for them eventually. The only things they may keep in their totes are the clothes they truly love. If big sister passes down something little sister doesn't like, she passes it down and down and down until someone grabs it. If no one grabs it, it goes to Goodwill.
The same one-in-one-out rule applies to our totes as does to our closets. If you grab something new, something old goes. They have room for five play outfits, one church outfit, one extra-grungy and two PJs. Everything else goes in the totes. The totes' lids have to snap shut. Everything else goes to Goodwill.
We're particularly blessed that the garage where the totes live is one door from the girls' basement bedroom! They are NOT allowed to get into the totes unsupervised, but if something rips or becomes unwearable, getting out a new outfit doesn't require a trip to the attic.
Although I would dearly love to live in a place where the Grand Seasonal Clothing Swap is done on Memorial and Labor Day weekends, it never quite turns out that way. Here it is, the end of September, and our weather is still in the 90's. As I pass the totes in the garage, I lovingly look at all the "SOON" labels staring at me and thinking, "Yes, please!"
Posted by: Peggy at September 19, 2007 8:43 AMI hear ya!! I dread this time of year! We have a mountain of totes downstairs too. I don't keep them sorted per child either. I don't even sort them according to boy, girl, mom or dad. I just throw everyone's winter together in the tote and label it winter or summer.
I would love to see pictures of your liitle boys in floaties and cowboy boots!
Posted by: Julie at September 19, 2007 12:25 PMugh. I so relate. We have the same insanity....in MISSISSIPPI of all places! Every spring and fall, I have guilt that I KNOW in my heart I should be grateful for this provision from the Lord in my attic. I AM grateful....but I DESPISE the GCS!!!
We should own stock in the *tote* companies!!
Posted by: Polly at September 20, 2007 10:50 PMI never used to do a swap. Even when we lived in NY, I don't recall ever doing a swap (everything was available all the time)... but then, I have only one brother and no sisters, so the clothing quantity wasn't as great as it is with five children, either.
Nevertheless. The only reason I do any sort of swap NOW is due to space issues. And even then, I don't really "swap" because we all like wearing short sleeves sometimes even in winter (after all, we live in the South)... so it's more just adding in than swapping...
Posted by: Dawn Penguin at September 22, 2007 10:22 AM
