Okay, women, I need help. All this girl stuff is just a little much to handle. I need organization help. Those of you who know me already were privy to that little bit of info. But seriously, this girl thing is another ball game.
When I became a first-time mom, I had to learn how to organize certain things and learn my own style. Part of the process…I climbed the learning curve. Not a big deal. It’s challenging to keep up with the particulars with four boys, but I have a system. So it may take me from April to September to transition to spring clothes, I do have a system and know where to retrieve and store clothes in our home. I know that I prefer making my own baby wipes than purchasing them, both for cleaning and financial reasons. I learned that the baby wipe container is dishwasher safe and can hold the 3-lb pack of cheese slices, so yes, our cheese slices live in the fridge in an old Pampers wipe box. All this to say that I’m frugal when it comes to running my household and practical…Louise and Hazel (my grandmothers) would be proud.
But…now I have a girl and a twofold problem. First, I don’t have all the time in the world to climb the learning curve because I have five kids. Second, I can’t fathom all the containers and systems I’m going to need to keep up with styling a girl. Um…let’s take that rabbit trail, the styling one.
Let me confess now that Baby D will most probably be a candidate for What Not to Wear (WNTW). I’m practical, or as my friend calls my style: “classic” (that means I wear solid colors, no jewelry, and I bathe regularly). My younger boys benefited from Robeez, the soft-sole slipper shoes for pre-walkers. I must’ve had a coupon because I know I would never have paid the $30 MSRP. Who pays $30 for shoes for a newborn? Okay, somebody does, but not me. I do know that one pair of shoes matched EVERYTHING in their wardrobes. Have you looked at the Robeez for girls? There were SEVEN styles on the amazon.com listing! That doesn’t include all the winter boot styles I found on another site.
I am too practical for this. I can hear my sister giving me the WNTW lecture as to why Baby D needs three pair of Robeez. And I can hear myself in reply: “Why can’t they offer a neutral shoe to match everything?! Can’t we just have a black shoe?”
Okay, off the rabbit trail… I’m going to need help on how to organize everything. There are SO MANY THINGS…hair things, sock things, mitten things, tights, bloomers, and on and on and on. And you know what else? You can’t fold most girl clothes. New rabbit trail…the folding thing.
You can fold most things, but if you do, the child ends up wearing the same two outfits cause it’s what is on top after laundering. No problem with that, actually…those who know me personally can probably describe in great detail my 3 maternity ensembles. Ain’t no shame in my game. But with little girl clothes, you need too many piles: bloomers, pants, and sleepers. You wouldn’t find it all.
I actually bought infant/toddler hangers for the second time since becoming a mother. When J was born we were originally given a boatload of hangers from my cousins. We’ve never needed more than that, except when we needed to hang pants, so I invested in a few pant hangers as they got older. Still haven’t needed more toddler hangers. Till now. Got three 10 packs of pink hangers last week. 20 hangers are in use. (Praise God we’ve been blessed with that much clothing from family and friends, cause we all know that I don’t shop…that’s another post altogether!)
So here’s the ultimate question directed at girl moms and any boy moms who have observed girl moms incredulously for all the “stuff” management they have to exert:
Please list all the items/categories that I will need to sort/separate/organize through toddlerhood. And then list all the types of containers or systems best for those items. Just post it as a comment because I’m certain there are other boy-moms-now-with-a-girl who will benefit from this. (A woman in post-partum recovery at the same time as me had her first girl after 7 boys.)
I’m eagerly waiting your wisdom…oh, and if you have a super-organized-girl-mom-friend, forward her the blog link so I can get her input, too. Thanks!
Trying to climb the learning curve,
Stephanie
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