The weather is cooling off, and you are probably thinking it is time to switch out clothes for your children for the new season. Since I have been doing this for many years with a large family, I thought I would share with you how I manage the season change in our closets.

First, I ask the children to go through one drawer per day of their dresser. I set up a station for them to put outgrown clothes and clothes to store for the next year. I also have a black trash bag handy for clothes with holes or large stains. By doing one drawer per day, the task is not overwhelming, and I can keep up with 4 boys this way. The goal is to make room for the new season and new sizes. Their dresser drawers must close. If they are bulging, then we thin down what they have in the drawers. Typically, they have four drawers, and this is what they keep in the drawers: socks, underwear, pajamas, t-shirts, and blue jeans (shorts in warm weather).

The next week, we purge their hanging clothes. Basically, they hang church clothes (shirts, pants, and jackets), and they hang their collar shirts. They have to be able to use their section of the large walk-in closet for their hanging clothes. We purge clothes that they do not like. We give away clothes that are too small for my youngest. We toss worn out clothing. It really only takes one session per boy to go through their hanging clothes, but I am more involved in this part of the process, so we only do one boy’s hanging clothes per day.

Now, we are into a third week of this, but I have spread out the process. I am not burned out and tired of it by doing it this way. I pull out the clothes we had in storage for the new season, and we figure out new sizes. Boys grow a lot from one season to another, so we generally have more clothes to donate that don’t fit, and we also donate the things they do not want to keep. They work on putting away the new season’s clothes, and the rule is that the clothes have to fit in their dressers and closet. If they have too many clothes, we thin down again. I am pretty ruthless in helping them purge and keeping it manageable.

For winter, I keep a plastic tub with a lid in the bottom of the closet. It holds snow gear. We don’t get a lot of snow, so this keeps it under control. They have a cold-weather coat that is on the coat tree. The plastic tub holds snow pants, scarves, gloves, hats, etc.

Now if you find yourself needing to get cooler weather clothes out before you purge, just get out a few things and purge the warm weather clothes as quickly as you can. Don’t make it a marathon session. I have done that, and it is hard to do.

Now for your Zone Mission for today, clear off your nightstand and detail dust it. Only put back things that you need beside of your bed. The less stuff you have beside of your bed, the more peace you will have when you go to sleep.

Today is anti-procrastination day. What are you putting off? Don’t put it off any more.

• Make Your Bed (Do this as soon as you get up.)
• Get Dressed Down to Your Shoes
• Swish and Swipe
• Start Your Laundry
• Decide on Dinner
• Check Your Calendar
• Start the Day off with a Shiny Sink. Don’t leave the breakfast dishes sitting.

School: Is your paperwork caught up? Do you need to update lesson plans or attendance sheets?

• Eat Lunch
• Clear off One Hot Spot
• Reboot the Laundry
• Declutter for 15 Minutes (Be sure to have your children declutter, too.)
• Drink Your Water
• Errand day: Make your plan for grocery shopping and errands. Pack water bottles and snacks for everyone. Pack up your library books that need to be turned in.

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