Fashion Challenge Day 4: I think my inner control-freak is unclenching

Wow, I've gotta say the outfit selection process was pretty painless for Day 4 of the fashion challenge. Maybe I'm just getting used to the idea of letting go, or maybe the girls are better at this than I expected. Maybe a little of both. Ro went first this time (which just about killed her impatient clothes-horse sister). She started gravitating toward another all-pink outfit, and I broke my silence to say one tiny little thing, "Hey Ro, did you know that you can wear more than one color and still match? Different colors can be complementary. It's fun." She must have felt freed by the information, because she grabbed some yellow Gymboree pants and a pink top and a crazy Children's Place sweatshirt that kind of ties it all together in my opinion. Go Ro! Finally Ree got her turn. (Man, she was dying to get in that closet -- I had to chase her out and shush her the whole time Ro was picking because she kept darting in and saying "Pick dis, Ro, dis one good!") She made a beeline for the pink corduroy Hanna Andersson dress she'd almost chosen yesterday. Then she chose light pink Old Navy velour pants and a light pink Olive U long-sleeved shirt for underneath "In case I get cold." I think she was done in about 15 seconds. Maybe she picked everything out in her mind while she was forced to stand outside of the closet? Who knows. Still no yellow for little Miss Sunshine, in case anyone's keeping track. And would you have guessed which girl was which in this photo if I hadn't described their clothes? Rett, a fellow twin mama, asked for a peek into the girls' closet, and I know she's not the only one who wonders what the heck we've got going on in there. So here's a behind-the-blog look at where the girls' clothes are: IN THE CLOSET The girls share a small walk-in closet, which is in Ree's room. I believe the out-of-sight-out-of-mind theory is true, so all of the girls' clothing is here in plain sight, rather than in drawers. And it's all organized the way the girls think because they like to pick things (I want to wear xxx color, I need something with short-sleeves or long-sleeves, I want some pants or a skirt...). It looks like there's a lot of plain white, but most of the white things have appliques or fun graphics. I'm a sucker for a cute/funny white tee. The only items in drawers are PJs and underwear. Off-season stuff that might still fit when the season rolls back around is folded on the shelf -- I usually buy big, so the girls get at least two years out of any item. Easily half of the girls' favorite things (including 4 pieces that they're wearing today) are hand-me-downs from other twinados, which is cute because I still vividly remember the joy I felt receiving boxes of prized hand-me-downs from my older cousins back in the 70s. Their stuff was The Best! IN SHOE AND JACKET BASKETS We've got kid shoe and jacket baskets in the downstairs hall, right by the entry to the garage. We also always keep a set of jackets in the car, because you never know when you'll end up on an unexpected roadtrip to a cold place. The girls pick their shoes and jackets out of these baskets before leaving the house. IN THE SINK Ree and Ro are hard on clothes. I've mentioned that before, right? There is constantly some stainfested item soaking in the laundry room. On the left side of the pic you can see where we keep swimsuits, by the way. The girls have been using them for dress-up clothes lately, so the baskets keep disappearing and we're missing half of the suits. IN THE LAUNDRY Ah, and then there's the laundry. We've got small hampers upstairs, and these ginormous garage bins, which are ALWAYS full. Always. Have I mentioned always? I'd guess that half of the family clothes are here, or hanging on the rod in the laundry room, at any given time. So there you have it, that's where the girls' clothes are and how they're organized. Seems to work for us. Tomorrow is the last day of the Fashion Challenge and I'm not scared anymore -- bring it on!