I color-coded the kids!

I decided this year we need MORE organization. Our house is small but I'm trying and trying to have a place for everything. I want to know where everything is at any given moment (probably a dream, I know, but...I'm trying).

To help me with this, I really think I need to know who didn't put away their own things. With all boys, it's sometimes hard. Then we get into the "I didn't do it...he did" business that I would REALLY like to stop.

I read somewhere about color-coding their kids school supplies to keep the fighting down and got to thinking about it. What if I color-coded the kids??? Everything that isn't community property??

So here is the plan:

• most definitely color-coding school supplies and such. Notebooks, binders, pencils, glue sticks...everything.
• how to color glue sticks and fun pencils with a thousand colors?? YARD SALE STICKERS!! Everything that belongs to one and is multi-colored will have a sticker of that child's color!
• backpacks, bedding, and clothes won't be color-coded since they each have their own special *theme* for the backpacks and bedding and their clothes are *for now* different sizes.
• toys won't be color-coded since they share.

I let the boys choose their colors with the only stipulation being it couldn't be a funky hard-to-find color. I asked that they stick with bright colors and (being a little ocd-ish) preferred the colors look good together.

So....here they are!!

Nathan

Kaleb

Gabriel

Drake (yes even the baby...starting YOUNG!!)

After reading a couple posts on a forum board about this idea, I really really think this could solve some of our organization problems.

(so would a much bigger house but....we'll have to wait on that one)