[Guitarmom]

Does anyone have a system for figuring out whose stuff is whose? I'm considering buying things like cups/plates, towels, etc. in a particular color to keep everyone's things straight.
For example, we ask our kids to use the same cup throughout the day. If I knew blue was J's cup- that might help the problem of "whose cup is it?"
Same with towels "who left their blue towel laying on the floor?"
Is that a crazy idea? Any other suggestions?

[mrsred]

I like the color coding idea, especially for towels and such. My two boys are 3 1/2 years apart, so even tho they wear the same size underwear (big bor is skinny) I can tell them apart because 7 year old wears character underwear and 11 year old wears solid white. As for socks, 7 year old likes crew socks and 11 year old prefers the ankle high socks.

[crick]

My kids are 6,7,9, & 10....and yes, I use color coding for some things.

I have a set of 10 cups (walmart, cheap!) that are different colors. Every day they choose the cup they are going to use and stick with that color. They also have their own towels which are easily identifiable.

When they were younger and it was I who needed to keep track of who had what etc., they used the same color for the week and then switched off the following week with a different color. (kids didn't always want the same color all the time)

Now they are old enough to remember which cup they have for the day so we can change up daily.

I use colors or certain characters they like for toothbrushes, homework pencils and other things too.
(pencils sounds extreme, but I discovered that the sharing of pencils during cold season contributed to the germ factor. chewing on erasers etc. oh vey!)

If you also have trouble keeping their stuff/school papers etc. organized (I did!), you might consider buying a shelf unit and assigning everyone a specific shelf/drawer. I have a 4 shelf "cubby" organizer in the laundry room and that is where they keep daily/weekly things. It makes it easier for me to keep track of their stuff as well as for them. Plus, they know where to put/find things.

Because my two younger boys are so close in size, I buy a pack of socks and each boy just gets the same number of socks. I used to do it for all 3 boys, but now my 10 year old needs bigger socks. Underwear I do buy a certain color/character for each one and that helps a lot.

[shaylynn]

Hi
I use a permanent laundry marker and put one dot on the oldest girl's clothes (on the tag), two dots for the next oldest and three dots on the tag for the youngest. As the clothes get passed down or they get new ones, I just put the appropriate number of dots on it. I also would mark an X on the front of the waistbands of their underwear (where the bellybutton is) when they were younger so they knew front from back. My girls are 9,6 and 5 but can all fit in about the same clothes.

[2manyks]

each of my kids have a color. their bath towels are that color and i had their names embroydered on them. each has a certain brand of socks, t-shirts, underware. so i dont have to look at tags when i am doing laundry. ie: one son gets costco socks, the other gets hanes - etc. as they get older they dont much like the color coding thing and that is when they get to do their own laundry, lol! i tell them they can have any socks, underware, etc. they want but they have to wash it themselves or i will give it to whoever already has that brand item.

a funny story about underware. when my oldest daughters were much younger one always wore colored underware and the other always had white. when she was a young teenager and hormoning about soemthing, she lost it and went into a rant about *and why do I always have to wear white underwear* i stiffled a laugh and told her she could wear any color underware she wanted, but had to do her own laundry because i could never tell the difference between the 2 girls underware and the girls had a definate no sharing underware policy. she is now 20 and has a huge underware fettish. i always think its my fault for making her wear white underware for all those years, lol!

guitarmom - you better get some system in place with all those girls! my kids have adopted the color system so far as having the quilts on their beds, gym bags, etc. in their color.

[Nicole Elaine]

Originally Posted by 2manyks

she is now 20 and has a huge underware fettish. i always think its my fault for making her wear white underware for all those years, lol!

You awful mother! Just kidding Your story made me laugh though.

[radkat]

We have color-coded plates, cups, bath towels, washcloths, junk cubbies and clothes hangers. It makes my life a lot easier. I can look at an object and instantly tell who it belongs to. Just the other day there was a white cereal bowl in the trash can... sure was easy to figure out who it belonged to.
K1- Light blue
K2- Pink
V- Dark Blue
S- White


Kathy

[mrsred]

I thought this sounded like a great plan for towels... I am so tired of going into the kids' bathroom and asking who left their towel on the floor... then listening to 10 minutes of "Not me"'s and finger pointing. So yesterday I bought two orange towels and two aqua towels (we have royal blue already). Youngest was thrilled with the orange as it is his favorite color, but wouldn't you know it: the 10 and 11 year old fought over who got the aqua! I have a feeling that if 11ds had said he wanted the blue 10dd would have wanted that one too.

[Guitarmom]

Originally Posted by mrsred

I thought this sounded like a great plan for towels... I am so tired of going into the kids' bathroom and asking who left their towel on the floor... then listening to 10 minutes of "Not me"'s and finger pointing. So yesterday I bought two orange towels and two aqua towels (we have royal blue already). Youngest was thrilled with the orange as it is his favorite color, but wouldn't you know it: the 10 and 11 year old fought over who got the aqua! I have a feeling that if 11ds had said he wanted the blue 10dd would have wanted that one too.

I can sooooo relate!! I informed my kids I was going to be buying certain colored towels for each - and all three girls want purple!!!
But even if I get them separate colors, i can see them taking the wrong colored towel " by accident" and letting the other sibling take the blame for having their towel laying around!

[2manyks]

there are different colors of purple and then have their names emb. on them. i do this through the company store online and then i dont even have to go out. they arrive at my doorstep!