Mittens, Hats, and Scarfs, Oh My!

We have a special game that we play around our house. As we're getting ready to leave, some one or several ones can't find their needed outer-wear. The group chorus begins with all the various voices joining in the refrain. "Where's my hat." "You didn't return my glove when you borrowed it yesterday." " My gloves are all wet!" Then, we all begin to tear up the house in search of the missing item. An added bonus to playing this game is that the house is a disaster when we return home.

Through the years, various organization methods have been tried. The pegs for mittens above the coat rack were never used. The mittens were thrown into a pile and some were always "taken" by someone else. We tried a shelf above the coat rack. Another failure. One time we used a drawer in a metal file cabinet, again without success. The mitten, scarf, and hat metal rack was another dismal failure. Our biggest success was when the mittens, etc. were tossed into a clothes basket. Sometimes, stray gloves escape, using the holes in the sides. The clothes basket also clashes with my decorating scheme. So I've been searching for a better solution to this organizational dilemma.

This afternoon, I decided to try yet another solution. I took two old milk crates and lined them using fabric with a winter print. One crate will be used for gloves and mittens. The other will be used for scarfs and hats. The crates will be placed near the door to the basement, where the chileren's coat pegs are located.