Our older kids had a knack for dressing in the most horrible of clothing combinations. I wanted them to be able to choose what to wear but I am a particular picky person. I didn’t want a 10 yr old boy going to school wearing a camo shirt with bright blue shorts!
I tried to match the clothes in the drawers but found that they weren’t sure if a particular shirt went with the pants above or below. So, I began matching the outfits by clothes pinning the shorts/pants to the hanger under the appropriate shirt. This way the kids had complete control over their clothing selections without my having to send them back upstairs to change. We still had to deal with weather issues, but for the most part they learned how to feel the window to see if they needed to wear pants or shorts. Our mornings went much smoother after this transition to matching the clothes on the hangers.
Has anyone found another creative way to keep your kids dressing appropriately for school while still letting them choose what to wear?
For younger ones, give a choice of 2 or 3 outfits. When wearing denim or solid shirts, they can put with almost any shirt without difficulty.
On a different note, for my older ones, I keep some things in my room for a week after they come through clean laundry, so they don’t wear the same thing all the time & outgrow the other items.