Wednesday, March 26, 2008

THE HIGH PRICE OF FASHION

Every Spring it has to be done. Every Fall it needs to be done, too.

Closets. Those dreaded closets!

Unfortunately, they need to be cleaned out, reorganized, and sometimes replenished! Things need to be mended...things do not fit...things are simply out-of-style.

Now, cleaning out my closet is one thing....
But cleaning out the kids' closets??? That is something ENTIRELY different!

They do not like to do it!
It is not always easy...
It is always time-consuming...
And most of all...it is BOR-ING!

HOWEVER...

I have found an awesome and simple way that works-for-me to get our children to help in this often irksome and tiresome process...with no whining...no complaining...and no battle.

AND they try every single piece of clothing!!!
We can see what still fits...what did not weather well through storage...what needs to be hemmed...

You must be asking...
"How do you do this?
No whining? No complaining? No battle? AND they try on everything? EVERYTHING???"

My answer? "Yes!"
Every.
Single.
Thing.

We have the "Brownstone Fashion Show" with Fall and Spring Collections. It is so much fun because it's like playing dress-up or make-believe. We have judges. We have music. And the models get paid.

Paying my models...THAT is the key!
They get $.05 per item. To them, it's like getting "supermodel pay".

Do I feel guilty for bribing my kids?
Not for one single second!
The ease of cleaning out the closets...the visual of what needs to be mended, donated, or purchased...and simply the sheer fun it brings alone...

Just the fun is worth it...
Every.
Single.
Penny!


Visit Shannon at Rocks In My Dryer to see more

tips this week!

And visit Ann Kroeker, the hostess of "Monday FunDay" ~ "a carnival dedicated to swapping simple, amusing – maybe even silly – everyday ways you enjoy good, clean fun" ~ over at her blog. We had such a "Monday FunDay" having a "Brownstone Fashion Show" this week that I didn't even have a chance to blog on Monday! Maybe this FunDay will work-for-you, too!

You can find other fun ideas over at Ann's blog,

and y'all know...we can all use a little fun now and then ~ especially on Mondays!

Click here to see my other Works-For-Me-Wednesday tips:
  • what meaningful gesture of love we use with our children
  • what we've learned about dining in and dining out
  • "Backwards Edition" tips for shopping at CVS
  • "Backwards Edition" tips for removing white spots/rings from furniture
  • how we master math in the Brownstone household
  • "Backwards Edition" tips for correct "tipping" etiquette in almost any situation
  • how I get my kids (and Mr. Brownstone!) to try new vegetables and love them
  • how we make traveling with kids easier
Click here to find out what works for us regarding chores and allowance!

Click here to see what easy recipes are working for us!

Click here to see my other Monday FunDay ideas!

10 comments:

Anonymous said...

You are so clever! I love it!

You've inspired me--we are definitely going to have to do the Kroeker Fashion Show sometime soon. It's been so stinking cold and gloomy here, we've not been in any hurry to dig in and see what we've got. But when we do, we'll pay our high-end fashion models.

Angie @ Many Little Blessings said...

My kids have generally been pretty good about trying on everything that I ask them too, but only when we then dress/undress them. LOL So, I suppose it's like they are super models too.

But, this is a fabulous idea -- I'll have to remember that!

Anonymous said...

Thanks for stopping by my blog. I wanted to answer the question you had about the BE make-up. For dark under eye circes (not caused by mascara or eyeliner), they have a powder called "well rested". It's not included in the starter kit, but if you only want that one thing, then that's good that you don't have to buy everything else. You can order directly from their website, or from QVC, and they have a few stores around the country (none near me, though). Have a great day! Love your fashion show idea, BTW!

Jill said...

Love it! We just put up all of their winter clothes & got out all of their summer. My oldest hates to try on all of the clothes before we put them in her closet, so this is a fabulous idea for next time!!! Thanks!

Erin K. said...

Great tip! My daughter is only 18 months so this won't work for now, but I have a very strong feeling that the diva in her will love this when she gets older. :-D

alison said...

I LOVE this idea--I might just have to implement it around here. Thanks!

Karla Porter Archer said...

I just did this very thing with my own closet this past weekend! It's amazing what I got rid of.

Blessings,
Karla

Anonymous said...

Great idea, I did this with my oldest last year and she LOVED it. She is 4 and totally into dress up so I got to do it for free. The pay thing is a good idea as she gets older too.

Jessica said...

Hey,

I found your blog through another blog that I was reading tonight. I have to say that I LAUGHED when I saw your blog title!! As I type my husband is sitting beside me playing.... you guessed it, his XBOX live! :) It's always good to meet another XBOX wife. LOL!!

Hey, maybe you could email me your husband's XBOX live name, and they could play together!! :)

~Jessica
JessicaEln@aol.com

jubilee said...

I think my kids will get into this. Great idea.