Dress-Up Closet

Before last weekend the storage space under our stairs was full of all sorts of junk! I've been cleaning out and decided to tackle this closet which seemed to be a holding zone for things I just didn't know what to do with. There were several boxes of Christmas and Holiday decorations, baby gear that I forgot to use and pull out for the last two babies, loose luggage, Paul's old baseball cards, and a box of random stuff from college. We put the luggage up on hooks in our utility room, down sized my holiday decorations to 3 boxes, gave away the baby gear I haven't used in years, pulled out a few treasures from the college box then threw out the rest, put a few of Paul's baseball trophies up on our mantel (the boys love them) and I'm still waiting for Paul to find a spot for his box of baseball cards. Cleaning out is invigortating! It helps me think a bit more clearly, breathe a bit more deeply, and enjoy the real things in my life - my family. It also keeps my spending and accumulating in check. The last thing I want to do after cleaning out a closet is buy something.

So here is our new "dress-up closet"....the whole space which wraps around and goes under the steps is dedicated to the kids and their imaginations. Where the ceiling gets low Peter named "the fort" and he has set up a pillow and blanket to relax there. The front half which is more accesible is lined with hooks on both sides with a mirror mounted horizontally just above the hat hooks. There is also a vertical mirror mounted on the inside of the door. At the back of our closet there are several buckets full of accessories such as shoes, weapons, googles and whatever else won't fit on our hooks. We also have a few empty suitcases that the kids like to use on their "adventures".

Dress-up is fun - even for boys. In fact, the majority of our dress up was collected before we had our girls. Most of the items have been picked up at garage sales, handmade, or given to us from others.

Here are some of our favorites:
2 sets of boxing gloves
Michigan football helmet and uniform
Astronaut suit
Chef hat and apron
Old wooden cane
Orca suit
Knight's armor
Davey Crocket hat

In the spirit of Pioneer Day today Clara is sporting an old bonnet my Dad bought me as a child visiting Lancaster, PA and an apron made by my great grandma. She is also holding a toy blood pressure meter. It is fun to see the combos they come up with and even more fun to ease drop on their play.