“Laying out school uniform”

[museumum]

I’ve just realised that I’ve never actually considered the phrase “laying out school uniform” literally. Does anybody literally do this the night before? And if so, where? Have you all got massive “dressing” rooms? With space to lay out outfits?

We prep the school uniform, iron shirts and things. But it needs to stay in the wardrobes until it’s time to put it on.

AIBU to think laying it out isn’t really a literal thing?

But it isn't though, it's all part of the same process of having things preprepared to make the morning easier.

For some people, physically preparing the clothes the night before - whether that's just having an outfit all together on a hanger on the wardrobe door, piled on a chair or laid out on the dining room table - is the same as "getting school bags ready". It's about preparing as much as possible the night before to streamline the morning process and giving yourself maximum time to deal with any issues that come about during the process.

My DD is an only child so I've only ever had to deal with me and her in a morning, so the streamlined process was just her having a drawer with her days uniform already prepared so all she had to do was open the wardrobe, take out the drawer and get dressed as opposed to having to collect various items from different places - underwear from one drawer, socks from another, polo shirt from another drawer, skirt hanging on the top rail that she can't quite reach etc - which all provide opportunities for her to get distracted and slow the process down. I didn't have to set out her clothes on a communal area because it didn't suit our morning routine to do so as I would get dressed and then wake DD up and then as she got dressed I'd straighten the bedrooms (make the beds, open curtains etc) before we went downstairs.

I, on the other hand, am one of 4 siblings and mornings in our family were chaos, even with mum trying to be organised as much as possible. When we were little it was much easier for her to get us all out of bed and downstairs asap so nobody could go back to sleep, set out four piles of clothes so she knew everything was there ahead of time and have us all get dressed in the one room where she could supervise us all than have to keep checking on us in our separate bedrooms mostly to make sure we hadn't tried to get back in bed , at which point at least one or other of us would have been distracted and stopped getting ready or would discover that something was missing and have to go searching for it. So it would be 8.28, mum shouting that we need to leave and that we were going to be late and we were still just in our underwear because we'd started looking for a lost jumper but hadn't finished putting on our other clothes first ... so mum would then have to both chivvy us to get dressed as well as search for the missing jumper all in the 2 minutes before we needed to leave the house.

@ReadersD1gest my apologies, I interpret 'get straight on with' as just that's what he can do next. It seems you've picked apart quite a few different posters on this thread, perhaps we are all doing what works best for us.

I might take this to the next level and lay my kids out on the chairs so that they're ready in the morning too.

The poster didn't suggest their child gets dressed in the hall, though. You are being hysterical extrapolating.

Oh goodness, I'm so glad someone else does this. I have my son's ready for the week. I fold them (in day order and in order he puts them on) and they live on top of his chest of drawers for the week. It really does help me.

On bedroom desk or chair

Nah just make them sleep in their uniforms and shoes!

@linewithoutahook she's done this with lots of posters.

@linewithoutahook I do agree though!

Nope never done this, just get clothes oit of drawer or wardrobe every morning. 🤷 We seem to have made it through 11 years of school without it causing any problems.

Yep I do this!

Two disabled kids, one of us always leaves for work by either 6.30 (DH) or 7.15 (me) depending on whose day it is to go to work early. Our mornings are a little crazy and this marginally reduces my stress.

I'm not remotely hysterical, don't be daft.
Why would you have your child collect their clothes from the hall to take back to their room?

Oh, they'll be in their uniforms when I lay them out!

Yes.
On the floor by her bed. But DD is dyspraxic and can struggle with clothing. Laying it all out, in the order it has to put on, helps to make her more independent.

I'm going to hazard a guess that that posters children are more independent than your children and so it's not a tricky task for them?

The thought of all these clothes sitting out overnight, getting darkened on, makes me shudder.

I guess the issue is your house layout too. I'm imagining mine traipsing down to the hallway from their attic bedrooms to collect their socks and knickers, would be a little bizarre.

Not a thing in our house. Once it's washed and folded it goes in my kids' wardrobes, where they can perfectly access it themselves.

Hung over the door or dining chairs. I haven't got time in the mornings to be getting 4 school uniforms together and ironing them so easier to do the night before.

I don't understand what that means 🤷🏻‍♀️
My children are perfectly capable of getting dressed in their rooms.
No need for diverting their clothes anywhere first. Although it wouldn't be a particularly "tricky task" for them to locate them, it would be a fairly pointless one.

This really is a fascinating thread about what goes on in houses the length and breadth of the UK of a morning. Love it.

I lay it out on the sofa before I go to bed. That way I can make sure that everything is clean, everyone has clean pants and socks to put on etc. rather than discovering a problem in the morning rush. I also lay out the school bags with everything except their lunches - so to make sure that they have PE kits for example.

Either shirt/dress/cardi or joggers/tshirt/sweatshirt are hung up on the wardrobe handles just before. DD can’t quite reach the raid in the wardrobe. Hey gets her own socks/best/tights/pants for whatever uniform is required.

I have everything for 5 days ironed and hung up in the right order on a Sunday night and the various bags and kits she needs are put in the boot on a Monday morning. Makes the rest of the week a bit more straightforward.

I did it for all of mine in primary, it just meant no faffing in the morning.

m I do it for myself too, every single day, choose clothes for tomorrow and get them out including socks underwear and shoes, makes mornings so quick

Yet you talk about it as though it was an expedition to Everest.

Interesting.