“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?

Most nights I pull DS (5) uniform out his wardrobe and unceremoniously fling it on the spare settee.

Means I can tell him to get dressed while I sort breakfast mess without him ruining the wardrobe (the bar is high and he’s not quite tall enough) trying to get it out.

Another plus point is it gives me enough time to throw on a wash if necessary, or hunt through the washing basket for something that will do (I’ve got in the habit of keeping worn uniform in its own washing basket so it’s not mixed in with smelly/dirty things if I do need to do this!).

Based on the above, I’m obviously not trying to be fancy about laying it out!

DD2 put hers on while it was still wet last Monday. Me: "Never mind, it'll be dry by the time you get to school!"

Yeah, I bet with a reasonable degree of certainty that the judgey ones don’t have more than one under 10 year old kid and a full time job.

It is a good system and you should be proud 😁DS doesn't have a wardrobe, but I have set aside a drawer for matching outfits or outfits that go together and fold them in there.

I’ve never done this, we just have a wardrobe (shirts/jumpers/jackets together in there) and drawers (trousers/undies/socks folded in there) and get out what we need every morning. I have so many questions!

For those that do, why do you put clothes out in the living room or dining room? Doesn’t everyone else go bed > bathroom > bedroom to dress > breakfast > out? Surely that’s an extra trip downstairs to get clothes, then take them back upstairs!

For those that lay them out on the floor, aren’t they at risk of being stepped on/sat on by pets and messed up?

For those that put multiple outfits out (e.g. for the week as some have said) do you have a lot of space or are there clothes hanging all over your house?

Mine have hooks on the outside of their wardrobes so uniforms can be hung up in view the night before.

The judgement from people who don't do this is crazy. Its a well known tip to ensure your mornings are less stressful and a good way to make sure you've got everything you need.

I literally cannot understand how it saves time, maybe people have their homes set up more complicated than me, but my kids have always had their underwear and uniform in a chest of drawers (wardrobe when eldest started high school) they know they wear a jumper, polo shirt and trousers...it takes them not a second longer to head to those drawers and pull those out than it would me the night before. My life is/was plenty busy working full time with long commutes, but never considered this to be necessary and I'm so surprised this is as common as being described! Unless the kid is doing it themselves it does just seem like mollycoddling to me.

I did this with my three when at primary school

pants/socks/polo laid out on a stool/chair in bedroom
trousers/jumper/blazer on peg to grab

(I can understand it more with nursery though when you need to select an outfit as opposed to a set uniform)

On PE days I put it in a little folded pile either on her desk chair or the floor in front of her wardrobe then she just picks up the pile and takes it to the bathroom for after her shower. On full uniform days I hang it on the handle of her wardrobe because it’s all on hangers, and I just hook her tie/pants/tights/crop top over the hangers too.

Why would people need massive dressing rooms to lay school uniforms out? It just needs to be in little folded piles or hung somewhere?!

I lay out everything - uniform, lunch bag with non perishables already inside, book bag etc. We
are on a tight schedule and it makes me feel a lot
more organised in the morning.

I do, I leave it over chairs in their rooms just to make the morning rush slightly easier. I know they should be able to get it all out by themselves but I am on my own for alot of the mornings (DH work hours and then straight off to work after the school run for me) so just helps keep it as quick as possible in the morning.

No they stay in the draws and wardrobes until they put them on I can't stand clothes being all over the house it looks messy

@Stressfordays its not being organised that I’m horrified about (I also have a f/t job!) it’s thé doing bloody everything for your kids. My kids get their OWN uniform out, I’m their mum not their servant. It teaches them independence and organisation. Essential life skills.

I said that this week too! 😂

Yup literally lay it out here on the top of the drawers.

We also have 2 dedicated uniform baskets and a dedicated uniform wardrobe!

4 children at 3 different schools means I have to run it like a military operation 😂

When you have little ones who still need help dressing? When they need various bits of sports kit? People have answered all these questions. Just because you didn't think it would help you, doesn't mean its pointless doing. Its the first thing recommended when people say they are struggling with the morning routine. And my kids get it all out themselves the night before, I'm not mollycoddling them.

My daughter (7) does her bath at night rather than in the morning. Her routine is:
-up
-breakfast (living room)
-teeth and face (bathroom)
-clothes (living room)
-door

We are also all on one level so no running up and down stairs.

For me; it’s:
-up
-shower
-breakfast
-wake kids up. Feed kids (eldest feeds herself but baby doesn’t unless it’s toast)
-coffee while I do makeup, supervise son feeding himself something like fruit to keep him busy whilst dd gets herself dressed
-get baby dressed
-get self dressed
-out the door for 7:30 to do drop-offs.

I agree with this. For small children I see some sense in it, but I can't see why an adult would want to introduce another step in the process, so instead of wardrobe to body, it's wardrobe to laying out location to body. Also having clothes draped all over the place for up to a week would irritate me no end.

I put it over the back of a chair and my eldest gets up and does her own breakfast so I just need to do her hair- wonderful. Sadly my youngest is in the ‘clothes refusal’ stage so my mornings are wild nonetheless…

I'm a single parent and I work full time. I have never done this and also can't figure out how it can save more than a couple of minutes in the mornings.

It's one of those things that I'd love to be the sort of thing that I do (in this I include meal planning, batch cooking, a housework schedule), but realistically I know I'd never keep it up.

Same, the mornings feel like such a rush and I dont have the kind of job I can be one minute late for if things dont go to plan. I just feel happier with everything prepped for the morning.

Mine do to, and lay it out the night before? Just because its laid out doesn't mean the kids haven't done it themselves. Its to ensure everything is there for morning. I've had the odd days where I'm missing a pe top or a cardigan and had to go hunting as its fell down somewhere. Id be stressed out sorting that in a morning, thats why I do it in an evening.

Dd does this. Ds scrabbles around the floor and wardrobe until he finds bits.

I don’t lay out so much as hang up on a special rail, but yes I do this for my work stuff. Hang everything up with shoes, bag, jewellery etc, so no need to make any decisions in the mornings.