Creative color-coding keeps siblings' stuff sorted
Simple and smart. From Terrie:
With two boys very close in age, we decided early on to "color code" a few items to simplify life and to be able to tell at a glance who the owner is. Son #1 gets blue, green or purple (cool colors), while son #2 gets red, orange, yellow (warm colors). (Son #2's middle name begins with an R, so we just think Red for him, and remember it.) This works for sippy cups, snack containers, toothbrushes, etc. -- no more guessing who finished his snack and who still has some left! And allowing an assortment of colors for each rather than just one seems to ensure no one ends up totally dissatisfied.
Related: Color-code diapers to distinguish different sizes at a glance
We did that with our twin boys for the first 2 years of their lives, one wore blue alway s, and the other got all of the other colors. It worked great and allowed our friends and family to know who was who. Of course now the one who didn't wear blue that is his favo rite color.
Toddlers make typing comments very hard.
Posted by: Ticia | 27 October 2008 at 07:29 AM
I still can't tell my friend's twin boys apart without the color coded clothing!
Posted by: Sandy | 27 October 2008 at 09:06 AM
Yes, I've got a cool son (blond hair and baby blue eyes) and a warm son (reddish-brown hair and brown eyes.) I was thinking green for #2, but when he was born, he just looked like a warm to me. I agree, the cool/warm works much better than just one color each, though you may have trouble if you have more than two. Maybe neutral colors? Metalic? Now THAT would be interesting!
Posted by: mom of 2 | 27 October 2008 at 08:16 PM
We're using color-coding for not just the kids, but the adults as well. Not clothing, but just about everything else. The whiteboard calendar on the wall, added tags on the wetsuits, or whatever else you have identical-looking things of. Works really well.
Posted by: Mieke | 28 October 2008 at 10:37 AM
Color coding is the key to survival! Especially with twins. I can look across the room and know with a glance who's "red" or "blue" or "orange"....
I live by it on a daily basis!
Posted by: Christina | 28 October 2008 at 09:14 PM
We color code towels in our house.
Advantage: You will never EVER have to say "Who left this wet towel on the (insert flat surface here)?"
Posted by: akeeyu | 11 November 2008 at 02:49 AM