ByKat Hours Updated
Comments 161 Comments

Coffee Break: Leggings Organizer

This post may contain affiliate links and Corporette® may earn commissions for purchases made through links in this post. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.

hanging organizer for closet to store leggings, scarves, or more

I recently reorganized my workout clothes into different piles — bootcuts/flares, joggers, and leggings — but I kind of prefer the first two enough to consider something like this to give my leggings a better home in my closet!

Readers, which workout pants are your favorite at the moment? How do you organize them, and are you relegating any to the thrift pile or the “less preferred” section of your closet?

This organizer is under $20 — it's 52″ tall by 8.6″ wide, and each side can hold 12 pairs of leggings. (There are 13 different color options!)

Organizing your closet(s)? We love this hanging organizer for storing tights, this hanging organizer for small jewelry storage and this hanging organizer for larger necklace storage.

Sales of note for 3/15/25:

  • Nordstrom – Spring sale, up to 50% off
  • Ann Taylor – 40% off everything + free shipping
  • Banana Republic Factory – 40% off everything + extra 20% off
  • Eloquii – 50% off select styles + extra 50% off sale
  • J.Crew – Extra 30% off women's styles + spring break styles on sale
  • J.Crew Factory – 40% off everything + extra 20% off 3 styles + 50% off clearance
  • M.M.LaFleur – Friends and family sale, 20% off with code; use code CORPORETTE15 for 15% off
  • Spanx – Lots of workwear on sale, some up to 70% off
  • Talbots – 40% off 1 item + 30% off everything else (includes markdowns, already 25% off)

161 Comments

  1. I would love some advice about options or where to look or what questions to ask in this scenario. As briefly as possible:

    My inlaws who live in the Midwest brought my grandfather-in-law (GIL) (my FIL’s dad) from California to live with them when his wife died about 15 years ago. He was in his early 80s, not able to do heavier home maintenance, and didn’t have any family around, so though he was still pretty healthy and of sound mind this was the best option. In the intervening years, my FIL was diagnosed with cancer, and my GIL’s memory started to decline – perhaps not to the point of full-blown dementia, but eventually he got to the point where he will forget important things like when to take medicine sometimes and he does not remember that certain family members have died. Before his memory got too bad, my inlaws put documents in place for medical and financial power of attorney etc. for my GIL, and had my MIL as a backup option to make decisions since my FIL was sick and there were no other local family members.

    Last year my FIL passed away, leaving my GIL living with his daughter-in-law (my MIL). Of course, she was grief stricken after losing her husband of 42 years, and my GIL’s memory seemed to decline more with the loss of his son. Now it’s to the point where he doesn’t want to leave the house, but also can’t be left alone for long for fear of him falling, forgetting to turn a stove burner off, and needing someone to monitor his medications.

    My MIL feels like she has done her part for the last 15 years, and is ready to try to rebuild her life, but she’s stuck at home with her FIL. She knows that realistically it is time (probably beyond time) for him to go to an assisted living facility at the age of 95. In all of this, it’s important to know that my GIL has one surviving child – a son, who lives in California. He is not the most reliable – only contacts his dad when he needs money, has a tumultuous relationship with his wife that is always on the brink of divorce, and is just finishing his own cancer treatment. It looks like my MIL and her unreliable BIL are maybe coming to the conclusion that they can put my GIL in an assisted living facility in California. We are pretty confident we could get him there and they have been in touch with several good facility options. However, my MIL is very worried about signing the power-of-attorney documents over to her BIL. She worries that he will take advantage of his dad’s money, but more than that she worries that he is so flakey that he won’t allow her to sign over all responsibilities for his father and she will be stuck as POA – tied to him and making decisions for him on a continual basis but from half a country away.

    If she can’t get her BIL to transfer the POA, what are her options? Can she recuse herself? Does my GIL become a ward of the state? Is there someone else – like an executor – that she can get to take this over? Does the fact that he will be in California change anything – how do they handle these situations?

    Thank you in advance for any directions you can point me in!

      3. Yep, they’ve seen it all. Our Eldercare attorney was an absolute godsend when my mom was in a similar place, and the only question we had was why we hadn’t sought professional advice sooner. We were also able to pay the fees out of the estate of the person in question.

      4. Yes. And know that in California there are professional fiduciaries who can take on these kinds of tasks for a fee. If you are in So Cal I can recommend a friend who does this and is very good. seniorattorney1 at gmail.

    2. I’m sure you’ll get better advice from others here – just wanted to say that I remember reading a crazy article about court-appointed guardians, around the time that I Care a Lot came out — there’s so much possibility for abuse and draining of funds. You wouldn’t want GIL closer to you? Esp with BIL’s cancer diagnosis…

    3. Put him in an elder care community near MIL. Talk to an elder law attorney. You and DH take the power of attorney, or be backups for MIL.

      If your grandfather in law is 95, you guys are in your 30s, right? You are full-fledged adults and don’t need to defer to your husband’s hot mess express uncle.

      1. +1,000,000. DO not transfer him to BIL. Keep him under MIL power of attorney but at a closer facility. Elder abuse and financial abuse are way too common to take any risks here. My grandmother’s bank accounts were drained by the granddaughter supposedly taking care of her.

        Making decisions on his behalf is a lot easier than full-time care, and avoids a lot of stress down the road. MIL should be able to manage POA pretty easily if he’s in an assisted care facility.

        1. It is a ton of work for MIL. If you think it isn’t you haven’t done it. Think of what she has been through.

          Honestly she is asking for help and it’s time for blood family to take over all.

          agree with elder law attorney now

          1. +1 agree that MIL should be allowed to tap out from serious responsibility

            you don’t say where you and your husband are — are you in CA? Midwest? also, where is MIL headed? i think BIL should be left out of it entirely.

      3. I think it is fair for MIL to no longer want to be involved in the care of her father-in-law. She helped care for him for years but she is not his family. She is allowed to relinquish that responsibility to his children and grandchildren.

        2. Oh I commented above, I missed that detail and agree. His kid can take it on.

    4. I think she needs two professionals: 1) an elder care consultant and 2) an elder care lawyer. The first, to consult on what’s best for GIL and how to get him the support he needs, and then second to get the documentation all sorted.

      And to abandon the plan that a flaky, unreliable person is going to start showing up and doing stuff after decades of not even bothering to call. Adult grandchildren or a friend would surely be a better choice if MIL doesn’t want the responsibility anymore.

    5. You really need to talk with an attorney. Guardianship/Conservatorship issues and procedures will vary from state to state, so you’ll need to speak with local counsel in whichever state you expect he’ll reside in.

      Not sure what the plan is for transferring POA to the BIL if he hasn’t been designated on the original documents, and I think that a flaky child with health issues and a tumultuous marriage may not be the best candidate for a fiduciary. Unclear whether you live near MIL, but is having GIL local to you and having your partner take lead on GIL (with MIL assisting if needed) not an option?

      I’m technically POA for my grandparent because of reasons but my mother (my grandparent’s daughter) handles most day to day and in person issues. I do very little now and there’s very little burden on me other than the occasional phone call with the nursing home, but my mother is not flaky, so there’s that. We’ve talked about having me resign so she’d be primary but haven’t done anything about it yet, since we’d probably want to do new POAs and that’d be a PITA.

    7. California will be wildly, wildly more expensive than care in the Midwest.

      I know MIL has done more than her fair share, but relinquishing FIL (even if he is not a blood relative) to someone who is unreliable and may drain his finances is not the right call.

      Talk to an attorney–someone can have a limited POA for healthcare decisions and not full POA for financial stuff, for instance. A good elder care attorney can assist with this.

  2. Are there really people who own 26 pairs of leggins?? Maybe rolling up T-shirts and workout clothes could be a way to utilize this beyond just leggins.

    1. Maybe? But 4 pairs are S when I now wear a M (but these are Athleta ones, so spendy and being kept out of optimism) and 1/3 of mine are fleece ones for winter and they don’t roll up this small.

    2. I have almost that many. 8 long pairs for cool weather, 8 cropped pairs for warm weather, 3 fleece for skiing, plus a couple extra “fun” pairs that aren’t black. I sweat a lot, can’t rewear workout clothes, and only do laundry on the weekends, so I need a solid week’s worth of basic workout leggings appropriate to each season.

    3. i own a lot – maybe 8 pairs each of biker shorts, full-length leggings for winter, fleece leggings in various cuts, and lighter weight cropped leggings for warmer months, plus about 5 joggers and now 4 or 5 flared yoga pants.

    4. I workout 5-8x a week doing a variety of exercises in a variety of conditions and thus needing a variety of workout clothes… and I own maybe 7-8 pairs. I can’t imagine having 26 pairs.

      1. That’s about how many I own too, including the specialized options (cycling tights, boot-height ski tights, horseback riding leggings, and general workout leggings). I have a small apartment and couldn’t have that many pairs even if I wanted to.

      2. I suspect this is one of those things that varies dramatically depending on where you live. When I lived in a place with 4 seasons (very cold winters; very hot and humid summers and in-between times) I needed a lot more clothes than now, where I live in a place with mild winters and warm but not humid summers.

    5. I recently hired someone to do our laundry, and have been amazed to find myself thinking I have WAY too many clothes. When I did laundry once a week, I NEEDED a lot of underwear, leggings, etc. Now I don’t. So I don’t think there’s any world in which a person needs one pair of leggings for each day of the month, but I do understand why people have enough for a week or longer.

    6. I confess I probably have that many things that qualify as leggings–some are lightweight for indoor workouts/summer outdoor workouts, some are fleece lined specifically for outdoor cold workouts, and some are horseback riding leggings, which are their own category because they have knee patches (and also have both summer and winter options)

    7. I definitely own at least 26 pairs of leggings LOL I have my WFH leggings that I wear every day then I have cotton “lounge” leggings that I change into after work. I don’t where sweatpants, joggers, or other lounge pants so I have a ton of leggings. I’m also 5’10” so it’s much easier to find longer leggings that work for my height vs comfy pants.

    8. I probably have something close to that number. Some are full-length for winter workouts. Some are capri-length and thinner for warmer weather. A couple are thick and worn as pants when I am hosting a casual evening at home. Some are loungewear for inside the house/WFH. My “dirty work clothes” are leggings. Some are very nice workout pants I got at a bargain price and never or rarely wore but are now a size too small that I am hoping to wear soon.

    9. I am under-endowed in the leggings department! I have 6-7 pair, all black, my preference, with 2 bike length.

    10. Leggings, no.
      Leggings, bike shorts and joggers? Yeah I’m close to the 26 mark lol.

  3. Has anyone ever used that site? Does it really save $ if you need a one night stay somewhere? (I need a kid get away)
    Thanks

    2. i think we have, but 10 years ago or so — in places like NYC you’ll be fine but it might be less good for smaller markets

    3. Yes- when my inlaws arrived in DC and found that their hotel room was not handicapped accessible, as advertised, the front desk clerk used that site to book them another one very close by.

    5. Yep, it’s great for a spontaneous getaway. I use it a lot when traveling and stuck somewhere.

  4. I bought a pair of Born boots when kid 1 was in K or 1st. K1 took over the boots one day and wore them periodically until they were outgrown. K2 took over the boots and wore as a winter daily driver for at least the pat 2 years. Now, 8 or 9 years post purchase, the boots are finally worn out (upper has lifted off of the sole). I never got them back, but I’m OK with that. I feel like I got my $ worth out of them. They aren’t even cool — IDK why two very different kids liked them enough to wear, but I think that it’s the rare item that gets worn literally to pieces these days.

    1. That’s great to hear! I wear my dressier shoes (incl loafers) so infrequently that they basically never wear out, but I can wear out a pair of casual sneakers like no one’s business. My husband bought some sort of special glue that you can use to glue the layers of the sneaker sole back together when they start coming apart, which is my usual spot of wear. I think it’s called Shoe Goo.

      1. I just used Shoe Goo (recommended by readers here) on a pair of my dressier loafers to stick the inside leather sole lining back down and it worked fantastically well. Highly recommend!

  5. boring question: what’s your favorite thing to make in the crockpot? i’ve made salsa chicken and buffalo chicken way too many times this winter

    3. Pot roast. I throw in a 2 lb chuck roast with carrots, potatoes and onions and add some water. I let it cook 8-10 hours until the meat is tender.

      1. From dried black beans!

        Also, split pea soup. These are the two that I most often make in the crockpot. So easy.

    6. Chicken stock. After I roast a chicken I throw in the carcass with some veggie scraps (onion tops, carrot peels, celery bases, parsley stems, and water to cover. The next morning, I have a bunch of chicken stock for the freezer. I use it all the time.

      And that’s basically all I use the crock pot for!

    7. This is also the easiest thing ever.
      “Italian Beef” sandwiches
      Beef chuck roast, place in crockpot. I usually do this still frozen.
      Top with one jar of pickled banana peppers, juice and all. Whole jar, just dump it on top.
      Cook on low for 8-10 hours, shred.
      Put on rolls and add sliced provolone cheese.
      We usually serve with salad and or fruit. My entire family cheers when they see it on the menu.

    9. Pulled pork is really easy – I use pork tenderloin and basically dump it with half a bottle of Stubb’s and 1/2 cup of beer.

    11. Shredded pork. Get a pork loin and throw some BBQ sauce on it (or you can buy them preseasoned). Cook on low for 8 hours. Could not be easier.

    12. Posole in the winter – a bunch of dried red peppers of whatever spiciness you want, garlic and onion and a couple bay leafs if you have them), broth or water or a mix, and as much pork cut into cubes as you can find. Cook it until the meat is very tender, then blender the broth and peppers, and dump in a can of hominy/posole(starchy corn kernels)

    13. Crockpot meatballs! I bag of frozen meatballs (preferably cocktail size, and homestyle — NOT Italian) + 1 bottle of Heinz Chili Sauce + (1 jar or Welch’s grape jelly OR 1 can of clear (not chunky) cranberry sauce). Dump the still-frozen meatballs into the crock pot, then pour the chili sauce and jelly or cranberry sauce over the meatballs, and cook on low for 8 hours or on high for 4 hours. Yum!

  6. Several family members and I share location on our iPhones to make life easier, but I’ve noticed lately that it doesn’t update and certainly not in real time. I’m looking at it right now for a family member who is traveling and it won’t move past her last location on Wifi 23 hours ago. What’s the point if it won’t update in real time? Is anyone else having this problem?

    1. If they have cellular data turned off for the tracking app, it won’t work when they’re out of wifi? Each app has its own option to turn on/off cellular data.

      2. One of my family members regularly visits a spot that just doesn’t get cell signal, much less wifi. So I can’ track their location when they’re there. We’re in a large urban area. It happens.

    2. I have wondered this as well as it started happening after I updated the software on my phone. We usually share through iPhone so you can see it when you hit their name on iMessage – but not it is delayed and I can’t find the refresh button that used to be there. I’ll check our cellular settings – maybe the software update changed it.

      1. No, she does – I get texts like “check out our location!!!” when she’s out on her boat and stuff, but it doesn’t work anymore. I’ll ask about the cellular data thing. I suspect iOS 17 did mess up that setting or something.

  7. Interesting organizer. It looks like the one that was marketed for bottles and aerosol cans back in the day.
    My workout pants are legging style, but I just own a few pairs because I only wear them when I work out. I have a small dresser in my closet and they are in a drawer along with sports bras, swimsuits, and other such single-purpose garments.

  8. We are taking a family trip to DisneyWorld for Spring Break because I have a conference. I want to go to the beach either before or after. Any resort recommendations that are easily accessible from Orlando?

    1. No specific recs, but look at the Cocoa Beach area. It’s only about 1 hour from Orlando and a coworkers goes there a lot with her family and loves it. It’s also really close to all the space stuff, which would interest school age kids.

  9. asking for a friend, does anyone have recs for a good wedding photographer in the mid-Atlantic area? budget is around 3k, but the wedding will be this May at a temple in Maryland. the timing is not ideal but the wedding had to be moved up due to family health reasons

    1. Gonna need to be more specific than the 3-4 states that make up the “mid-Atlantic area.” Where in Maryland?

    2. I’d reach out to Hannah Gunnell – she’s in Baltimore but travels throughout Maryland.

  10. In the hopes that writing it out will help me stop worrying about it… my annual review is coming up soon and, while making some notes and preparing for it over the weekend, DH mentions off hand ‘perhaps you should prepare yourself for a lower rating (and raise) this year since you’ll be taking maternity/parental leave for a fair amount of the year’. (!!!) I guess this should have crossed my mind, but it had not. I’m up for a partner later this year and all signs (and discussions) point to having no issues with moving to that next phase of my career here. But the partnership can be cheap sometimes, so I guess it’s not beyond the realm of possibility that they could try to save a few bucks during my partially paid leave. I truly hope this is not the case as it will prompt a lot of question about whether this is a place where I would stay…

    1. I also hope typing it out helped you.

      In case you need gentle encouragement— You are borrowing trouble. Take this from someone who catastrophizes regularly.

      Your partners have so far not shown evidence that they’ll do such a thing. And you’re now mentally prepared for it happening. Until your review, you don’t know what will happen (though it’s more likely to be the happy result, given your current evidence!) If they do that, and you have to make a decision about whether to stay, you can do so when it becomes necessary. This is the thought process my therapist would tell me to go through, along with some meditation when I’m able to do so.

    2. Is your husband typically so negative and unsupportive about your career? FWIW this not normal, helpful, nor kind. What your husband should be saying: “That’s awesome that you’re preparing for your review, but obviously you’re going to crush it because you’re a rock star!”

      2. I wonder if your husband actually works for a company that isn’t supportive of parents and is projecting his experience there onto yours without realizing it.

    3. (a) do they even know that you’ll be taking this leave later in the year? (b) it’s illegal to discriminate based on pregnancy so if it happens, consult an employment lawyer. Until it happens, try not to worry about it. If they do know about your upcoming leave, it would be a gift to you and your employment discrimination claim if they mention it in your annual review.

    4. Wow that’s really mean and out of touch. A lower review or raise in anticipation of someone taking leave is obviously illegal, and so not what you should be prepping for! Honestly I’d revisit with him why he said that – if he thinks that would be appropriate from your bosses that’s pretty messed up. If he’s projecting out of concerns about you or himself, that’s different and worthy unpacking how he’s feeling and why it came out that way.

    5. I think there’s three separate issues: the rating, the bonus, and the partner track.

      In our company, you get a rating for the work that you did. In super simple terms, it would be like saying it’s possible to do 12 things if you are at work for 12 months, 8 things if you’re at work for 8 months, 4 things if you’re at work for 4 months. We don’t say that you only did 8/12 things if you took parental leave for 4 months, we look at the 8 things it was possible for you to do, and give you a rating based on that work.

      You do get a pro-rated bonus in the year where you’re taking leave, similar to if you started a few months into the year. Again, if you only had 8 total things that you could do, you wouldn’t be eligible to get the bonus for 12 things. This applies to mid-year promotions as well. The annual bonus is calculated on the X months of salary pre-promotion and X months of salary post-promotion.

      So yes, it’s possible you get a lower bonus, but it’s not really “lower”, it’s pro-rated.

      The partnership is a different situation, and I wouldn’t think your parental leave would affect the partnership trajectory.. In our company, I’ve seen people come back from parental leave and be promoted in the next cycle, since they accomplished the 8 things that were possible to accomplish. Or, they got promoted right before they went out on leave, and came back at their new level with no issue. We’re a big enough company that our performance reviews and promotions take a few months to complete, so it’s also possible that someone gets promoted while on leave.

    2. The nice thing for others is that they can have what they want to have & don’t have to ask for your approval.

      2. I agree. 20 pairs of leggings would stress me out but I’m not in a position to tell others what they should own.

    4. I probably ‘shouldn’t’ own a lot of things that I own, but I do because I like them and want to own them…to each their own.

          1. Is it? I thought I was here to learn about high quality brands that would last me longer.

    5. As a poster said upthread, when you exercise most days, sweat a lot, and do laundry only on the weekends, you need more workout clothes. Likewise, if you live in a climate with true seasons, you also need more workout clothes. While I don’t have this many pairs of leggings, I probably have 15 pairs of leggings and then I would also store some other things like running jackets in the other pockets. I don’t have very much storage space in my closet or house, and this type of hanger might be great for me.

      1. Seconded

        I am not a fan of owning more clothes than I need but when I lived in someplace with sub-zero winters and 100+ degree (very humid) summers, I owned a lot of clothes. They lasted a long time because they were only worn 4 – 6 months out of the year, but I had a lot of (different) leggings.

        We could probably use this as a good indicator for people who live in temperate climates!

    6. I probably own 10 pairs of leggings but I’m certainly not as judgmental as you about others having more.

  12. Looking for suggestions of veggie side salads that can stay in the fridge for a while. I’m ideally looking for something crunchy and more of a vinaigrette situation than a cole slaw situation, but I’m open to suggestions. Preferably no chickpeas! I’ve overdone it with the chickpeas :)

    1. I’m currently eating a salad of finely sliced red cabbage, apple and carrot, with tahini lemon dressing. It holds up super well in the fridge, and you can eat it as is or add extra herb or nut toppings.

    2. not 100% what you’re looking for, but i often roast brussels sprouts, broccoli, and/or carrots and nibble on them cold throughout the week.

    4. I sometimes by the “sweet kale salad” kits at the supermarket. There is no lettuce to wilt, only hardier veggies like kale, shredded broccoli and Brussel sprouts, and the toppings are pepitas and dried cranberries that do not get soggy; I’ve had it in the fridge for two or three days with no real loss of taste or quality. The kits I’ve seen use poppyseed dressing that is not overly sweet IMO but you could do something similar with your own veggies and dressing.

    5. Smitten kitchen green bean salad with fried almonds, fennel and pickled red onion. Soooo good

    6. Bon Appetit winter crunch salad. It will hold up for a while, but even better if you dress the portion you are eating rather than the whole thing at once.

      1. there are some really good farro and broccoli salads if you’re open to including a grain!

        we’ve made this one the most often (link is not working for me atm though)
        https://www.finecooking.com/recipe/roasted-broccoli-and-farro-salad-with-feta

        this one is delicious but heavy https://www.gimmesomeoven.com/roasted-broccoli-farro-bowls/#tasty-recipes-60568

        also heard great things about this one –
        https://smittenkitchen.com/2017/05/broccoli-rubble-farro-salad/

    9. I buy the broccoli slaw mix and dress it with a miso lemon dressing. It stays crunchy for days.

      1. Ok I have miso and lemons (so many lemons. I have a tree!) – how do you make the dressing?

    10. Grated carrots with a dressing of lemon juice, oil (half olive, half veg), mustard, and dried dill.

      1. I made this a few weeks ago and also loved it. If you’re a jar salad person, it packs really well in layers and everything stays crisp for a week.

    12. Look for fridge salads at Budgetbytes. I really like the one with cauliflower and olives.

  13. I’m looking ahead to summer and trying not to freak out. I have a 14-year-old who, for the past couple of years, has spent his summer partly at camps, and partly hanging out at home. DH and I have been able to cover his transportation needs, although it’s been a struggle. Unfortunately, DH recently started a new job, and he won’t have the same level of flexibility to help out.

    I need another driver. But how? It seems like most of the people I know with these types of arrangements fell into it by happenstance and by knowing the right people. The people on the apps like care and sittercity want regular established babysitting hours, not “drive this teen for 10 hours this week and no hours next week.”

    How do people handle this? I guess we don’t have the right kind of friends or network or something. Seriously considering cutting my work hours temporarily, which is a dangerous move considering layoffs are happening in my org.

    (A summer full of overnight camps is not happening, before someone suggests that.)

      1. +1

        Please do not change your job (!) over trying to hand hold your child’s entertainment needs for a summer. He’s 14!!

        Although I know most 14 year olds are treated like 10 year olds these days.
        Oh well.

      3. Correct. I grew up in NYC (but outer borough where buses were the norm) and was expected to take public transit anywhere and everywhere I needed to go by this age. Your kid can also figure this out (carpools with friends, etc.) if he desperately needs to get somewhere. You should not cut your work hours for a teenager!!

    2. Have you tried asking on Nextdoor? I also had luck finding an airport limo driver who was willing to drive my son to his summer job before he got his license, but I had to pay $25 for a 3-mile ride. There are also some camps near me that have buses, but they are $$$.

    3. My kids would have fought back hard against summer camps by age 14. Are you sure that’s the plan? How about teen stays home & has a mix of free time and chores, like doing the household’s laundry and getting dinner started.

      1. It depends on the camp. I don’t know any 14 year old who would want to go to a generic parks & rec camp or Y camp (and in my area, these camps are really intended for elementary school only and max out in age at 10 or 11). But there are specialized academic, athletic and arts camps that are of great interest to tweens and teens. Many of these camps are sleepaway, but some are day camps. For example, in my town the local university has a lot of day camps where kids can explore special academic interests that might not be part of the regular school curriculum, like robotics or astronomy. These are very popular with the 12-15 year old set.

      2. He will have plenty of time at home. These camps are for school sponsored activities, so yes, he is interested in doing them.

        1. If it’s school sponsored, like band or the cross country team, can you not ask other parents about carpooling?

          Agree with others though, 14 is an excellent time to learn about public transportation. My kids are urban kids, but they’ve been taking the city bus without parents since they were around 12 or 13.

    4. What do you mean by “his transportation needs”? Do you live far from everything? Where does he need to go?

      1. I live in a car-centric town, yes. I’m surprised that others are surprised by this.

        1. Do you not have a city bus system? I live in a very small city in the Midwest, so it’s definitely a car-centric community, but we have a city bus system. It’s not perfect, nothing like the NYC subway, but it’s better than nothing. Even if he can’t get all the way to the camp, could he get close enough that someone could conveniently pick him up and carpool?

    5. Can kiddo reach out to friends from camp about carpooling? Could you reach out to other parents of campers?

    6. Sounds like the kid doesn’t get to go to camp this year because his parents need to work.

      1. Same Anon — meant to also add: you should *not* cut your work hours to because your kid wants to go to camp. Your job and career are far more important.

    7. Does your city have HopSkipDrive services?

      Is bike/bus/wait at the library after camp for a couple hours an option?

    8. I’m confused about what you mean by “knowing the right people.” I’m guessing that rather than stumbling onto a pool of free chauffeurs, the folks you know who have help in this area have cultivated relationships with folks that are at the very least mutually beneficial, if not genuine friendships where both parties want to help each other out.

      1. Ok, that’s rude. It isn’t a given that your kid ends up in the exact same activities as the kids whose parents you know. Especially if they’re not super into the athletics scene.

    9. Where does he need to go? Have him find rides (and also be ready to give rides). Or buy him a bike.

    10. Look into options within biking distance.
      Look into the local bus system.
      Look into what Kid’s nearby friends are doing for camps and ask for carpooling help.
      Send kid to work at a supermarket/store in walking distance.
      Send kid to summer school.

    11. My teens mostly just stay home during the summer. My older teen had a summer job at her dance studio (before she was old enough to drive) and so she just got dropped off early on my way to work and hung out until either me or her dad could pick her up. Luckily the studio was near the pool and the library, so if she had a lot of extra time she would walk to either one of those places. If my kid really wanted to do one particular camp I would try and figure out how to make it work work but not an entire summers worth (assuming the camp is a couple of weeks long.)

    13. If your kid wants to do camps or have plans, they need to coordinate with friends or neighbors nearby so the families can carpool to reduce the burden, or pick stuff they can ride a bike to.
      If there are things your kid MUST do, and your family cannot swing the transportation and your kid biking or taking the bus isn’t an option, it would probably be cheaper to Uber than for you to reduce hours.

    14. Does your kid not own a bike? It was that or the bus for every 14 year old I’ve ever known, plus the very occasional carpool if the kid had a friend with an available parent.
      The idea of me cutting my work hours to be a driver is hilarious…I can’t imagine that anyone would do that.

      1. I do know people who have had to do that, hence my question. Or have hired drivers for their teens. If you live in a spread-out place with not-great public transit o, this is what you do.

    15. Agree with everything others said about bikes and kid arranging own rides.

      But since no one else has mentioned this, why not hire a driver for the summer for the max number of hours a week you’ll need? Yes that means that you would be paying someone for time you don’t need but it’s a lot smarter move than cutting your own hours! The peace of mind is probably worth th “wasted” dollars

    16. I’ve had luck hiring old (mostly college or post-college) babysitters for driving my kid to different places.

    17. I had such a job a summer in college when I went home. It was the best! Got paid to pick up two kids from sports ball camp, drive 3 miles, hang out and watch TV at their house. The kids were totally self sufficient and required no supervising—a new Harry Potter book came out that summer.

      I got linked up through church.

  14. I have one of these organizers, and I love it. I hung it on the back of my closet door, and I use only the front part. I put in leggings, undershirts, and my workout tops. It’s not just for leggings…Also, I’m plus size, and the sleeves have plenty of room for my clothes.

    1. Thanks for posting! Do you have this one or one like it? I’m definitely interested in it for closet storage of leggings and workout tops.

  15. So, for my birthday a couple of days ago, my aunt decided to send me 13 donuts. Good intentions, right? Well, here’s the problem – I can only account for 9 of them. I’m convinced that my preteen snatched 4 of them and devoured them when nobody was looking. (To make matters worse, my dear hubby thought he heard DS puking last night!) Like seriously, this isn’t the first time he’s been sneaky with food. We once found a secret stash of empty candy wrappers hidden under his bed… he’s obese but we can’t figure out where the calories are coming from. Are we in binge eating territory yet? WWYD? (We’ve already cut way back on snacks and I hide the ones I keep for his little sister.)

    1. I feel like there is some context missing here. Did you find candy wrappers *hidden* under his bed or were there candy wrappers that happened to be under his bed (in the sense of preteen – messy room – stash some junk under the bed). Why are you hiding snacks for his sibling from him? You are tracking his calories? Any of these things might be a reaction to his obesity (diagnosed as worrisome by a doctor?) on the one hand. But on the other hand (absent that context), if I am a 12yo with a sweet tooth, these tactics would make me feel ashamed of my body, and that I am not supposed to eat these things, and would make me sneak around more, not less.

      1. Op – there was an empty shoe box full of candy wrappers. This was during the pandemic so fine but food continues to disappear.

    2. What did he say when you asked him about it?

      This sounds like you need a plan developed with his pediatrician, who may recommend a pediatric nutritionist and/or a behavioral therapist to deal with constructing a relationship with food.

      In the meantime, is he exercising? Can you not “hide” food but rather avoid having doughnuts, etc in the house entirely?

      1. He lied, said absolutely he had no idea. A month or year from now he’ll tell me ha yeah I fooled you (he’s done that before, even on stuff I confronted teachers about)… it’s a game to him.

        Donuts were in the house for less than 36 hours – we gave some to other family and planned to freeze the rest tonight. But he has also binged on power bars and other weird stuff.

        Yes he needs more exercise but he doesn’t have a lot of extra time and energy with school commitments.

          1. Exactly. This is about behavior and health. OP, it sounds like you’re frustrated but that you’re not really addressing the underlying issue about nutrition and habits. I hope you’ll talk with your pediatrician.

        2. I also wonder how much self control you expect a 12 year old to have? I have raised teens and would not expect a dozen donuts to last more than 24 hours in my house.

    3. I hope you’re working with a pediatric nutritionist and/or therapist and trying to follow their advice. I noticed you didn’t respond to the other person who asked whether you had expert advice. I also wonder if you’ve fully explored medical causes for obesity, as many (most?) tweens with severe obesity have underlying medical issues especially when, as you say, you can’t figure out where the calories are coming from. There are medications that can help in that case.

      I’m a mom and if I found out my child was binge-eating and purging, my immediate reaction would be utter devastation and “how do I help my child so she doesn’t die?” Eating disorders are very serious, even life-threatening. The fact that you seem to be more upset that he lied to you and snuck “bad” foods is very telling, and makes my heart hurt for your son.

    4. I truly mean this in a gentle and helpful way, but I’m wondering if some of your beliefs/actions are contributing to this behavior. A 12(ish) year old eating 4 donuts isn’t that shocking to me. Definitely not advisable, but no surprising at all. Describing it as “snatched and devoured” and hiding food from him but letting his presumably non-obese sister have it seems like you’re personally struggling with his obesity and are trying to restrict him when he’s not on board with this plan.

    5. I’d be worried that he is binging and purging. This is now a thing with boys. I am sorry this is happening and that the other responders are blaming you. Social media is really impacting body image for children so that is where I would be looking.

Comments are closed.