Less Mess, More Dance: Containing the Chaos on Competition Day

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I would love to tell you that my girls carefully put everything back where it belongs between dances.

They do not.

They throw their things EVERYWHERE.

Costumes come off. Shoes get kicked aside. Hair accessories appear on every available surface. Snack wrappers multiply. And somehow there are always crumbs at the bottom of the bag.

With three dancers, I’ve mostly given up on trying to keep everything perfectly neat on competition day. My expectations are much more realistic:

Just aim for the hamper.

At this point, my competition-day organization strategy isn’t about keeping everything Pinterest-perfect. It’s about containing the chaos, being able to find what we need for the next dance, and—most importantly—making sure everything comes home with us at the end of the day.

Here are a few things that make that much easier.

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Zipper Pouches for…Basically Everything

If I can put it in a zipper pouch, I probably will.

They’re perfect for hair supplies, makeup, costume accessories and all of those little things that otherwise disappear into the depths of our bags.

I even use the larger ones for smaller, less-poofy costumes.

And then there are snacks.

Competition days are long, which means we’re bringing plenty of food with us. Hard-sided zipper organizers are perfect for keeping snacks contained—and, most importantly, keeping our Cheez-Its from turning into orange dust before we actually get to eat them.

Give Every Pair of Shoes a Home

Competition days mean lots of shoes.

A hanging shoe organizer keeps them off the floor and makes it easy to see exactly what we have.

When we’re getting ready for the next number, I don’t want to dig through a giant bag looking for a missing jazz shoe. I want to be able to look up, grab the pair we need and move on.

It also gives the girls a very obvious place to toss them when they come offstage.

Do they always make it there?

No.

But at least we tried.

Keep Costume Accessories Where You Can See Them

Tiny costume accessories have an incredible ability to disappear at exactly the wrong moment.

A hanging accessory organizer is one of my favorite ways to keep earrings, hair pieces, gloves, tights, jewelry and other small costume pieces separated and visible.

Everything gets its own spot, and I can quickly see if something is missing before we’re scrambling to get backstage.

Garment Bags Are Non-Negotiable

With multiple dancers and multiple routines, garment bags keep us sane.

Each costume stays together with the pieces that belong with it, and everything is protected while we’re hauling it into the venue.

They’re also essential when it’s time to pack everything back up.

Because getting TO competition organized is one thing.

Getting every costume and accessory back HOME after everyone is exhausted is a completely different challenge.

The Hamper Strategy

This might be the least glamorous organization hack on the internet, but it may also be the most realistic.

I bring something that gives the girls one obvious place to throw things.

I’m no longer asking for neatly folded clothes or beautifully repacked bags in the middle of a competition.

I’m asking them to aim for the hamper.

Costume off? Hamper.

Warmups tossed aside? Hamper.

Random clothing I don’t have time to deal with right now? Hamper.

We can sort it out later. The important thing is that it’s contained and not scattered across the dressing room.

Attempting to Control the Smell

Competition days involve a lot of dancing, which means sweaty clothes and shoes eventually make their way back into our bags.

Bag deodorizer balls are one of those tiny things that take almost no effort. I toss them into bags and shoe compartments to help keep everything a little fresher.

Are they going to make a bag full of sweaty dance shoes smell like a field of flowers?

Absolutely not.

We’re just trying to improve the situation.

The Mini Vacuum Earns Its Spot

At some point during every competition, I look at the bottom of our bags and wonder how there are THAT many crumbs.

Cheez-Its. Pretzels. Granola bars. Glitter. Hair. Random pieces of things I can’t identify.

And feathers.

So many feathers.

My 8-year-old has a habit of collecting loose feathers she finds on the floor at competitions. I don’t know when it started, but it’s her thing. If a feather falls off someone’s costume somewhere in that building, there is a very real chance it’s coming home with us.

I’m not sure a mini vacuum was designed with competition-floor feather collections in mind, but here we are.

A mini handheld vacuum makes it easy to do a quick cleanup of the crumbs, glitter and general competition-day debris before we pack everything back into the car.

The feathers, of course, have to be inspected first.

Apparently those are treasures.

My Competition-Day Organization Philosophy

Competition days with kids aren’t going to stay perfectly organized.

And I’ve stopped trying to make them.

Instead, I want systems that are incredibly easy to use.

Hang it. Zip it. Toss it in the hamper.

That’s about the level of organization I’m expecting in the middle of quick changes, awards, snack breaks and getting everyone where they need to be.

The goal isn’t a picture-perfect dressing room.

The goal is knowing where everything is when we need it—and bringing home approximately the same number of shoes, costumes, accessories and children that we arrived with.

Plus a few extra feathers, apparently.

Shop My Competition-Day Organization Favorites

I’ve put my favorite finds for keeping our competition setup clean, organized and slightly less chaotic together here:

Please choose display type!

Less Mess, More Dance

https://amzn.to/3SUNBlx

Because competition day is always going to be a little chaotic.

We might as well give the chaos somewhere to go.

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