As calendar days tic by and you’re the view of your feet over your stomach becomes a more and more distant memory you likely have realized you soon will be facing one of your biggest home organization challenges yet! While you put together registries and browse shelf after shelf in the baby department you can see that this new part of your family is going to come with A LOT of THINGS! Being organized with all that stuff is going to help you hold it all together in the months to come when sleep becomes a distant memory.
Laying Out the Nursery: Simple is key. Home organization is simpler when don’t have a lot of extra things in the mix. It is wise to avoid tripping hazards in the nursery, for example a lot of extra furniture and things, because you will be spending a lot of time in this room in the dark half asleep. Keep your furniture near your walls keeping the center of the room open. This way when you need to go from a rocking chair or crib to the changing table you will have less of a chance of stumbling while sleepy and carrying the baby.
Got a small space? Multifunction is important. Use a counter height dresser, 30-36 inches depending on your height, with a changing pad on top. This serves the same purpose as using a separate changing table. It is one less piece of furniture in a small room. On top of that it will continue to be of use even when your baby no longer needs diapers. Looking for a separate changing table will limit what style of furniture you can buy. Using a dresser opens up your shopping options to the whole market of styles. Before you buy stand in front of the dresser and confirm it is a comfortable work height for you. When wrestling a mobile baby you don’t want to have to be bent to far over or reach over your head! All of your diapering equipment can be kept easily on hand but out of sight in your top drawer!
Little Outfits Abound: Before you know it your little ones wardrobe may be larger than yours! Every time you blink that first year it may seem like you need the next size up in clothing. A home organization system is necessary just to keep up with their wardrobe changes. For ease of dressing the baby store only baby’s current size outfits in their drawers and easy to get at closet space. Container of clothes that are still too big should be stored on your high up shelving. Put labels on your containers clearly marking what size is inside. You don’t want to miss anything when it is time to bring out the bigger size. Just like adult clothing different brands will size their clothes differently. When sorting your clothes ask friends with babies what their experiences have been. Compare different clothes after you wash them to check sizes. You don’t want to take out a brand new outfit and discover it is too small!
Teethers and Dolls: The toys your little one plays with will grow and change just as they do. Put away the things your baby isn’t ready for to avoid your house looking like a toy store. Try storing 6-9 month toys with your 6-9 month clothes, then when you switch over your baby’s clothes drawer you’ll remember to bring out the new toys.
Use this trick to keep your play things interesting and new once your child has grown into your collection. Use a home organization system to rotate your toys. Get a container and collect and assortment of toys to put in it. Put a date on the container, try going a month. When the date you have chosen comes pull it back out. Rotate out the toys inside and put away a different selection of toys. There will be new toys every month no money spent! Don’t have a lot of extra toys? Rotate rooms with your toys. Playing with a block set in the downstairs family room will make it seem new and exciting after playing with it only in the upstairs living room.
A new baby brings a lot of new challenges. Not to mention a whole lot of new stuff. This addition makes home organization very important. Make a plan ahead of time and honor your systems. This will help reduce your stress in the busy time to come!
Credit : Heidi Decoux
No comments: