Five Easy Organizing Tips For New Moms
Five Easy Organizing Tips For New Moms
Creating an Organized Nursery
They may be tiny in size but a new baby seems to require a myriad of paraphernalia. Here are five easy tips to help you organize the onslaught of stuff before the baby arrives:
- Design your nursery with accessibility in mind. I refer to it as “prime real estate.” What will you need on a daily basis? Diapers, ointment, onesies, socks, etc. These items need to be placed in the most accessible area so that you can keep one hand on the baby while retrieving what you need with the other. Keep only a limited supply of daily needed items on or inside your changing table and the excess in another location, then replenish as needed. Don’t stuff your changing table with multiples of the same item. Remember, your changing table is prime real estate. Just keep the items you need daily on or inside and place all the excess somewhere else.
- Most new moms receive too much clothing. If you are the lucky recipient of hand-me-downs that’s wonderful but you don’t have to keep every item (no matter how cute!) Too much clothing contributes to the bulk of clutter I see in the homes of young families and clutter produces stress. Most of us wear 20% of our clothing 80% of the time. Babies are no exception. It really is possible to have too much of a good thing. Keep just what you need and donate the rest.
- How much is too much? If you’re frequently doing laundry, you really only need two weeks supply of clothing. That means 14 outfits, 14 pairs of socks. etc. If you keep this minimalist rule I guarantee your home will stay much more organized.
- Make the most of your vertical space. Put up shelves, place tall book shelves against walls to create extra storage. I highly recommend Ikea’s Kallax shelving units. They’re inexpensive and the cubby-like shelves help keep items organized.
- Finally, create a “home” for all items. Determine where items should be stored, train everyone in the household where items live and label if necessary. Creating a home for all items and maintaining the system is the key to an organized home.