So you have baby clothes, burp cloths, bibs and bitty socks. You have hangers and drawers... but how the heck do you place it all?
When I put my baby's clean clothes away, her quiet room becomes a sanctuary of sweet little memories and exciting hopes for the future. This space is just as much mom's as it is baby's so it's important that it makes sense for you in everyday, practical use.
Everything being neat, pretty and also extremely accessible is the perfect nursery. It's not only about the first look of fresh wallpaper and decorative pillows. As a mom, it's about maintaining that wonderful space so just one room is untouched by the everyday shuffle.
My theory of nurseries is that we deeply desire for our child to not be affected by the busy life we lead as adults, so we create a simple non-eclectic space in which we escape with our baby into.
The challenge is, where do neat and accessible meet in a baby's room? By week three postpartum she owns about a hundred bows, I've lost five socks and there's a whiff of poo.
Over time, the secret I found is to know what goes where and how does it go there? Your little human needs special organizing for all their little things.
Not only do onesies go in the top drawer, but long sleeves are on one end, short sleeves on the other. Pants are on one end, shorts on another. It's much easier to manage and grab what you need quick when you know exactly where to go.
My husband, for example, doesn't put away our baby's clothes, because I get to it first. So when he looks for a long sleeve onesie, half the other ones get unfolded in the process.
Now, I don't go so extra with ALL of her stuff, but with what I use multiple times a day I do.
So, into the drawers we go...
Here's how to fold a onesie.
Lay it flat and fold in both sides so it's a long rectangle.
Then fold it in half from bottom to top, and in half again the same way.
Voila!
I love the concept of folding everything in lines, like pants too. Anything else is hung up or has a messy drawer just for it.
The little closet hangers get me every time.
To this day I sometimes play baby lullabies as I put away my daughter's clothes and I cry a little.. don't tell anyone, ok?
In a 6 drawer dresser (3x3);
Top two drawers are diapers with wipes and next onesies. Changing table on top.
Next two are pants below onesies, adjacent drawer is shirts/ outfits that don't easily hang up but aren't a onesie either.
Last two is burp cloths, sheets and breast covers alongside socks, bibs and bows if they will fit in a shared drawer. My daughter's bows needed their own large basket.
On hangers are outfits, not including the pants because they get changed too often to worry about perfectly matching. Dresses, jackets, overalls and true full outfits that won't match anything else get put on small velvet hangers.
Now, onto the odds and ends!
My daughter's bows overtake an entire drawer and most of them don't even fit anymore. Her bibs take up half a drawer along with shirts that fit but she doesn't really wear.
This halfway organization for some things is just what works me. Not every drawer is beautifully neat, but it's EASY and less stressful for me this way. As long as it all has a place, my days are simpler.
That brings me to the next subject of baby organization. Make room for a ? spot.
The stuff will multiply and your time to clean will not.
Here's my crap corner in my daughter's nursery.
This consists boxes of clothes that don't fit (handy to keep one in the nursery for quick revolving of clothes), Graco play yard attachments, the best pregnancy sleeping pillow ever and my favorite breastfeeding pillow.
She sleeps in my room, if she slept here in her open crib this wouldn't be safe at all.
I share this to say that it's ok for this to accumulate, especially if you're sharing an even smaller space as a family unit. This can even happen in a bigger home.
New moms are like squirrels stashing acorns for a long, hefty winter. But, thanks to online shopping, we can order more acorns with one day shipping.
Make room for the bulky stuff. Baby items are so odd to place, literally nothing stacks or collapses, so neat storage can be challenging.
If you want to tackle not having a mess pile, a sweep through doesn't take long if you have a plan in place before putting hands to the mess.
I recommend facing whatever your storage monster is a few times a week. Open that closet, look at it and consider what could fit better elsewhere, what could be donated, etc. After a few times of doing this, you'll have a mental map and it will really help when you actually get in there and start shuffling things.
Maybe it's an ADHD thing, but connecting the dots beforehand helps so much when the time comes to get active.
It's also important, momma, that you not lose your sanity about being neat. A big part of nursery organization is to know what needs to be in a specific spot to grab when needed vs what doesn't need that much care & attention.
If you're sharing a room, use smaller storage. No big baby dresser here.
It's entirely possible for baby's clothes, diapers and other odds & ends to fit in this small of a storage space.
The key is rotating every few weeks so what they don't use anymore isn't in the way.
Sharing your drawers is great too, shallow baskets are great dividers and just continue to rotate out & in what they actually use.
I know those cube storage things are popular, and maybe it's just me, but I always hated them. Nothing fits well into a square.
There's not enough width for two rows and they're deep so there's either empty space or there's temptation to stack and then I have to dig through piles to see what's in there.
In summary, it's about what works for baby's needs every day and what works for mom (or dad) when tending to baby.
Soak in the happy thoughts as you perfectly place every article of clothing before baby is born. After baby's here, just go with the flow. Whatever room your nursery is in, you can make it work for you!
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