Tips for Organizing your Nursery
Nursery Organization Tips
A baby on the way is a very exciting time but it can also be overwhelming. Here are a few helpful tips to organizing your nursery for creating systems and keeping things tidy.
Keep things simple. If you’re working with a small nursery, you don’t want to add anything crazy like one of those giant stuffed giraffes or a big dollhouse. Try to keep things as uncluttered as possible. Even if you have a larger nursery, I highly recommend keeping it simple and sticking to the basics in the early years. Try and embrace the minimalism while you can.
Use baskets for storage and decor. When I speak about organizing, I always suggest using baskets but there’s a reason – it’s probably the simplest and most important tip I can give you. Contain, contain, contain is the name of the organizing game! I use baskets for everything, and they’re such an easy way to keep clutter to a minimum while also keeping things easy to find. Basket for dirty clothes, basket for toys, baskets for blankets etc. Basically, if you’ve got something taking up space and you aren’t quite sure where to put it, a basket will solve the problem.
I recommend hanging onesies. I find it’s much easier to keep things clean and organized if I hang baby onesies and outfits. The only exception to this is newborn clothing – it’s too tiny to fit on even the babiest of baby hangers, so I don’t start this until they fit into 0-3 month clothing. Why do I recommend hanging onesies? First of all, it’s highly likely that your nursery has a closet with hanging space. If you aren’t using it to hang onesies, then that space is just being wasted. Why not use that space to hang up the onesies and free up drawer space elsewhere in the room for something else? Also, I would argue that in terms of time spent hanging up clothes, it’s doesn’t take any longer to toss them on a hanger than it does to fold them in a drawer. Then you have the added bonus of actually being able to see all of your kid’s clothing, which means you’re less likely to just grab the same things over and over. Pants, shorts, and pajamas can go into the dresser drawer, hang the rest.
Go Vertical. Take advantage of the height of the nursery walls, and you have: instant extra storage space. Place items you won’t use often, or don’t want a curious kid to get into, out of reach on horizontal wall shelves or tall vertical bookcases. And don’t forget overlooked areas like backs of doors. Put an over-the-door shoe holder with clear pockets behind the nursery door or in the closet and compartmentalize all the small stuff like tiny shoes or excess toiletries.
Know that things will change often. In the first year or so of your babies life, their needs will rapidly shift and evolve and you’ll feel like you’re constantly re-arranging things. That’s totally normal, and an expected part of keeping a well-organized nursery. Some of my clients set up their nursery so that as their children grow they start to use more of the clothing that is currently stored in drawers, storage space will open up for toys and other things that older kids need. Basically, just remember that you will probably find yourself re-organizing things every few months, and that’s perfectly fine – in fact, it’s the best way to make sure things actually stay organized!
Managing both the inflow and outflow of odds and ends you’ll collect will be beneficial. Every few months, separate baby’s clothes into three piles: what fits now, what baby can grow into soon and what’s been outgrown. Keep the first two piles in the nursery, placing the “fits now” group in an easy-to-access drawer or hang them in the closet and tucking away the “grow into soon” items for future use in a bin. Put too-small clothes in storage, sell or donate them, or give them to a friend. Do the same for toys and books periodically—and edit often. If you haven’t used it in the last two to three months, you likely won’t be using it again.
Drawer organizers are helpful. I like the SKUBB storage boxes from IKEA, these are great for small clothes and items. They fit like a glove in IKEA dressers, but I’ve had good luck using them in other dressers as well. Its good to keep socks, underwear, shorts and pants separated. Create a home for all the things.
Have a place for everything. I know – organizing 101 right here. But, seriously – if you’re working with a small nursery and you want things to be organized, you have to make sure every tiny little thing has a designated spot. That way, if it’s the middle of the night and you desperately need the diaper cream, you don’t have to go searching for it – you want to not only know which drawer it’s in, but also where it is in that drawer!
Look for storage friendly furniture. Invest in a crib with drawers or buy a crib skirt and hide away a bunch of under-bed boxes, perfect for stashing excess wipes and diapers. Need more storage? Consider a cube storage system (you can find these from IKEA) that can grow with your child and be outfitted with drawers or baskets to hold toys, books or games. Storage benches are also great to stash bulky items like blankets and sweaters.
I hope you find some of these tips helpful. If you would like some additional help I would be happy to get your space organized and ready for the arrival of your new babe!
