How to Organise Your House for a New Baby
Welcoming a new baby into your home is such a special and exciting time, but we know it can be daunting too! Getting your home organised is a great way to prepare for your new arrival, and if you’re ready to nest and create some order in your home before baby's arrival, then we’ve got you covered!
Whether you’re getting organised for your first child, baby number two or more, keep reading to discover our tried and tested tips on how to best organise your home to meet the needs of your new baby and growing family.
Trust us; decluttering and organising your home for a baby now is going to make your life so much easier once your baby is here!
Declutter Pre Baby
For such small people, newborns come with a great deal of ‘stuff’ and without sufficient and organised storage space, even the tidiest of homes can quickly descend into disorder when items such as prams, moses baskets, car seats and play mats don’t have a home. Get ahead of the game by decluttering your home and freeing up storage space before baby’s arrival.
Why should you declutter the house pre baby?
You will free up space for baby things; both necessary items and gifts you will receive in the first weeks and months of your baby’s life.
You will have less tidying up to worry about allowing you to rest whilst your baby rests.
Your home will be visitor ready when your baby arrives - there will be no need to worry about last minute tidying up.
A clutter free and organised home is a safer place to move around with a baby.
You’ll be less likely to buy duplicate items as you will know where everything is, saving you both time and money.
Find out more on the best ways to go about decluttering in our Ultimate Decluttering Guide For Your Home.
Set Up A Baby Changing Station
One thing that’s a given is that you’ll be changing a lot of nappies once your new baby arrives! Setting up a well stocked and well functioning baby changing station is going to make this task a whole lot easier, if not more pleasant.
Depending on the size and layout of your home, you may choose to set up just one baby changing station within your newborn’s nursery or you may decide that it makes sense to create multiple ones throughout your home; for example one upstairs and one downstairs.
Whatever you decide is going to work best for you, the changing station should have plenty of space for storing all the changing essentials. If your changing table is a dresser, you can use the top drawers for supplies, however if you are using a changing table without drawers, consider using baskets or wall storage to group and organise supplies.
Changing station must haves:
Nappies
Wipes
Creams
Nappy Bin
Soothers
Changing Mat
Gathering all of these changing supplies in one place will make those frequent nappy changes a breeze!
Organise Baby Clothing
It’s common to accumulate a supply of baby clothes and linens during your pregnancy, whether through hand-me-downs, purchases or gifts! Now is the time to sort and group all of these items and create some order within your nursery. Keep reading below to discover how to organise your baby wardrobe.
Sort and group similar items together
First things first, you should sort through all clothing items and group garments by size and type. Keep anything your baby will wear in their first months within arm’s reach (including blankets, towels, bibs etc.) and store the rest, (items for your baby to grow into), grouped by size and labelled, in the less accessible locations. Babies grow quickly so it will be useful to know that you have a batch of the next size up grouped and accessible when needed!
Utilise drawer organisers, dividers or baskets
It can be challenging to keep your baby's tiny items of clothing in place inside large drawers or on shelves so why not add drawer organisers, dividers or baskets to create sections and contain clothing. We also recommend using the file-folding method for baby clothing; this way you will be able to see everything in the drawer and it will be easy for you to grab items without messing up the organisation. Watch this video to learn how to file-fold baby clothes with Marie Kondo.
Label baby items
Adding labels to your baby clothes organisation is a game changer! Labelling drawers, baskets and shelves will mean that you never have to search for an item; just look for the label and you will be able to locate what you need; especially useful in the sleep deprived newborn days!
Labels will also make it easier for other family members or helpers to return clean items to the correct location within the nursery.
Designate Kitchen Space for Baby
Within your kitchen, rather than combining baby items within your everyday crockery and tableware, where they can become hidden and difficult to locate, it is best to dedicate one of two cupboards or drawers to your baby’s feeding items.
Within your drawer or cupboard, use clear bins or baskets to group items by category and add labels - this way you will always be able to find what you’re looking for - even at 2am!
Add an empty bin or basket to the cupboard too - you can use this to corral any other baby paraphernalia that might otherwise clutter up your kitchen.
Create a Baby Backstock Area
We understand that when you have a baby, there are certain items that it makes sense to buy in bulk; nappies, wet wipes, creams etc..
We also know that these items can often clutter up the nursery space if they don’t have a designated home!
This is where the baby backstock area comes in; you can set up this area in any room of the home where you have a spare drawer, cupboard or even just on a shelf.
The key of this area is that it is able to contain all of the excess baby supplies, so that you have just one place to look when you run out of nappies or wipes on your changing table or in your changing bag.
You will only need to glance in your backstock area to know which products you have plenty of and which products you need to stock up on; you will be thankful for the money and trips to the shops saved!
Need Help Organising Your House for a Baby?
At Homefulness we have supported many clients in preparing their homes for the arrival of a new baby, helping them to simplify their home and implement organisational systems so that things are much easier to manage once baby arrives. If you need help preparing your home don’t hesitate to get in touch - Homefulness is here to help!
