Organization and functionality has been my main focus while ‘nesting’. Finding ways we can make our storage more functional and useful is key in my mind so things can stay decluttered. We want to know where everything is AND have everything be easily accessible.
One of the first items on our to-do list was organize our master bedroom closet and the nursery closet. When we first moved into our house, we stayed in the room that is becoming the nursery while the master bedroom floors were being redone. I set my clothes up in the blue room closet (we originally called the soon to be baby’s room the blue room because it had blue trim and blue striped wallpaper) and my husband set up his clothes in the ‘pink room’ (this room was originally pink wallpaper and pink carpet) which is the other spare room right next to it. When our master bedroom was ready to move in a few months later, my husband put his clothes in our master closet and I never moved mine. It was nice not having to share a closet while it lasted but we had to declutter and make both spaces functional for all the changes to come.
I knew we both (especially me) had to go through clothes to donate, sell, or toss. Since I can’t try anything on, I became ruthless. Anything I wore once and never wore again or remember not fitting me in a way I liked, I got rid of. We lined it up with a donation day a women’s group was organizing at a local church so we made sure our donations were going somewhere good.
For the baby’s closet, we went to Target to get some wood cube organizers. We got one that has 4 cubes and one that has 2 incase we ever wanted to split them up or move them around. I also got foldable storage baskets to fit in the cubbies that we will organize as we get more items in and get a feel for where we like things placed in the room and closet. Our master closet is a smaller walk-in closet but it is not as functional is it can be. For our master closet, I got large foldable storage baskets that can go on the very top shelf. We planned to use these for storing items we don’t use all the time or seasonal items. We took out the bottom shoe rack on my side of the closet and I also picked up a wood cube organizer for my side of the closet. Ideally, a full closet system would work really well in this space but we didn’t want to dedicate extra money or time to it right now.
We had a smaller console table from the Hearth and Hand collection at Target in the ‘blue’ room. I initially wanted to use this as the changing table but it was unfortunately too narrow. So we had to switch some things up. We repurposed it for our front coat closet and also reorganized that closet to add our stroller. That way it will have a specific space and won’t just be thrown in the garage all the time. We like to keep our garage just as organized and functional as the rest of the house so this was a helpful option for us! Right now, the console table is being used to hold some dog items, the stroller bassinet, and our diaper bag backpack.
We have a 3 bedroom house so adding a baby into the mix means we are down to only 1 spare room. The soon to be only spare room is actually our ‘art and music’ room that we have not fully completed yet. That is one of the main rooms on our upcoming house project list that we are planning to update. The room itself is updated with the wood floors being done, the wall paper removed, and the walls painted but we want to make this room more functional since it really isn’t right now.
The room that is becoming the nursery is a room we use daily. We have a tv set up here with all of our workout equipment (besides the treadmill) so we use it every single morning. We also have our pull out couch in this room so it can be used as our spare bedroom when we have guests. I decided to keep the couch in this room instead of getting a glider. The main reason is because it’s a brand new, really nice couch but it isn’t large enough to be our main couch in our living room. So we opted to get a new couch for our living room (since we needed it) and leave the pull out couch in the baby’s room.
This means that we have to set up our workout equipment in a new space. We can either do the art and music room or create a whole set up in the garage since the treadmill is there. My husband is leaning on the side of creating a whole space in our garage that can be our gym but can also be put away and not permanently take up space. We still haven’t decided and probably won’t do anything drastic until we really do research and brainstorming. We’ve been working out in the art and music room while simultaneously creating the built ins.
I can’t say the word organization enough in this post. It will be an ongoing battle, which I know, but we are trying to get ahead of what we can now. We have a pretty large linen closet with wire shelving. The wire shelving is great to keep our towels and sheets aerated but terrible for organization of random items. We have to get a lot of clear storage bins from the Container Store, Amazon, or somewhere similar to keep all of our items organized including the million and one baby items. Clear may seem like things can look cluttered or messy but the ease of seeing it without digging is what makes that a better option for us. I wound up getting two sets of The Home Edit organizers from Walmart- the laundry edit and the multipurpose edit.
Our house is what is called a split ranch. Not a split level but a split ranch, meaning the two spare bedrooms and the hall bathroom are located on the right side of the house, all of the main living areas is in the middle, and our master suite is located on the left side of the house. We love this set up! One thing I know though is that when it comes time for a newborn, we will want to have a changing pad or area set up in our room as well as the nursery. I am making sure we also have organizational storage for diaper duty and such on top of our dresser in our bedroom for the newborn stage as well as in the nursery.
I saw this tip a lot for people who have a two story house so definitely something to think about if you’re house is more spread out or your room is far from the nursery.
Another major preparation we are doing is cleaning. While we always clean, and especially vacuum because of our dog, I feel like I want a nice super deep clean before the baby comes. I am not naïve to think we will be able to keep the house actually clean (not just tidy) is practical when the baby first arrives, so having it really cleaned beforehand will give me a little more peace of mind. One suggestion a friend gave me (which I really need to schedule) is to get a cleaning person in the house before the baby comes. Have them do the really deep clean while you are busy getting all this other stuff prepped. Once I heard that suggestion, it’s a tip I will give every parent to be! Another option could be to hire a cleaning person after the baby arrives. That way you don’t have to worry about it after baby arrives too! This doesn’t mean you have to have one forever but if budget allows it, I am sure it’ll save you a lot of stress!
What ways did you prep your house for your first baby? All the tips and ideas are welcome!