Three Chicago-area organizing professionals share their best tips for helping new parents keep everything baby needs in check.
Three Chicago-area organizing professionals share their best tips for helping new parents keep everything baby needs in check.
Babies are super tiny and portable, but boy do theyrequire a ton of stuff. From nursery essentials like diapers, wipesand onesies to more unwieldy items like jogging strollers andExersaucers, these items can quickly take over your home-and evenyour car.
We consulted three of Chicago’s top organizingprofessionals for their best tips for helping new parents get theirbaby gear in check.
Meet our panel
Sarah Giller
Nelson, owner of Less is MoreProfessional Organizing Services
Erin Kelly, owner of Arranged By Erin
Pooja
Gugnani, founder of Organizing with You
Diaper bags tend to be large, which means small items easily canget lost. Use colorful plastic or nylon pencil pouches tostore kits of supplies: one for milk/bottle supplies, one
for solid food, one for diapering, etc.
Sarah Giller Nelson
Keep it simple. If you have a nanny or regular
babysitter, make sure they have their own bag to use. Don’t let
this bag become a “catch-all.”Keep just basic items like
diaper changing supplies, snacks and medical supplies. Refill bag
at end of each day.
Erin Kelly
Use see-through bags and sort by category for:
medicines, snacks, games, outdoor activities and baby items. This
is a great way for the diaper bag to hold all the essentials that a
mom will need to lug around with her.
Pooja Gugnani
The diaper bag
A hanging sweater bag in a closet makes good storage for babyclothes. Most of the clothes can be folded to save space.Purge clothes after each season.
Erin Kelly
Even babies and young kids have seasonal wardrobes. You canre-use the same storage tub for two seasons. For
example, label one side “winter clothes”and the other “summer
clothes.”In the summer, store your winter clothes in it and
have the winter label facing forward, and reverse in the winter.
This way you don’t have to make room for four different bins. You
can apply the same storing concept to other things as well.
Pooja Gugnani
Keep a bin or basket labeled “outgrown”
in a handy place in the nursery closet. As you
find clothes that no longer fit, put them in the bin. When that is
full, move the contents to a storage space that is a bit more out
of the way.
Sarah Giller Nelson
Baby clothing
Avoid using large toy chests, as they tend to become catch-allsfor all sorts of things. Instead, store smaller groups ofitems in their own bins or baskets. Save the larger
containers for a single category of large toys, like stuffed
animals, large trucks or big blocks.
Sarah Giller Nelson
Use your old laundry baskets or even inexpensive colored meshlaundry baskets to store different types of toys such as stuffedanimals, cars, blocks, etc. Train your toddler to beorganized at an early age and make it easy for him or her
by attaching a picture of the type of toy on the front of each
laundry basket, so it’s easy for them to learn how to put it away
as they learn visual cues.
Pooja Gugnani
Containerize/categorize as much as you can. Put
toys out of reach that you don’t want kids to have direct access to
(i.e. games with many pieces). Encourage your child to take out one
thing at a time.
Erin Kelly
Toys/Play area
Sometimes toys can take control of the interior of your car.Keeping items contained in plastic boxes to fit neatlybeneath the seat with each storage box labeled for each child’sname can help keep things organized. In addition, keep a
supply of clear plastic bags inside the car to store dirty/wet
clothes/bibs until they can be brought into the house for
washing.
Pooja Gugnani
Keep a mini baby kit in the car, stocked with
diapering items, extra pacifiers and snacks, just in case. Make
sure to update the diaper size and any clothing as the baby
grows!
Sarah Giller Nelson
Keep your reusable bags in the car for
groceries, cleaning up and other uses. That way they are always
available in case you have a need for them.
Erin Kelly
Car
Use your dresser as a changing table by using
the drawers to store your diapers, wipes, lotions, burp cloths,
etc., and use the top as a changer by placing a changing table pad
on it. The same dresser can then be used when your baby is older to
store clothes, blankets, socks, etc.
Pooja Gugnani
If you have a multistory house or don’t want to trek to thenursery every time a diaper has to be changed, create aportable changing station. Use a basket or a bin to keep a
small supplies of diapers, wipes, diaper rash cream, plastic bags
and a leak-proof changing mat neat and contained.
Sarah Giller Nelson
It sounds simple, but be sure to place your Diaper Genie andtrash can right next to your changing area and keep all ofyour other supplies within reach so you easily can reach
everything without having to step away from baby.
Erin Kelly
Changing table
