How To Organize Your Home For A New Baby
Whether your due date is a couple of weeks away or you only just found out that you’re pregnant, you’ve probably wondered how your life is going to change once you’ve brought a human into this world.
Of course, every new bundle of joy comes with unique challenges, and there’s no way to prepare for everything.
But the best way to prepare yourself is to get organized so that you have everything on hand if and when you and your baby need it.
Here are the 3 things you should do before your baby arrives.
1. Baby Proof Your Home
If you take a look around your home, the space you found so comforting and welcoming yesterday now seems to be full of hazards. Babies are curious by nature and are not afraid to explore. They are also, of course, a lot more fragile than they understand. One of the most crucial things to do before the birth of your child is to baby proof your home.
I know you might not think that’s necessary just yet. After all, your home doesn’t really need baby proofing until your child is mobile, and that’ll take months.
Well, those months will pass in the blink of an eye, and soon your little one will be scooting, crawling, walking, and running all over your house. And after you’ve been a parent for a few months, you’ll be extremely tired, so do it while you still have the energy!
Check Smoke and Carbon Monoxide Detectors
The batteries in these detectors need to be changed regularly.
The National Fire Protection Agency (NFPA) conducted a study that found that three out of every five home fire deaths occurred in homes with no smoke alarms at all or smoke alarms that did not work. Worse, a quarter of all smoke detector failures occurred because of dead batteries.
A good rule of thumb is to check your detectors when you adjust your clocks for the beginning and end of daylight savings time.
Place Gates at the Top and Bottom of Your Stairs.
Stairs are one of the leading causes of injury for young children. It’s nearly impossible to keep curious children away from this danger area, but with a gate, you can prevent any Humpty Dumpty situations.
Put child-proof locks on your cabinets, drawers, and toilets. This will help prevent your child from jamming their fingers and getting into harmful products.
Remove Toxins From Your Home
Speaking of, harmful products like cleaning supplies, medicine, plastic bags, and vitamins should be moved out of reach of your children. This adds extra security for when you forget to put the lock back in place, or for when your child eventually figures out how to open it.
Secure Your Furniture
Lastly, anchor your furniture to reduce the risk of suffocation and injury. Bookcases, dressers, and TVs can all be pulled down by climbing children. These items can cause massive damage and are sometimes fatal.
2. Look For Multifunctional Items
For such small beings, babies really take up a lot of space. You’ll run out of room pretty quickly once you start stocking up on everything they need.
Before you buy, brainstorm ways to make your items serve more than one purpose.
It can be fun to shop for your newborn, and baby shower registries might convince you that you need every new product on the market. And we know you only want the best for your child.
But soon, your house will be inundated with toys, high chairs, diapers, wipes, and blankets. You’ll be glad you saved space where you could. So instead of splurging on a changing table, why not use a dresser?
By placing a changing pad, cover, and liners on top of the dresser, you can easily create a changing station. Even better, the dresser will still be a useful piece of furniture when your child outgrows diapers. And, it gives you additional storage space the drawer gives you for diapers, creams, wipes, and clothing.
Another option to consider is letting your playpen double as a crib. It’s more mobile, so you can move it upstairs and downstairs as you please. And a lot of them can even be packed and brought with you on trips to give your baby a familiar sleeping arrangement in a new place.
3. Upgrade Your Organization
You’re going to receive a lot of presents from friends and family as you get closer to your baby’s due date. Many of these items won’t be of use to you for a while. Your child will have to grow into high chairs, clothes, and certain diaper sizes.
Because of this, you’ll need to invest in some storage. Get a hamper specifically for your baby. They’re going to go through a lot of different clothing items each day, so you don’t want to mix their clothes in with yours.
Keep diapers, wipes, towels, and extra clothing in the rooms that you spend the most time in. That way, when your child needs a quick change or spits up, you have the supplies you need right at your fingertips.
The area that will need the most organization is your child’s closet. This will provide a home for your baby’s onesies, shirts, pants, dresses/suits, blankets, towels, socks, hats, toys, and probably so much more. But will all of that fit?
Take a look at the closet in your nursery. How much flexibility does it really give you? Do you have a lot of empty space at the top? Or at the bottom? This is all space that can, and should, be used by a new parent, but your closet probably isn’t set up to take advantage of it.
If you want something that will work long term, you should consider investing in a custom closet. With features built to your preferences, it’s the easiest way to stay organized for years to come.
You can create custom shelves and cabinets to cater specifically to your needs. You can also design your closet from the ground up or build a closet that will grow with your child.
And the best part? You won’t have to lift a finger. Every baby is unique, and each one will need their own special set up.
At 180 Closet Design, we know how important it is to maximize the space you have so you can spend less time cleaning and more time getting to know your little bundle of joy.
Call us today for a free consultation.
