Preparing your Home for your New Baby

Nesting can come in all shapes and sizes! Check out our go-to’s below

Preparing for your baby to arrive? Whether it’s your first kid or fourth kid, nesting before your child’s arrival is inevitable (and perfectly normal). Nesting is a term used to describe a time before your baby’s arrival where you clean, dust, and organize your house to get it ready for your new bundle of joy. I thought this was a total bogus idea until I was pregnant with my first child. I remember calling my mother-in-law over to come and help me organize my kitchen. Yes, my kitchen of all places. We had this cabinet that has always bugged me and man, I was determined to get it organized before the baby.

I also dabbled in cleaning other rooms and making sure things were put away, washing all the baby clothes, towels and putting them away by month. But nothing hit me like that urge to clean my kitchen. Knowing that everything had a home and that I would be able to easily find things while on my leave gave me assurance.

I’m Overwhelmed Where Do I Start?

Has the thought crossed your mind to start but you have no idea how? That’s ok. Start small do a drawer that has been bugging you or start getting the clothes ready that you received as gifts. I find it best to write down all the places or things you want to accomplish – in no particular order – just to get it out there. Then break it out. Here is an example below of my “nesting” list for my second baby.

        - Move new dresser into baby room
        - Clean guest closet
        - Get out donated clothes from sister-in-law (wash, dry, put away by size)
        - Organize office
        - Declutter first child’s bookshelf and move all baby things over
        - Get all baby items out from basement to deep clean (this includes highchair, bottles)
        - Make room in kitchen cabinets for baby stuff

Once you have all of your ideas down you can start to game plan!

Devise a Game Plan

There are lots of ways to start. Some experts say start with the hardest and tackle that first while others (aka me) say get a few small things checked off the list to feel accomplished and then that will get the ball rolling on the rest. I could group these in 2 groups: things I can do myself and things I will need help doing – you know because you are growing a human.

Organize Office, declutter first child’s bookshelf, and make room in kitchen for baby stuff – these are all things I can do myself (fingers crossed).

Now that I have my list of things I can do; I can start to plan when I can do them. If you are anything like me, I hardly have any energy at the end of the day so the weekend it is! Dedicate one space at a time. No need to get overwhelmed with all the items on your list. Take your time.

Gather all the items you need to start your adventure: couple of trash bags/containers and you’re ready sort your items into keep/donate, cleaning solution, rags, and maybe some gloves. Feeling better yet?.

Here is a list of top products I used to make my life easier.

Fabric Zippered Bags Move over Ziplock® and plastic waste. These bags are a game-changer. They hold so much and have a clear window so you can see what is stored in them. I was able to move all my baby clothes by size into one bag. Now, I can easily hand these off the next mamma in need without having to think too much! If these are too big, mDesign has lots of styles and colors to match any need. Check them all out.

Drawer Organizers Another game-changer. These bad boys fit perfectly into any drawer to help make life a bit easier. Kitchen – no problem, Bathroom – of course, Office – you betcha! These guys slide into the drawer and can configure in many different ways. They are perfect size to hold your utensils, hair styling products, or any of that office clutter that needs a new home! Again, mDesign knows you best, and these come in a variety of colors and sizes. Find you perfect configuration.

Fabric Drawer Dividers Got all these clothes and trying to find the best way to store them? This is a challenge in itself. Not only do you have to sort onesies, socks, booties, diapers, pants, etc., but kids grow out of them so. darn. fast. Don’t get me started on that… What I found to be helpful were these fabric drawer organizers. With the different sizes and compartments, it makes it easy to sort all the madness into some simple classifications that made it easy for me to remember. Hello, mommy brain!

Round Fabric Bin/Hamper Something you cannot have enough of when it comes to a new baby? Places to throw things to make you look like you have your life together. These round bins can be used to corral dirty clothes, toys, blankets (why did I get 1,000 blankets from friends?), a hiding place for your second kid. When it comes to pretending you have your life together, these bins are perfect.

Enlist Help if Needed

I am on the shorter side – 4’ 11 ¾ “ (but who is counting) and again, pregnant which makes bending, moving, general living pretty tough come your second and third trimester. So, odds are you are going to need some help. You can ask your partner, friend, mother, mother-in-law, neighbor, anybody who isn’t pregnant is fair game.

When you ask them play up the pregnancy card, nobody can say no to that.

What if I Don’t Have the Urge?

There is no right or wrong answer to what nesting looks like to you. It could just be providing a safe home to your baby. Everyone “nests” differently and some women don’t nest at all. Don’t worry, you are not a bad mother – so stop thinking that. You may have the urge later or it may never hit you and that’s ok!

Laura Sirk is a Marketing Manager at mDesign
and loves all things organization and cats. I’m one cat away from being a cat lady. MEOW!

How do you stay organized? We’d love to hear your story!
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