Organizing Your Nursery - Storage

a continuation of my posts on Organizing Your Nursery...

The key to managing storage in your nursery is to not have too much stuff. Keep baby items to a bare minimum. Scrutinize each item and make sure it is essential and/or serves multiple purposes. Having done this, you will find that you don't need much storage after all. Besides a dresser, we have 6 fabric bins, and a floor-to-ceiling shelf in AB's nursery. That's all. There isn't even a real closet!



In the dresser we only keep items that are in the current size. If it doesn't currently fit him, it doesn't belong in the dresser! For items that he has outgrown, we have two fabric bins labeled "Too Small". We also keep two bins labeled "Too Big" for items he has not yet grown into. When the "Too Small" bins fill up, we transfer them to a plastic tote in the attic until they can be handed down to his younger cousin.

Besides clothing, we use two of the bins for random supplies, such as extra diaper cream, hand sanitizer, etc. That way, we can buy in bulk when things go on sale and have a place to store them until they are needed.



All other baby items get stored on the shelf. We have a basket on the top shelf for holding medicines and extra toiletries way out of the reach of our toddler. Wire baskets hold extra flannel receiving blankets, sleep sacks, crib sheets, and towels. Another shelf holds a small variety of baby blankets. Since you can't use these in the crib, you don't need that many. We use them primarily as play mats and when traveling in the car or on an airplane. Another shelf holds our slings and baby carriers. There is one last shelf that I like to keep empty (but is currently holding some "Too Big" clothes that have overflown the two fabric bins allocated to them). Having one empty shelf leaves room for those unexpected windfalls, like a large bag of hand-me-downs.

If you keep your gear to a bare minimum, you will find that you can get away with minimal storage in your nursery.

Related Posts:
Newborn Gear List
Managing Kid's Wardrobes