I’m always curious how other people stay organized, aren’t you? Right now I’m wondering whether I’m using the dresser and closet in Levi’s nursery effectively. Most of his clothing gets folded and put away in drawers. The changing pad is on top of his dresser, so most of his outfits are within arm’s reach.
The downside to that system is that the piles of teeny clothing in each drawer get messy quickly. I’m a visual person and usually end up sifting through toppled stacks before deciding what he should wear. (Although most days our nanny just keeps him in his jammies.) Besides his pants, short sleeve onesies, long sleeve onesies, bibs and socks, Levi’s dresser drawers also hold diapers, towels/washcloths, sheets, SleepSacks and clothing that doesn’t fit him yet.
If you’re wondering what’s in his closet, the answer is not much. A couple sweaters, play suits and jackets hang above a Martha Stewart 9-cube organizer that holds burp cloths and Diaper Genie refills in canvas bins. We also stash his books in that little cubby… that is, the ones that aren’t strewn all over the floor. I need a better system for those things, too.
I wonder if I’m making the best use of storage space in Levi’s nursery. Tell me, how do you organize your baby’s belongings?
My daughter’s room is TINY (like maybe 8 by 10?), so we have to maximize space. I have a crib skirt to help hide the storage boxes of diapers + wipes along with our pack-n-play housed underneath. The one dresser (which also functions as her changing table with a pad on top) contains her current clothes, and there’s a bin on top for diapering necessities. In her closet, we put a toy bin (like this one: http://www.target.com/p/Circo-Storage-Organizer-White/-/A-10693281) to house all the little things (bath supplies, bibs, baby shoes) and I also have rubbermaid containers of clothes that don’t currently fit her. Hanging up are her “nice clothes” and outdoor gear.
owen has a three-drawer dresser – in the top drawer, we keep his diapers, wipes, socks and shoes. drawer two has all his onesies and shirts in the current size. drawer three has all his pjs.
in his closet there are just shelves. on the top shelf i toss clothes that don’t fit him anymore until i can box them up, along with some stuff we’re storing. we keep his pants and sweaters on the next shelf, and below that are three bins that hold clothes he has yet to grow into. below that are three bins that hold sheets, burp cloths and such. finally, on the floor are packs of diapers and wipes.
we end up sifting through toppled piles as well, but this is the best solution we’ve come up with so far!
I thought about this so much before my daughter was born. I searched online trying to find people discussing it, but never found anything.
My daughter’s room also has a dresser and closet. In the dresser, the top drawers store baby toiletries and extra diapering supplies. The middle drawers have onesies, pants, and PJs she currently fits into, plus some larger sizes that don’t hang easily. The bottom drawers have blankets, burp cloths, and linens.
The closet is organized by size. In her current size, I hung all the complete outfits (after her fourth pair of almost-identical-but-not-quite Carter’s striped pants, I wanted to remember what goes with what). For the sizes she’s not in yet, almost everything is hung up. I got a six compartment hanging shoe organizer from the dollar bin at Target. That holds bigger blankets, rolled up and stuffed in. On shelves I have a basket for hats and hair accessories, a basket for extra shampoos and other toiletries, a small 2-drawer organizer for bibs and socks, and a storage container for boppy covers and other extras. The bottom of the closet usually has an open box of diapers.
Under the crib I have an under bed storage container full of things we don’t need yet (utensils and dishes, teething toys, etc) and extra diapers and wipes.
The room also has a 6-cube organizer against a wall. The bins are stuffed with toys. Those will expand to the family room when she’s older. There are also book racks (Ikea spice racks) attached to a wall.
Ah, organization! My favorite topic. Ari’s dresser has six drawers. The top two: one holds burp cloths and bibs, the other holds diapers, covers and liners (and a few other diaper-related items). The middle two are all clothes in his current size. I inserted drawer dividers (I think mine are these) and then, because I am slightly neurotic, added labels with my labelmaker so that it’s clear to everyone else (husband, family, sitters) where to find stuff.
(The bottom two drawers hold unrelated-to-Ari stuff, like the documents from a house sale and some clothes of mine that I am saving for sentimental reasons…)
I have a set of elfa drawers in his closet that hold other necessities as well as clothing for the future.