Welcoming a new family member, seeing their smile, and creating memories with them are some of the many joys of parenthood. While establishing new routines can be a little hectic, it’s still an exciting time filled with wonderful experiences.
One of those ongoing chores that is often overlooked involves how to organize and store all those cute baby clothing they outgrow so quickly. The chaos of staying on top of it all can seem impossible. Thankfully, these tips will help simplify your baby’s clothing storage process.
Evaluate Your Space
Set up a well-stocked baby station in your home to make diaper changes easy. If you have multiple floors, consider setting up a changing station on each level. When you’re tired and want to change the diaper and bodysuit quickly, you’ll love having everything you need conveniently right there. This also helps maintain a sense of organization as you have different convenient locations to take care of your baby’s clothes and needs immediately.
You’ll also want to take stock of how much hanging space you have available. Baby clothes are not long, so adding extra rods can allow you to hang more items. If you’d like everything to look cohesive, look for closet rods that are closely matched to the one already installed. Consider adding fun closet rod dividers for a whimsical look in your baby’s nursery closet. These are similar to what you see in stores dividing the sizes, but you can find ones with baby-oriented designs.
If you’re renting your home, always get approval from the landlord before making permanent changes. If necessary, there are plenty of temporary yet sturdy solutions for hanging closet rods as a renter.
Sort and Organize
You have many options when it comes to how to sort the clothing. Grouping by size is a logical choice. However, you may want special sections for specific types of clothing or for seasonal wear. For example, a baby typically won’t have a closet filled with formal dress attire. Instead, hang formal wear, such as baby girl’s church dresses and baby boy’s christening suits, in their own section.
Typically, babies go through a lot of wardrobe changes throughout each day. For the clothes that you need to keep within arm’s reach for quick access, hang those items toward the front of the closet. You may also want to divide clothes by style. For instance, neutral baby clothes could hang in their own section.
Since babies grow so quickly, it’s not uncommon for a baby to skip newborn baby clothes sizes altogether. Some babies come out of the womb needing three-month clothing. So don’t store the five and six-month clothing too far back in storage as the time rolls around quickly.
Whether you solicit help from a friend or take time to organize it all before the baby comes, be sure to develop a system that includes labels. Hang different options in different sections with labels. For example, you could keep the 6-month-size outfits in a labeled basket or drawer to maintain some sense of organization. All you’ll have to do is look at a basket or a different container to know what goes where.
Find Storage Solutions
Shelving is essential because it allows you to store items neatly but still within easy reach. Look for a chest of drawers that can fit in your closet. If it can’t fit in your closet, find one that doesn’t take up too much space in the room.
If the chest of drawers stands against a wall, make sure to secure it properly. This helps prevent accidents as your baby grows and starts pulling up on furniture. With a chest of drawers, you can easily fold different items, place them inside and access them whenever needed. Whether you prefer shelving for the closet or wooden furniture, it’s easy to find storage options for any price point.
Maintain and Upkeep
The basket strategy is perfect when you need to do the bare minimum. When you’re in the trenches, some things will fall down the list of priorities. While ensuring your baby has clean clothes is important, the clothes won’t always be perfectly wrinkle-free. Choose your battles.
Label the basket with the age or size of the clothing. Afterward, don’t worry too much about folding or rolling. Place them in a basket with a lid and a label. It will look organized, and it’ll be easy for you to access in a hurry.
Apply the basket strategy to items such as socks, reusable underwear and linens like washcloths. For items like t-shirts, pants and sundresses, hang them up once you remove them from the dryer. That helps them to look more well-kept. As long as they’re well laundered, you can store items like one-piece bodysuits, sock and undershirts without a lot of fuss.
Donate and Resale
One of the most essential components of clothing storage involves elimination. If you’re holding on to all the items your baby no longer needs, this only creates unnecessary clutter. Develop a system that allows you to quickly get things out of your home. If your baby has already outgrown their 3-month clothing, don’t hold on to it.
Instead, pack it up and donate it to someone else who could use it. You can donate it to your local shelter or thrift store if you don’t know someone who could use it. If you’d like to make some extra money on gently used or brand-new baby clothing, list the items on a few of the resale sites like Facebook Marketplace, Kidizen or eBay. Alternatively, look for a children’s resale store that takes trade so you can get larger sizes.
If you plan on having more children, setting aside some of those items may be beneficial, but you can still limit what you keep to your favorite pieces. Make sure those items are thoroughly laundered and properly stored to keep dust mites and other allergens from getting inside.
Lean Into the Process
Caring for a baby is a full-time job, as there are so many moving parts. Make it easy on yourself when taking care of your baby’s clothes with these solutions. They’ll help you keep your baby looking their best. They’ll also strengthen your ability to stay on top of all the facets of your baby’s needs.
