An overwhelming part of motherhood is learning how to not only manage your new life but your entire household and all the “stuff” that comes with your new little one. Getting a head-start on basic organization can help you navigate the muddy waters; start with these pointers to stay on top of the clutter.
Detangling the Duds: If you have more than one toddler in your household, help yourself and put them in the same room. For monitoring and managing purposes, one room is so much easier than two. In the aspect of those oh-so-cute baby clothes, which they wear for way too short of a time, one room is also very helpful. One place to collect, put-away, and sort clothing instead of multiple places is easier on the back and the brain.
I think less is more when it comes to children’s clothing. You can easily get overwhelmed with the amount of laundry alone; keep it simple and purchase plain pieces that will last and can be paired with multiple things. Kids have a great imagination and will make up so many creative outfits on their own, just you wait!
Best advice ever: buy only white socks and a larger quantity of a similar brand; you will no longer have to be hunting all over the house to find those matching socks.
If you have dressers, keep containers inside each to organize all the little things: including socks, underwear, and all those hair bows!
I keep my children ready for preschool with a weekly organizer of what they will wear each day. On Sunday evenings, we pick out outfits together, and then they are ready for the week. I’ve hung it where they can reach it and this tremendously helps with morning routines.
Always, always have a donate/Goodwill bag in the closet. As things become worn and no longer wanted, add it to the bag right then and there instead of waiting. Also, keep a consignment resale bag – this one is for those clothes that are now too small that you could resell at places like Once Upon A Child or in your local area Facebook groups. Every little bit helps.
Use bins in your closet and organize the next season of clothes; For example: winter pajamas, summer pajamas, long sleeve shirts, short sleeve shirts, pants, shorts, sports attire, etc. When you need to switch out the season or need to grab them, they are right there. It’s much better than my former system of heading to the garage to hunt down a large tote, filled to the brim with clothes by size.
If you are lucky enough to have extra space, designate one room as a toy room and one as a bedroom. We keep all the toys in one space and only stuffed animals and books in the bedroom for nighttime reading. It allows the kids to have a clutter free space at all times, providing a restful space for bedtime.
I like the look of contained spaces that hide the toys; Target or Ikea have great options for affordable shelving with baskets – I did several long white shelving units with black baskets for toy storage, and they work great.
Buy multiple containers of the same kind, but always measure or know what you are using them for first, otherwise you will end up with a bunch of cool containers that nothing fits in. Use this rule especially for containers for crafts and separate each by type: markers, glue, crayons, paints, chalks, colored pencils, and scissors in a designated area. This also helps reiterate “use one thing at time,” and keeps craft time to a manageable level.
I also filter our toys out using the holiday schedule; if there is a holiday or birthday coming up, that’s usually when I slowly start weeding out toys or games that are not played with and decide to sell or give them away. I’ve also been trying to keep to the rule that if something new is purchased, we donate something else at the same time. One in – one out.
Hopefully you’ve got a few new ideas to help get rid of the clutter; we’d love to hear yours! Share your organization tips for new moms below!
