Making space for baby…and all the stuff that Comes with Her
After two rounds of IVF, my husband and I are finally expecting our first child and, as strange as it may sound, one of our biggest concerns was, “where are we going to put all the stuff?” Not just the crib and the changing table, but all the other assorted things that come with having a baby – toys, books, clothes, bath seats, lotions, medicines, swings, car seats. Ugh. The list is endless. Here are some solutions we found that other moms and dads might find helpful as well.
Creative bedding
Our house is only a two-bedroom so dedicating one to the nursery meant no space for anyone else to stay over. Inflatable beds are okay, but getting up and down all the way to the floor isn’t ideal for older people – myself included. A fold-out couch is a step above, but they can be expensive and super heavy to move. That’s why we chose a fold-up bed. They’re comfortable, reasonably priced and you can just roll them into a closet when not in use.
Shed Some Clutter
Of course the discussion of closets brings up another issue: closet space. My husband and I are far from pack rats, but we’ve certainly accumulated our fair share of stuff through 30+ years of life. We needed to clear out some closets, but didn’t want to get rid of anything we own. We decided to buy a storage building for the back yard. We did the math and it turned out cheaper than renting a unit. Plus, our stuff is protected and easily accessible just a few feet away.
Get Rid of the Coffee Table
One of the first things we put in our storage building was our big, bulky coffee table. Babies spend a lot of time on or near the ground so floor space is a must. Even when they’re not playing on the floor, their rockers, walkers, bouncers and toys eat up a lot of space. Eliminating the coffee table opens up a ton of room. And, without it in the way, it will be easier to keep an eye on baby once she starts crawling and there will be one less set of sharp corners to worry about when she starts walking.
Join the Potty
My husband and I had enough trouble storing our own stuff in our limited bathroom cabinets, let alone all the cleaning and bathing paraphernalia that comes with a new baby. To create more storage, we bought a 36-inch tall storage cabinet to place along one wall and hung three additional shelves above it. We also bought a space-saving cabinet for above the toilet. Last, we added sliding baskets inside the cabinet under our sink. They key is transforming every possible bathroom space into a storage solution.
Streamline the Garage
With random garden tools, holiday decorations, bikes and various unlabeled boxes, our garage was a mess. We were able to move a lot of it into the storage building, but some items still required a place in the garage. We searched online and at home improvement stores until we found a garage storage system we really liked. The one we selected not only provides a number of super strong shelves, it also has custom bars, hooks and racks specialized for just about anything we might need.
About the Author
Stacie Burns is a freelance writer. She and her husband are currently expecting their first child. In her spare time, Stacie enjoys traveling, reading and working in the garden.
