Nursery Organization 101

Firstly, congratulations if you're having a baby!! How exciting.

Whether it’s your first, second, or third child, having an organized nursery makes life much easier.

My son was born extremely prematurely and had many medical issues. I had no idea at the time that my organizing skills would make my life much easier in every way. Not only did it help me, but it also allowed nurses and other family members to find things easily or tidy up when I couldn’t.

Postpartum depression is not talked about enough, and even if you don’t have PPD, the first few months can be a lot. More often than not, the home is the space that gets the least attention during the early stages, which is why being organized and giving things a home is so important. Having a calming, organized nursery lets you focus on your little one, giving you one less thing to worry about.

*This is my son’s room. This setup works for me, and hopefully it works for you too.*

DRESSER 101

To make changing your baby easier, keep everything you need within reach and not stored away. For many parents, using the top of the dresser as a baby-changing station works well, as it reduces the amount of furniture required in the room. While a dedicated baby-changing station isn't necessary in the nursery, having one set up downstairs can be incredibly helpful to avoid frequent trips upstairs.

So, the bigger the dresser, the better. I also suggest finding a dresser where the drawers fully extend out and are deep enough to fit clothes. Nothing is worse than a cheap dresser you don’t like using.

My preference is always six drawers, but you can make anything work

TOP TIP: I found my dresser on Facebook Marketplace and had it painted and decorated to fit the style of the room.

*Any dresser will work, as long as you like it.*

ON TOP OF THE DRESSER

1. A bin: I have a little bin with all the essentials that I use frequently. I have wipes, diapers, pacifiers, nose spray, diaper cream, medicine, and a syringe. I don’t want to have to look for the things I use all the time, so I keep them up here. There are times when this has nail clippers, socks, or anything that is being used at the time. In the winter, it has my son’s inhaler, so we remember to use it at night. This can be personalized to you.

2. Changing mat or pad to change them on. I love the Keekaroo, but anything works.

3. A light. In the middle of the night, we want to keep the room dark, so we turn on the lamp. Keeping the room dark stops my son from waking up. We had to do a lot of medical things at night, so the lamp was essential for us.

*Here you can see me refilling the drawer with diapers and my essentials bin on the dresser*

TOP DRAWER ESSENTIALS

The top drawers are for all the things you need for changing a baby. I am right-handed, so this is what works for me, but you can do it any way.

1. Extra packs of wipes go in the far-right drawer. I like to buy one box at a time and empty them here. If they don’t all fit, the rest go in the closet.

2. Extra diapers and pacifiers are available in the center drawer. Again, I empty as many extra diapers as I can into the drawer from the box. The rest go in the closet.

3. Burp cloths and socks go in the left. This could have bows and hair ties if you have a girl. I used to have a few toys in there when Felix was very little to keep him entertained when he was being changed.

Top tip: Keep out what works for you and your little one. I like to fill a drawer with diapers and a drawer with wipes so I always have some on hand easily. Not all the diapers and wipes can fit, especially when buying 100+ diapers in the early stages so the rest go in the closet.

*This is very detailed; you don’t have to be this. You can use no dividers and no labels if that’s for you.*

MIDDLE DRAWER ESSENTIALS

1. Baby's clothes: They can be Newborn or, for my toddler, 2T ( he’s a small dude!).

If you want to go one step further, I like to put all the long sleeves in one row, short sleeves in another row, and the sets in another row. This helps me to not pull everything out, but I like to be hyper-organized. You don’t have to do that.

2. The second draw can be the next size up of clothes. 0-3 months or overflow of Newborn if you have a lot. For me, it’s my son’s school clothes that I don’t mind getting dirty. I like to keep them separate from his nice clothes. When my son is growing out of something, I put them into his school drawer, so they can be used right to the end of their life. Once he is fully grown out of it, the item will go into my donate drawer to be dealt with at another time.

Top tip: Labels on the drawers help you to remember what goes where, and it helps everyone in the house be able to put things back in the correct place. You don’t have to do it all.

These are the draw dividers I used. You don’t need these at all; it’s what I call an unnecessary necessary. They are helpful and great, but not necessary at all..

BOTTOM DRAWERS

I like to use one drawer for all bedtime essentials and one drawer for blankets and additional items that don’t fit anywhere else.

1. Crib Sheets – I have 3 sets, so we can change in the middle of the night if needed and still have one spare

2. Sleep sacks and Jammies – I also had 3 sleep sacks, and we always did washing! Babies have blowouts, and toddlers pee. It’s always good to have a few spares. If you want to have more, that’s ok. I remember we had to try many sleep sacks before we found the one we liked.

3. Muslins, Blankets, more Burp cloths

The second drawer is for everything he has grown out of and all the clothes he will grow into immediately. I forgot what I had when the clothes were not kept near the dresser or somewhere I looked all the time.

1. Grow into 3 – 6 month clothes, or for me, it’s gifts people have bought that were too big for Felix

2. Grown out of it that no longer fit. I like to keep them till the drawer is full so I can give them away in the correct season or consign them at one of our local consignment stores like Clothes to Kid. Please donate only stain-free, whole, and in good condition clothes.

Top tip: If you have more than one or are going to, keep the clothes that your little one has grown out of. Once the grown out of drawer is full, transfer that one size to a clear 66qt container, label it newborn, so it's ready for number 2. You can also put all the other Newborn and Maternity things you used in that bin!

Ok, I hear you. What if it doesn’t all fit??

Most things should fit in the dresser, but we know they won't all fit! I have a tiny closet, and most of my clients do, so here are some tips and tricks on how to get it all in, even if you have a tiny closet.

Kallax Cube Organizer

Target and Ikea do these cube things! Facebook Marketplace always has them, too. Above, I used them for shoes, swimsuits, travel accessories, baby carriers, and extra crib sheets. These can really be used for any category that doesn’t have a home, and later the cubes can be repurposed to hold toys!

If you have extra clothes, cute dresses, or fancy clothes that are not worn often, they can all be hung up. I like to use felt hangers so clothes stay on, but again, it’s not necessary, plastic works!

The felt bins are from Target; these can again hold any category you have left. One client liked the larger bin for grown out of clothes, as she didn’t want to take them regularly to donations. This allowed her to fill the bin up once a year. This meant she actually took it rather than the bin overflowing quickly.

You could use one for storing all your sentimental items that you want to keep for baby. There are many options, and again, it’s what works for you and your situation.

*Don’t forget to make it cute and functional. Bookshelves and cute photos help!*

Lastly, don’t forget to add some bookshelves and some cute photos!

This is such an exciting time for you. Hopefully, this post helps you get organized so you can spend more time snuggling and loving on your little one.