Organizing a nursery for baby…..

Closet Cubby Plus

Aren’t those awesome! If you are more of the handier type like my friend Shari, then you really must check out the fantastic job she did on her daughter’s closet. I love it and not a wasted space…she even remembered to make space for the laundry hamper! In fact I could frame her after picture because this is my idea of art people!! Now if only I were that talented…

Often in tight nursery spaces a practical solution is to forgo the standard change table and convert the top of the dresser to a change table. This is a great idea if you don’t have space for both a dresser and a change table. I have a standard change table with the open shelving that I don’t love but it was secondhand and cheap so I don’t complain. Here is a picture of it…keep in mind I was still pregnant when I took this picture which is why the baskets are empty but were intended for diapers, wipes, cream, socks, etc..

The problem with this type of change table is once the baby can pull up to standing, the new fun game becomes pulling everything out all over the floor and see how many times mommy will pick it up before she becomes a raving lunatic….it’s cute the first time and after that not so much. There are also many change tables out there with drawers and doors….fabulous!

See that shelf above my change table. This ended up becoming the lotion/cream shelf and this solution worked better for us. The diapers I still keep on the middle shelf but thankfully he has now finally lost interest with throwing them all over the room. The bottom shelf is now designated toy space. The toys you see hanging from the shelf hooks are pull toys that when pulled played music and became the perfect way to distract baby from the annoying sweet baby changing wrestle mania that goes on once they figure out the whole wiggling, squirming, flipping, “there is no way I’m staying here to be changed” dance. Oh yes all you moms out there know what I am talking about :)

The other most useful storage area, if your closet isn’t very big, is to utilize the under the crib area for storage. You can use this area for just about anything…clothes, toys, books, blankets and sheets, etc. There are all sorts of under the bed storage totes available in all sort of price ranges. Here is a picture of one on the more pricey side from Babyuniverse but I include it because it is so cute and to give you an idea of what is out there.

Baby’s tend to get so many stuffed animals when they are born. So until you know which one is going to become your child’s favorite or for decoration a toy hammock hung up on the wall is a great solution to keep them up and out of the way:

The other thing that is a must have is some place to store toys. I mentioned the under crib storage idea above already but if you have the room use a toybox or even mount a small bookcase on the wall off the floor and utilize baskets on it for storage.

I just love this soft sided toybox by Sassy:

or this idea from Target. Love it, love it, love it…colorful, fun and tidy!

Boxes and baskets are great decorative solutions to solve many storage dilemmas.

The last thing I want to touch on for storage is the baby’s room door…this area is an ideal storage space not to be wasted. I use 3M Command Adhesive hooks on the back of mine to hang up my son’s towels but you can also find many over the door storage centres out there to make use of this space. Like this one below from the Pottery Barn. I’m thinking it would be a great place for tiny socks, shoes, slippers and hats….the possibilities are endless!

Sweet dreams little one…..

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