Whether you're awaiting your baby's arrival or baby has already arrived - if you want a more effective strategy for organizing - you've come to the right place! In fact, the overwhelming urge to clean, disinfect, and organize in anticipation of baby's arrival is called 'nesting'. This natural instinct can manifest differently in each mom - some will want to repaint the walls, organize the kitchen, or ensure the nursery is in immaculate shape. This sudden urge can be triggered by the recognition that the new baby's care is going to be time-consuming, so mothers will set up organization systems prior to baby's arrival in an effort to make the transition a bit easier.

Organization can be an incredibly helpful tool to reclaim some space in your life.

The RACGP states, "The visual distraction of clutter increases cognitive overload and can reduce our working memory."

In addition to increased focus, the benefits of organizing include:

• Better sleep
• Increased productivity
• More time for things you want to do
• Increase in overall health
• Reduced stress

Now, there's bound to be a bit of new clutter around with a baby in the home. However, investing a little time into organizing your baby's closet can go a long way in reclaiming some peace and reducing feelings of overwhelm. Ultimately, having quick access to baby's essentials can save you time. And we could all use a bit more of that, right?

Closets Vs Dressers

Closets

This decision to store your baby's clothes in a closet might be made based on the space available in your home. If your nursery doesn't have space for a dresser, or if you simply aren't ready to invest in a dresser - the closet might be the best space-saving option.

Methods

• Baby clothes are very easily stored in a closet by nature of the short lengths of the garments. One great way to capitalize on this space is to hang a second hanging rod a few feet underneath the existing one.
• Group together like items when hanging baby clothes, creating sections in your closet. Hang onesies in one section, two and three-piece outfits in one section, pajamas in one section, etc.
• Keep only one size in your baby's closet at one time. If your baby is in 0-3 months, avoid mixing 3–6-month sizes in your closet. Ideally, store them away until your baby is ready to be in that size. This will be very helpful when someone who isn't baby's primary caretaker needs to dress the baby.
• If storing larger sizes isn't an option, keep sizes separate with size dividers.
• Utilize cube storage bins for smaller items like socks and bibs.

Related:

Seven Tips For Keeping An Organized Nursery

Dressers

If a closet isn't your cup of tea, dressers are an excellent option for storage and easy access to baby's essentials. A few quick tips for keeping your dresser organized:

• Group like items together. As an example, shirts and sweaters might go in one drawer, pants and dresser in another.
• Label the drawers with vinyl sticker labels. This makes it easy for other caretakers to find what they need and to put things back in their proper place.
• Use small bins or drawer dividers to keep like-items grouped together within a drawer. DIY drawer dividers can be easily made with a re-purposed cardboard box.
• Utilize the dresser top for additional storage with small bins or caddies.
• Limit clothes in the dresser to your baby's current size; store larger sizes away until you're ready to use them.
• Pick a folding method, and stay consistent with it. If you're committed to storing baby's clothes in a dresser, it's very helpful to stick to folding like-items the same way each time. You don't have to pick a complicated technique, but stay consistent with the method each time you put baby's clothes away.

Simple Steps Save You Time

Following a few simple organization tips or establishing a personalized system can save you a lot of time in the long run, as well as prevent feelings of overwhelm caused by clutter. Popular home organization shows might lead you to believe that it can take days or a lot of fancy products to keep your space organized. It doesn't need to be elaborate or expensive - it just needs to work for you and your family. It may take an initial time investment, but it's well worth it in the long run.

One last tip for organizing your baby clothes is to make sure that everyone who is responsible for baby care, like a nanny or your spouse, is aware of how you are organizing things. A well-intentioned caretaker might accidentally mess up the system you have in place if they aren't aware of each item's proper place. If everyone is on board, staying organized will be a breeze.

Happy folding!

Sources: American Pregnancy, Beaumont, RACGP