Where Do I Put All Of This Sh*t?: The Anxious Mom's Guide to Baby Storage and Organization

I’ve been doing a lot of heavy thinking and writing over the last few weeks of quarantine, so I’m ready to lighten things up a little bit and talk about something that makes me feel good: organization. This probably started with my sneaky type-A tendencies disguised in a chill person’s body, but ever since I became pregnant I felt the need to color-code, categorize and sort my life. I will say I am by no means an expert, nor do I abide by this 100% of the time. This was also something I needed to do for myself to help cope with the prenatal anxiety I was feeling. Somehow, if I had all. the. things. (and appropriate places to organize them all), my mental perspective surrounding becoming a mom would be better. Ha! Well, turns out that’s not the Golden Ticket to happiness, but it sure helped me a little bit. Here’s some of my best practices...

Bottle & Breastpump Parts

Raise your hand if you severely underestimated the amount of small plastic pieces that come with the territory of feeding a baby... my hand is all the way up. I used three different breast pumps through throughout my breastfeeding journey: the Elvie, Medela Symphony and Ameda Finesse. Each one seemed to have pieces that only fit with that particular pump, and if you lost the tiny pieces—that's it! No pumping occurring. If you have some counter space you can dedicate to this for at least a year, please do! Here are my go-tos:

1. Boon Lawn Drying Rack: I got one from my registry and inherited a used one. 
2. Sterlite Mini Organizer Drawers: I ordered this pack of 2 from Amazon. I was able to put various lids, pump parts, medicine syringes and reusable food pouches in each little drawer for ease of use.
3. Ikea Sockerbit Plastic Storage Container: These are amazingly inexpensive and you can use them for so many things! I used mine to sort different bottles: Medela bottles in one, and Tommee Tippee Bottles in the other.

Breastfeeding Cart/Bin

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If you are breastfeeding, pumping... it would behoove you to have a bin and/or cart that you can keep all of your accoutrement in. I utilized both, even though we live in a small space. Very early on, the cart was my best friend. I stocked it with all. the. things... breastpump supplies, hand sanitizer, burp clothes, diaper changing supplies and most importantly, snacks and bottled water! The hubs would leave cute notes for me once in a while. Once the acute breastpumping phase was over and my son moved to solids, I could no longer justify a private cart of snacks following me around. I moved the essentials over to a cheap cloth bin I kept near my coffee table.

1. Target 3-Tier Metal Utility Cart: Put this on your registry. You won't be disappointed. Best $35 ever spent.
2. Tabletop Cloth Bin:  I purchased this one from Amazon, but there are many great choices out there! And now that I am no longer breastfeeding, it has been easy for me to repurpose.

Diaper Cart

Here's the magic utility cart reincarnated! It now houses all of our diaper supplies. Our dresser doubles as our changing table (small space probz). It's easy enough to reach over and have all of this ready at a moment's notice! Our diapering favorites:

1. Honest Company Diapers and Wipes: because I just love their designs so much.
2. Ubbi Diaper Pail + Can Liners
   
3. Copper Pearl Burp Clothes: great for any kind of weird messes you might encounter
   

Blanket/Swaddle Storage

I am a self-described swaddle whore. Give me all the cute patterns and fabrics—I don't care if I barely use some of them. I also inherited a couple of crocheted blankets my late grandmother made for me, which obviously were quite special and I wasn't super keen on putting them in harms way (aka baby bodily functions). I initially had rolled each one and kept them in a basket next to my glider, but found there were some that got stuck near the bottom that I never used. I started thinking that a blanket ladder might be a good way to display them. And then I thought... babies get in to stuff, right? I found this wall-mounted towel and/or blanket holder on Amazon and it has been a perfect practical addition to the nursery that allows me to feel like I didn't waste all that money on swaddles.

1. Wall Mounted Blanket Holder: The one I initially purchased is no longer available, but they have this cuter one instead.
2. And I have to give a shout out to my absolute favorite swaddle brands:
   1. Copper Pearl
      
   2. Aden and Anais
      
   3. Little Unicorn
      

Toy/Book Storage

Much like I am a swaddle whore, I am also a book whore. I love classic kids books and also love to frequent the local library used book sales to get some gems for less than $1 (!!). I store books in the wooden wall-mounted organizer, and also the white bins with the letters on them. These books are easy for him to pull out and play with on his own.

Not pictured as well are the two other Amazon bins I have. The tall one houses all of the "stuffed" things. Thankfully, we haven't yet gotten too into stuffed animals, but I know that day will come. The other bin is for toys (which, as pictured, are typically scattered across the floor instead of filed away neatly). I will only put out what I can throw in that bin at the end of the day. Any other toys that have been gifted to us are living in his closet for a rainy day! 

1. Square Cloth Bins
2. Tall Cloth Laundry Hamper