Nesting mode has been a pregnancy side effect since the very beginning for me. I think the perfect timing with us finding out we were expecting and then moving into our new home a few months later set me up for that. Getting AG’s room/things in order has been such a joy. I’ve seriously loved every second of prepping her little space – from designing the room to putting her tiny clothes away. It’s been such a sweet time!
Knowing our routines and systems will shift and change as AG grows and we discover what works for us, I still wanted to start out as organized as possible. When I posted sweet thing’s closet on Instagram I got a ton of questions about how we’re organizing it and how we (aka superdad) built the shelving system. It was a relatively easy DIY project and ended up being extremely cost effective! The entire project was under $300 to complete!
We started with the IKEA Kallax 1×4 unit in white. I picked up 8 of these baskets to go inside this shelf and on the top shelf. The baskets were actually the most expensive element but I love the natural texture in there! I knew I wanted to divide her hanging storage into four sections (after reading lots and lots of mommy blogs on the best setup!) The sections are divided into 0-3 months (top left), 3-6 months (top right), 6-9 months (bottom left) and 9+ in the bottom right. I really like being able to take a quick look in her closet and see which sizes I need to be shopping for. Her onesies, bodysuits, and pj’s are stored in dresser drawers.
Once we mounted the IKEA Kallax unit in the center of the closet, P built a top shelf using melamine board from Home Depot (they’ll cut to size for you!) and white trim board cut to size to hold the shelf up. Finally, we added short tension rods to both sides of the unit to hang clothes. Ta-dah! So simple. And 10000 times more functional than the wire shelving situation that was happening in here before.
I purchased two of these baskets from Target for the floor. The basket on the left holds blankets and the one on the right holds extra diapers. You’ll also find extra diapers hidden under the crib and in the playroom closet. They’re pretty much taking over the house.
The middle four baskets store things that we didn’t have space for in the dresser, shoes, extra wipes, bloomers, and swimsuits. We use the top four baskets for clothes she won’t be wearing for the next year, bags, and extra swaddles/wraps. There’s another little basket by her rocker that we’re using for burp cloths, feeding essentials, and sleep necessities.
I hope this helps inspire your nursery organization! So glad we tackled this project before her arrival. Hopefully making all of this new-to-us baby gear easy to find will make her newborn days run a bit smoother!
love y’all, mckenzie
