Preparing for Baby by Decluttering

Thursday November 12, 2009

You might wonder why a clutter book is being reviewed at a pregnancy website, but let me tell you that much like unwanted advice, baby clutter creeps up without any warning. Take note of this well before baby! Don't worry I'm bringing you some help. Today, I bring you tips from the editor of unclutterer, Erin Rooney Doland, who is also the author of the new book: Unclutter Your Life in One Week.

Erin agreed to give us some advice for decluttering before and with kids. I took questions last week on Twitter. So here we go:

Cleaning a room for baby - tips on a best approach?

A quick pass once a day is usually all you need -- Are the crib sheets clean? Does the changing table need to be restocked? Are there clean clothes that need to be put away? Is the dirty clothes hamper full? Are toys in their bins and books on their shelves? Does the floor need to be vacuumed? -- Any deep cleaning you do, like dusting or scrubbing, should be done with baby-safe products and most recommend that the baby not be in the room when you use them. Otherwise, keeping the baby's room clean thankfully is relatively simple compared to other areas of the house. Of course, all of this will change once your child is mobile and eager to make a mess all his own.

How do you decide where to give your give away piles to? How long is too long to wait to give it away? (Like waiting for a church yard sale.)

In my son's dresser we have a drawer that is only for outgrown clothes. If we go to put him in something and find that it's too small, we just fold up the item and drop it in the drawer. When the drawer is full of clothes, we pack them up and label the container with the clothes size (Newborn, 0-3 months, 3-6 months, etc.). I have a friend who is pregnant with a boy, so once I have packed up the items I give them to her the next time I see her. We do the same thing with toys -- once he has lost interest in a toy it goes straight into a giveaway bin. When the bin is full, I pass it along to my friend. And, we do the same thing with equipment he outgrows like the bouncy seat and swing. We have an understanding that if we choose to have more children, she'll give the stuff back to us. Baby clothing, equipment, and toys are used for such a small window of time that the stuff can rotate among three or four children before it starts showing any wear.

If you don't know anyone who is pregnant, and don't plan on having any more children, think of the Goodwill as your pregnant friend. When the bin is full, pack it up and pass it along to charity. There is no sense in waiting for a church yard sale or a similar event many months in the future because when those events roll around you'll have more than enough things in your outgrown drawer or no-longer-interesting toy bin at that time to donate.

If you'd like more information be sure to check out Erin's book and her amazing blog, including a section dedicated to babies.

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