Wednesday, September 28, 2011

Getting ready for Baby

I am not sure I mentioned this on the blog yet: we are having a boy! Yeah!  We are starting to get things ready for him - which means sorting through three bins of blankets, bibs, clothes and shoes.
Three bins of teeny tiny baby things!  Hand-me-downs from his big brother, and from his cousin.   I need to sort everything by size, not necessarily by what the tag says.  It feels like a monumental task.  Maybe I will start with blankets.  I think we have enough to fill the dresser.
 I also did a bit of shopping...(only a bit)
Here's the deal...we have all kinds of stuff, but his closet is NOT FUNCTIONAL.  I need a second bar up front (lower), and REAL SHELVES in the back...

Sounds like it is time for a little home improvement project! 

We need
- 1x4's
- a new drill
- some plywood (cut down to size) 

I am certain I can accomplish this myself (which means it will actually get done before my due date).  I built the shelves in the utility room earlier this year.  Not to mention there is already a second bar in the closet, behind the first.  I can steal this and move it below.  The plaster walls don't scare me...I figure if there are studs in there, I will find them!

I am not sure if this project qualifies as nesting...or procrastinating.  Since I really don't want to start washing the baby clothes until I have a place to put it all.  

Have you ever tackled a mountain of hand-me-down clothing? Where did you start? What do you think is better for baby stuff - hanging up, or folded? 

ps...I need to find a new place for the extra throw pillow inserts, currently hanging out in the crib. The Halloween costumes can go into one of the empty bins and sit on the new shelves...the exersaucer, uppa stroller bassinet, activity mat, and other bulky baby items will be shoved into the shelves as neatly as possible. I wish there was a tidy, Martha Stewart worthy way of storing baby things.  Why can't it all collapse down into a shoe box?    

hmmm....maybe I will make (or buy) cute throw pillow covers that can stay in the nursery...then just toss them on the floor when not in use.  Perfect to prop baby up when he starts to sit (and fall over)....hmmm...maybe? 

UPDATE:
I went through things last night and this morning.  Now we are down to three manageable piles...first pile: 0-3 months, second pile: 3-6m onesies, third pile: 3-6m sleepers (also a fourth pile of newborn stuff sitting on the rocking chair - sooo tiny!)...the larger things went back into a tote.  I also found an additional bin of burp cloths and other blankets.  I have my first of two loads of blankets in the washing machine! 

14 comments:

  1. oh i feel your pain...once you have your shelves/ racks so much easier...then I just dump them all and start to figure out what stays and goes! good luck and congrats on your little man!

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  2. Congrats! Boys are awesome. :)

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  3. Oh yay! You are going to have two boys! Mine are 4 and 6 now and are such great friends... you will have so much fun with two of them.

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  4. First of all congrats! My sister-in-law has 2 boys which was perfect for us! She gave us SO MANY hand-me-downs that I didn't know what to do with it all. I first just went through everything and decided if I would even use it and if I didn't think I would, it went back in a box. Then I went through it again for sizes and organized it all that way. I don't have any closets in my baby's room so everything had to fit in my dresser. I just went through everything again to put in storage because I'm SURE next time around I'll be having another boy! Just a feeling I get ;).

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  5. this was great advice...I dumped and sorted by stay/go last night...and sorted into sizes this morning. It was a much smaller pile after I had decided what goes, what stays!

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  6. We didn't use the closet much for my first son. Except, since then, we have accumulated so many blankets that the dresser will be full (Last time all the extra blankets fit in the bottom drawer). So I need to reclaim the space in the closet this time.

    Not to mention I bought clothes as I needed them last time...I never had a baby shower, so I never had a full arsenal of clothes like I do now! Oh and my big guy grew so fast, that I had piles of clothes people us as gifts, and he only wore once or twice.

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  7. I was pretty excited to find out its another boy!

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  8. I so enjoy reading how things are going for you. Looking forward to our new grandbaby.

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  9. Congrats! Your baby is going to have quite the wardrobe. :)

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  10. Crazy - right? I had half of this with my last baby!

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  11. Wow you are all set! What a great place to be in with all of those hand me downs and I'm sure that you're feeling better now that they're sorted.

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  12. Hooray! I am so excited to learn it is a boy - I had a feeling, but that was probably based on the fact I had two boys. It makes life so much fun - and cheaper! They get to share clothes, you don't have to buy a whole new set of 'girl' toys, and they are each other's best buddies (for now at least). I find with my youngest that he has SO MANY clothes from his brother, from gifts, from hand-me-dows, that there have been things he never wore before he out grew it! And the sorting and sizing is such an ongoing process...yarg.

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