MOM HACKS: Marie Kondo Your Baby Clothes
Now that you have a baby, you’re beginning to realize that their stuff may be a little harder to keep up with than you thought. The nursery drawers are overflowing with clothes that maybe fit but maybe don’t, pants are mixed in with jackets, that open pack of wipes is suddenly missing, and teethers are scattered all over the house. If you’re sick of the madness and are ready to get your nursery back up to its original Insta-worthy organization, keep reading!
KonMari Method
Our favorite method of organization is the KonMari Method. Remember Marie Kondo? As the star of Tidying Up with Marie Kondo, she lit a fire under anyone who watched her show to get organized in a simple, easy way. Looking at all of your piles of stuff can be overwhelming, which is why they sit there forever. Marie Kondo made organizing simple, allowing all of us to de-clutter and spark joy in our homes.
The KonMari Method is a simple but effective tidying method, ensuring you will never again relapse to clutter. It uses a unique selection criterion – choosing what sparks joy! You are not choosing what to discard but rather choosing to keep only the items that speak to your heart. Through tidying, you can reset your life and spend the rest of your life surrounded by the people and things that you love the most.
Her six rules for tidying up include:
- Commit yourself to tidying up
- Imagine your ideal lifestyle
- Finish discarding first
- Tidy by category, not location
- Follow the right order: clothes, books, papers, komono (miscellaneous items), and sentimental items
- Ask yourself if it sparks joy
Folding Swaddle Blankets
Now that you’ve gone through the six KonMari rules, here is the best way to fold swaddle blankets, according to Marie Kondo:
- Lay your swaddle blanket flat
- Fold it in half lengthwise
- Fold it in half from the bottom, leaving an inch at the top
- Fold it in half twice more from the bottom
- Stand the swaddle upright on its edge and place it in the drawer
Some things to remember are that you can adjust the number of folds required based on the size of your swaddle and the size of your drawer.
Folding this way allows you to see all of your swaddle blankets at the same time. You’ll avoid clutter from stuffing blankets in the drawer, and you’ll stop ignoring blankets that have found their way to the bottom of the stack.
Folding Onesies
How you fold onesies is very similar to how you fold swaddle blankets, with an added step. Also, similarly to swaddle blankets, following this method will allow you to see all of your baby’s onesies at the same time. No more growing out of onesies with tags still on them before they’re able to wear them, all because it was at the bottom of the drawer!
Another reason that folding onesies this way is ideal is so you can keep track of your sizing. You can have one drawer for 3-6 month clothes and another for 6-9 month clothes. Once you start noticing the 3-6 month clothes are getting tight, you can visually see all the onesies you need to grab, pack up, and replace.
- Lay the onesie flat
- Fold in the left side to the middle, picturing the onesie divided into thirds
- Repeat with the right side, tucking under the sleeve
- For long-sleeved onesies, fold the sleeves in to create a rectangle
- Fold up once from the bottom, about ⅓ of the way
- Fold the onesie up again, leaving a little space from the top
- Fold one last time and use the gap to stand the onesie up, then place it in the drawer
More Space-Saving Nursery Tips
Now that you’re saving drawer space with your KonMari folding, here are some extra space-saving nursery tips:
- Use drawer dividers. Those onesies can be pretty tiny once folded and may open up in the drawer. Using a drawer divider or clear organizer bins from the Dollar Store can really help keep everything in its place.
- Give everything a home. You’re more likely to have clutter if you allow categories of things to have multiple homes. Giving all of your baby’s items a home in the same place, such as the nursery, will help cut down on the clutter. It takes some extra time at the end of the day to put everything back, but it will be well worth the effort.
- Reorganize based on access. Quickly figuring out that the place you decided to store diapers when you were pregnant actually isn’t the best place when it’s 3 am and you need one ASAP? While you’re organizing your baby’s drawers, take some time to rearrange based on access.
For more amazing products the whole family will enjoy, visit us at innobaby.com!