Preparing Your Home for Baby: 10 Things You Might Not Think About
Whether you’re currently trying for a baby, you have a bun in the oven, or you’re about to pop at any second, getting your home ready for a brand new little one can be exciting and challenging. Your house must be functional and welcoming for your new baby, but you also have to take the time to make sure it’s set up for you to have an easy and comfortable experience. You may have heard of certain preparations a million times over, but there are a few surprises you may still find along the way.
Here are a few important tips to prepare your home before baby comes!
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10 Baby-on-the-Way House Preparations You Might Not Think About
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1. Move Furniture Sooner Rather Than Later
Moving is often thought to be one of the most stressful experiences a person can have. Even rearranging the furniture can be an extremely overwhelming process that gets bigger as you go. Because of this, it’s important to make sure you get everything out of the way as early as possible to avoid additional stress. You should also make sure you aren’t doing too much heavy lifting, which is unsafe during pregnancy.
2. Meal Prep
One of the most time-consuming tasks at home is cooking and preparing food. When you have a brand new baby, you simply might not have time to go all out like you once did. That’s why it can be so helpful to have meals already prepped and ready to go for your arrival home from the hospital. Having a partner that can cook or supportive friends bringing meals is ideal. However, there’s nothing quite like stashing some of your old favorites and having them at the ready.
3. Do a Full Deep Clean
If you have a weekend with nothing going on, take some time to deep clean. Take care of any larger cleaning projects that you might not have the energy for once your baby arrives. Then evaluate what areas of your home pick up the most dirt or clutter. Maybe you notice your carpets have collected a lot of dust or stains, so you might consider adopting a no-shoes policy to reduce the amount of cleaning needed moving forward.
Your space will feel nice and relaxed once it’s done, and it will also be disinfected and clean, which is important when you have a brand new baby in the home. Ban the germs while you can, and find ways to prevent them in the future.
RELATED POST: How to Deep Clean Your House for a New Baby
4. Find Smart Storage Solutions
Pretty soon, your home will be overrun with baby toys and supplies. It’s vital to stay organized and keep everything in its place, and utilizing smart storage solutions can be extremely helpful. Making sure nothing is too high to reach, open shelving and overhead storage can be game-changers.
If you need more storage space, you can always try going a bit lower instead of moving upward. That way, things stay within easy reach. Consider large baskets or bins that can corral clutter throughout your home.
5. Declutter
When preparing your home for baby, it’s important to make sure your life is easy so you have more mental space to care for your little bundle of joy.
Decluttering before the baby comes can make you feel much more relieved and organized as you go about your daily life. Do you have extensive clutter that blocks walking paths or takes up space you know you’ll need when the baby arrives? If so, getting that stuff out of the way can do wonders for your home and life.
6. Keep Things Lit
Waking up in the middle of the night and caring for your baby can be stressful enough, but imagine doing it in the dark. This might not be the first thing that pops into your head, but it can be a lifesaver to make sure your space is well lit and easy to navigate, no matter the time of day. Ensure hallways, nurseries and bathrooms have sufficient lighting that’s easy to turn on and off. You can even install a smart home system so you can turn the light with a voice command.
7. Pick Out Your Clothes Ahead of Time
Picking out your clothes in the morning can seem like a chore after a bad night of sleep. Try putting together easy outfits in advance, like hanging a shirt and pants on the same hanger in your closet. Having items at the ready can leave you with plenty of options until the next time you need to do laundry.
You have enough to think about with a baby to take care of, so why not make your clothes a no-brainer?
This is just like prepping meals before the baby comes home — it’ll give you a huge sense of relief to have outfits at the ready.
8. Babyproof a Little, but Not Everything
Even though you may want to babyproof the entire house, you might want to take a step back and re-examine.
There are definitely elements that require babyproofing, but it’s also important to keep in mind that many of these only take effect once your little one starts crawling. You have plenty of time to do that within the first year. Don’t overwhelm yourself by trying to plan multiple years at a time.
9. Designate a Downstairs and Upstairs Basket
Try placing a basket at the top of your stairs so you can collect everything that needs to be moved downstairs, like laundry, diapers, or toys. This can be extremely helpful when you need to conserve a bit more energy and don’t want to make multiple trips up and down.
You can also place a basket at the bottom of the stairs for everything that needs to go upstairs so things stay clean and neat. You might be surprised at how much doing this can simplify your life.
10. Primp the Nursery
You might have already put together the structure and big details of your baby’s nursery, but it’s always nice to do a little bit of extra primping before the big arrival. Now is the time to add any other decor to make the space feel cuter and more comfortable. Add fun art to the walls, hang an adorable mobile and place comfy pillows on that old rocking chair. You don’t want to wait until after the baby is born, when you’ll have so much more to do. Make sure the room is move-in ready.
Prepping for a New Baby in Your Home
No matter when you expect your new baby to arrive, you deserve to feel relaxed, calm, prepared and organized. There’s no shortage of things you can do to make your life easier with your brand new family member.
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