Making Room for Baby

I think the number one motivation to clean, other than your in-laws coming in to town, is having a baby on the way. I cleaned like I have never cleaned before. I always felt like I was getting motivation by watching the hoarding show and feeling guilty about the amount of magazines I keep in my house but really all that happened was that I would put the item in question in a closet so I didn’t have to be reminded of my guilt. This is the perfect band-aid for someone suffering from minor hoarding tendencies but it certainly does not cure the disease… a baby does. Let me rephrase, a baby shower does.

As I mentioned before, we had a wonderful baby shower and we were blessed with so much and I needed to find a place for it all. It hung out in our bedroom for a while but this past weekend I decided that it was time for it to find its permanent home in our second bedroom. Our second bedroom looks harmless enough. Just a bookshelf, desk, and a bed. Oh, and a closet. The closet. THE closet. This is the double wide closet that holds all of Christmas. And it was packed to the brim. In my defense, we had a few things in there that weren’t Christmas but if I’m honest, it was about 90% Christmas. Ok, 97%. This closet had to be cleared out in order to make space for baby and let me tell you, a baby is the only thing I would be willing to clear out Christmas decorations for.

During the week we went to Target and bought two BIG Rubbermaid containers to organize all of Christmas. One tub was going to stay and the other tub was going to my parent’s house. I had to decide who would stay and who would go. I felt so powerful and so weak at the same time. I kept reminding myself that I was making space for all the cute baby clothes and baby things and that’s what kept me going. I managed to downsize Christmas to one large Rubbermaid container, one medium, one small, and two boxes of ornaments. This is a huge step for me. Andy came in while I was organizing it all and asked “So, what can we get rid of?” and after staring at him as if he had three eyes for a hot minute I said “none of it”. I think he just had a momentary lapse of memory about who he married (and her obsession with Christmas).

I also organized the rest of the house and cleared out a lot of stuff. I have organized all of the spaces under both beds and every inch is being efficiently used. I think this is what the nesting instinct looks like early on. At least it is for me. I’m much more about organization right now and not so much decorating for baby. I also can’t paint in the apartment so my decorating ability will be somewhat crippled and that might have something to do with it. Space bags are my new favorite. After smiling of course. Those things are amazing. Basically all of my wardrobe (cold and warm) is now under our bed. This includes all our winter coats plus shoes.

So here is Baby’s room so far. Christmas on the left side of the closet, neat and concise, and then Baby space on the right. Not much decoration business but we’re just getting started. I’m thinking wall stickers are going to be our best option.



For those of you who have seen my Christmas closet before, please remember to close your mouth after your jaw drops to the floor to avoid drooling on your computer.