Having a child in the home means there are many baby-related items. You will find you are always bringing in new clothes, books, toys and so forth. Unfortunately, kids outgrow these items very fast and you will find you always have stuff lying around. Also everybody is always giving you their old stuff and you don’t know what to keep and what to get rid of.
Therefore everything can get out of control so quickly. Decluttering baby stuff is hence as important as decluttering the rest of the home. However getting rid of baby stuff needs you to be purposeful about decluttering as it can be very emotional.
In this post…
What Types of Baby-Stuff to Declutter
What Baby-Stuff to Keep During Decluttering
What to do with De-cluttered Baby-Stuff
How to Effectively Declutter Baby-Stuff for Working Moms
How to Choose Which Baby Items to Let Go During Decluttering
Tips on Effective Decluttering of Baby-Stuff for Working Moms
Types/Baby Items to De-clutter
1. Clothing- You must Declutter this
Clothing are one area you will find you have alot of baby clothes that needs to be sorted. All clothes, pajamas, socks, shoes, hats, etc. are some of the baby things to declutter. Identify what you need to keep and what needs to go.
2. Toys- Common Baby Category to Declutter
All play items/toys are top baby stuff to declutter. Because of the rate of buying toys, you will find that you have alot of toys creating clutter.
3. Stationeries – Can Create Clutter
Books, markers, art sets are among the thing you should consider decluttering
4. Nursery- See what needs to go
Crib, chairs, bathtub, sheets, pillows, carriers, towels – these are necessary to declutter as well
5. Accessories- Only keep the necessary
Walkers, breast pumps, bottle warmers, wipe warmers, etc. this category is one the top baby stuff that you should declutter
6. Medicine-
Vitamins, supplements – it is also important to sort through this category
Others: feeding bottles, pacifiers, water bottles-
Note: Only keep what baby stuff you need from the above category
What Baby Stuff to Keep During Decluttering
- Clothing: After decluttering, keep several fitting pairs only
- Toys: Only keep 4-6 types of toys after your are done decluttering
- Stationery: Only keep the necessary/needed stationeries as you declutter baby items
- Nursery: After decluttering baby items, only keep the necessary/needed items e.g. crib, bathtub, etc.
- Accessories: Only keep the necessary/needed accessories
- Medicine, vitamins, supplements: Only keep the necessary/needed items after you are done decluttering baby stuff
What to do with De cluttered Baby Items (5 Options after Decluttering)
Option 1: Throwaway Old and Spoilt Items
Throwing away is only for baby stuff that you have no value for whatsoever. This includes broken toys among others. It is one way of dealing with some of the baby items that you have decluttered.
Option 2: Donate Items in Good Condition
You can donate some baby items after you are done decluttering. This is for baby stuff that is still valuable to other babies/parents. Babies have a lot of good items as most outgrow them when they are still in good condition. Such include toys, clothes.
Option 3: Throwaway Old and Spoilt Items
You should consider selling some of the baby items that you have decluttered. Note that this is for new or slightly used items that you would wish to get some money back.
They may have been pricey to buy and only slightly used or even never used at all. They may include clothing, toys, equipment
Option 4: Swap Reusable Baby Items
Swap some of the items you have sorted while decluttering baby stuff. If you are unable to sell a baby item, you can swap it with something you/your baby needs. For instance, you can swap outgrown shoes for fitting sweaters/toys, etc.
Option 5: Give out Baby Items
Give out some of the decluttered baby items to family and friends. You may have a friend or family member with a baby and hence will find some items quite valuable/useful.
Some working moms are sad about giving away baby clothes but remember it is for a good cause and keeping them has no use.
Simple Guaranteed Tips for Decluttering Baby Stuff
1. Use Hamper(s) to Declutter Baby Stuff
Hampers help you to be more organized as a working mom because you have less time on your hands.Create a big hamper for baby stuff that you wish to get rid of.
You can choose to instead have different hampers to make the process easier and fast. Every time you come across an item say small fitting clothing, throw it in the donate or sell hamper. Whenever you come across a broken toy, put it in the hamper for throwing away.
2. Plan for Constant Decluttering
Frequently go through the hamper(s) to further sort the items to throw away, items to donate, and so on. Waiting too long to declutter, will lead to a big mess for you to handle.
Also constantly work on getting these de-cluttered baby stuff out of the house. Recover the empty hampers into the house and restart the process. You will avoid having a huge pile of baby stuff that you no longer need this way.
Constantly decluttering helps makes decluttering easier and less time-consuming, helping working moms to stay organised. It is also important as new baby items are always coming in.
Babies outgrow things very fast hence your pile of too-small clothes, or broken toys among others will fill up very fast. Further cleaning every day helps to ensure nothing overwhelming accumulates
3. Have a big box for Toys
Toys make up the biggest pile of your baby items to declutter. For better organisation and ease of decluttering, always store your toys in boxes and avoid them mixing with other baby or household items. Once in a while go through the box to sort the broken toys and toys your growing baby has outgrown.
Also adopt good storage or organizational system. How do you organize baby essentials matters how quickly baby clutter builds up.
Include the baby in age-appropriate tidying, especially after playing with toys
4. Adopt a Minimalist Mindset
The less baby stuff you have coming in, the less stuff you need to take out. Minimalism is one of the fastest ways to organize and declutter. As a habit, you need to adopt a minimalist mindset that includes.
· Keeping the baby stuff coming in to the minimum. The less coming, the less clutter there is
· Not buying duplicates of baby stuff- reduces the amount of baby clutter at home
· Choosing only baby stuff with multiple uses- reduces clutter
· Not buying baby stuff that you do not need
· Buying quality, not quantity- improves duration of an item before it needs to go
· Having a budget and sticking to it. Don’t buy things on impulse
· Learning to let go of baby stuff you no longer need such as clothes. Baby outgrows stuff very quickly
. Discourage baby gifts in favor of lessons, experiences,
Read: Home Organization Hacks for Working Moms
Rule on How to Determine Items to Let Go when Decluttering Baby Items
Baby Decluttering Rule 1
Consider too small/outgrown clothes/shoes etc. either for donation or swapping. Be brutal: What you don’t need must go.Differentiate between the need to have and nice to have baby items
Baby Decluttering Rule 2
Let go of duplicate items i.e. multiple items doing the same thing-during decluttering. Practice balance. when a new item comes in, an item needs to get out
Baby Decluttering Rule 3
Let go of broken items/items with missing parts-
Baby Decluttering Rule 4
Donate or swap items never used/not used often/no longer used if they are still in good condition
Baby Decluttering Rule 5
Let go of items you would never reuse with future babies
Baby Decluttering Rule 6
Look for other storage options. This is for items you feel like you need to keep non-current baby items. Get rid of items you have not spaced to keep them in. This is one of the fastest way to organize and declutter.
