Organization

Since I was young, I've always liked to have specific ways of doing things. I remember always wanting to be prepared, packing a tiny backpack (do your remember when those were in style??) with rope, snacks, water and matches when I would go hiking in my back yard. Since I lived in the woods with a swamp in the back I thought I'd need the rope and matches in case I got lost, and the snack and water also for those reasons. Packing for trips has always left me wondering why I brought so much stuff to riffle through when looking for my hairbrush or a specific shirt I know I brought. Even my 'purse' in HS was a giant bag that carried everything from band aids, to mascara, to an extra pair of underwear (yes, I did go overboard).

Since I got married, I've realized that my over-preparation was matched by my husband who, in his caring heart will opt for us to purchase more of something in order to accommodate others than for us to only buy what we need for ourselves. A good example is that when we bought our second car, he opted for a station wagon, knowing that it would fit more people in it as well as carry more cargo. This is why we bought a 6 passenger car before we knew we were pregnant, having it in anticipation of the second child as well as having room for when family comes to visit (once a year...).

So since I like to be so overly prepared, (and living in a 4 bedroom house with the best storage system in the garage EVER) I need to be organized in order to keep track of everything. So here are a few of my personal tips that you may be able to use to help organize your home so that you don't end up having to buy something twice just because you can't find it or didn't remember you had it.

Baby clothes

I started organizing baby clothes before my daughter (who is now almost 2) was born. We got a TON of hand me downs (thank you to everyone!) and since I had everything from 0-3 month to 18 months, I bought the tall Tupperware storage bins, used a piece of cardboard in the center to divide it in 2, and put one size on either side. I had everything up to 3 months out in her closet, but as Genny grew, I would take out the appropriate size and put the old size in the empty section, changing the tape to the correct size information. This has helped me save so much time and frustration, I can't even tell you.

So with baby boy, I'm doing the same thing. Currently I don't have quite as much as I did with Genny, so I just have one box with plastic grocery bags holding each size. I used a permanent marker to label each bag and also put how many outfits are in the bag. This will help me as he grows so that as I buy clearance items and add them to the bags, I can update the number of outfits and know which sizes in which I'm still lacking clothes.

I hope this helps you all! I know that once I realize an organization technique I can utilize, I feel a weight lifted off me because I know that I don't have to worry about at least one thing anymore.

*Another tip: I had all of my nursing bras, boppy, and 0-6 month baby toys in a tub also so that when I felt it was time to bring out the bras, I had the other items ready and didn't have to search everywhere for them.

Confession of the day: I wore lounge pants to the commissary today. I'm not typically the type of person who thinks this is OK, but I used the excuse that I'll be 38 weeks pregnant tomorrow. (but I still regret it a little...)