HOW TO MAKE SPACE FOR YOUR NEWBORN BABY
The most exciting moment of your life is on the way; you’re having a baby! Is it a boy or a girl? How much will they look like you? What will you name them? Wait – where will they sleep? Where will they play? Do we have space for a cradle and stroller? What about all the toys? Oh, we need a car seat! And where will we put all the diapers??
Having a newborn is certainly the most exciting moment of most people’s lives, but having a baby is obviously not merely like going on an incredible vacation or meeting one’s idol – as joyful as a newborn definitely is, a baby also comes with its own set of new (and numerous) responsibilities that typically produce the result of turning one’s life upside-down (in a good way).
What you need now is to make space for new life you are bringing into the world. Your collection of vintage audio equipment, or antique vases, or comics, or license plates or whatever your fancy, those items need to make way for something that is suddenly far more important (as much as you like to call those items your “babies”). The trendy furniture you own is now perhaps a danger to your newborn with their sharp edges.
Much is about to change, and it’s all for the better. If your baby arrives without preparation, then, of course, things aren’t going to work so happily. As you prepare and redesign your space, self storage is an excellent solution for all those changes and sacrifices you and your home require. Keep the vases and comics; keep the trendy furniture; don’t toss out your artwork. After all, babies grow up, and in no time (yes, it moves much faster than anyone likes!) you’ll be wanting to put all these things back in place, as your child heads off to university (did we move to quickly for you?! Likely – but it’s true!).
That’s why we at Sentinel Storage decided to compile the following set of tips of how to best prepare your home for your newborn baby.
What to keep; what not to keep
The first thing you need to do when preparing for your newborn baby’s arrival is go through the items in your house, and determine what to keep and what not to keep. Make a list, and divide items into the following categories: “For the house,” “For storage,” “For donating/recycling,” and “For garbage.”
A suggestion is to do this in two waves, by first determining what to keep and what not to keep, and then by further breaking those lists down into the above categories. Once you know what you should keep, then you can start imagining the new items you will need to acquire for the baby, and how much space those items and the ones you want to keep will take up in your home. From there, you can determine what items you want to keep that will need to be moved into self storage.
Evaluate at your items in terms of their value and use: are they expendable? Will you use such an item on a regular basis? How much value do they bring to you and the baby? Approaching your items this way will make things much easier when deciding what stays and what goes.
What do you need?
Determining what you need, now that you have everything you do have organized, is the biggest step towards understanding the new way you will need to arrange your home. Since space is at a minimum, acquiring items that are collapsible and have dual purposes is best. Here’s a list of the types of items we mean:
-Stroller with removable car seat
-Collapsible baby bathtub
-A ‘go-anywhere’ changing pad
-A mini crib with lockable wheels that can double as a portable play pen
-Toys that can educate and decorate the child’s room when they are not in use
-Space-saving high-chair that can attach to the table or dining room chair
-diapers,
-soft cloths,
-baby powder,
-new clothing (for the baby and you!),
-blankets,
-bibs,
-bottles,
-baby carrier,
-night light,
-and baby monitor.
This, of course, does not get you everything you will require for your baby, but they are items you will require that, if you get the right ones, will save you precious space. Beyond these though, you will need to start clearing spaces for things such as…
Preparing your space for a newborn means preparing for all of these necessities; and that really means making new space available for your new family member.
The self storage advantage
All of the above adds up to requiring an additional closet, shed, or garage to store all of the items that will need to take a backseat to the baby’s needs. This is exactly what self storage can offer new parents: a place to easily make room for your baby without disposing of the belongings you still need.
A self storage unit is a tool to expand the size of your house without having to actually move. Armed with your new inventory of belongings, you are already well on your way to understanding the additional space you will require to store those items as your child grows. With a myriad of self storage unit sizes and types, you are sure to find the one appropriate for your needs.
Sentinel Storage keeps all sorts of items for many purposes but storing items for new parents is one of our biggest joys. Speak with your Sentinel Storage agent for any advice on how to best utilize self storage to welcome your newborn baby into the world.