Nurse Trinity's Health and Fitness Blog

Prevent Baby Product Clutter By Concentrating On Quality Essentials

When my oldest son came along, we went nuts buying everything we just knew we’d need. Between our purchases and gifts from family and friends, visitors would have thought we had eight children. It’s mind-boggling how much stuff one little person, who can’t even roll over yet, can own and how fast all these “necessities” begin to take over your house.

Don’t fall into the “we’ll certainly need this” trap, especially if you have a modestly sized home. It’s hard to scale down what you want when you’re excited about bringing home a baby, but trust me, you’ll be thanking me in the future when you’re not storing your furniture to accommodate another Exersaucer.

As a mom of three, I can tell you from experience that you’ll save your future sanity and prevent your home from becoming a brightly colored, baby product storage unit if you make a list of things you know you’ll absolutely, without a doubt, need for your baby. Think about about what you’d use every single day, such as clothing, blankets, a high chair, car seat, crib and dresser. These are all items that you’ll use often and are worth investing more money in.

There are a few things that sound necessary, but when it comes down to it, don’t have a lot of life in them. A few items we could have saved our money on were the changing table, a bassinet and our large diaper bags…yes, I meant for that last one to be plural. These items are handy for a short while, but quickly become unused space hogs.

Once the excitement has worn off, you find yourself changing the baby wherever you are, like on the couch or bed. Bassinets are whimsical and beautiful, but within a few months, your baby will outgrow it. Large diaper bags are handy if you spend the night away from home on a regular basis, but for everyday trips, they’re just these mammoth bags of awkwardness. Stick to a medium-sized bag and you’ll have the appropriate amount of room for the essentials.

When it comes to toys, in the first couple years, less really is more. Realistically, your baby won’t even start playing with many things until she is at least four months old, and then it’s the little stuff like rattles, cloth books and teethers that will tickle her fancy. Instead of filling your nursery, and inevitably every other room in the house, with loads of toys, bouncers with different functions and gigantic activity centers, invest in one or two high-quality items that can be used for a long time or will travel around your house easily. Honestly, the two things my kids couldn’t live without in their first couple of years were their bouncer and Jumperoo. In fact, all three of my boys, who are all close in age, used the same bouncer and Jumperoo because we bought well, and saved cash and space to boot.

Other items that can be troublesome for parents-to-be, especially all the new dads out there, are techie products like wipe warmers and mobiles that do everything for you except change and feed your baby. These badboys sound great, but really offer very little in the “essential” department. Not only do they take up a lot of space, but they’re costly and continue to drain your wallet by constantly needing their batteries replaced.

When you’re planning your gift registry, or out shopping for your little one, consider what you’ll use on a regular basis. It’s better to invest more money in these items than waste the dough on baby products that will only end up cluttering your home.