Tuesday, January 7, 2014

Bye Bye Baby

HAPPY TUESDAY MAMAS! Time for....

Here's what you do:
1. Write a post about ANYTHING baby {or pregnancy} related.
2. Add my button to your post.
3. Link your post with the link-up tool found at the end of all of my posts.
EASY PEASY! 


Right before Christmas I took the plunge and finally tackled a task that had been on my list for a while. Something I was dreading and had definitely been putting off....packing up Kenley's baby stuff. It was a somewhat daunting task but also an emotional one. I still find it hard to believe that my baby is now a toddler and knew that packing up all her teeny little stuff would make my chest heavy.

Once I got over the biggest obstacle, which was actually starting this project, I needed to get organized. For the 13 months prior I had been shoving baby clothes, toys and gear wherever I could find a spot. So the first step was unloading the closets and drawers packed with Kenley's things.

From there I boxed up the infant car seat and to storage it went. I boxed up little toys, pacifiers, bottles, and my pump. The bouncer, her activity mat and her rock n play are shoved in the back of a closet waiting for baby #2. And then, came the hardest part.....the clothes.

I spent a lot of time thinking of the best and most organized way to store all the baby clothes and think my method worked really well, which is why I'm sharing it.

To start, I put EVERYTHING into piles.... "Newborn", "3 month", "6 month", "9 month", "White Onesies", "Blankets/Swaddles", "Accessories" {shoes, socks, bibs, etc.} "Kenley" {for the things I want to save for her}, "Gender Neutral" {so if some day baby #2 is a boy I can easily grab that stuff without going through everything} and "Donate" {for all the stuff I didn't want to hang on to}.

I really thought I'd be a mess going through all of the clothes, but actually, it was really fun! Seeing all the little outfits brought back all kinds of memories and warmed my heart. I did, however, get quite the lump in my throat when I came across this....
It was just so teeny tiny and I couldn't believe it once fit on Kenley's head.


Once everything was organized I simply packed up some of the Ziploc Vacuum Seal bags
{which cost like $15 at Target}.


Then I labeled each of the bags, sucked out the air and VOILA!
Super organized, protected, and preserved baby clothes that fit conveniently under the bed in Kenley's room! They will be so easy to pull out and either wash for baby #2, give to preggo friends OR donate some day.


How do you store your baby's clothes?

21 comments:

  1. Awe! Crazy to think I am at the total opposite side of this! We have started to lay out everything we have already for Little Miss on the bed and get it organized to put in the nursery!

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  2. I need to do this too! I had been trying to do it in stages as he grew out of stuff but it just go ahead of me and now there's outgrown baby stuff EVERYWHERE. I think I might be over the sentimental stage and just want the stuff out of the way ;-)

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  3. I just packed up Turner's NB, 0-3, 3 and 3-6 month a week ago and I was so sad! I can't believe how much he has grown. I put mine in a tote but I love the vacuum bag idea. I actually already have some of them @ home. I totally need to utilize them!! Thanks for the great idea!

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  4. Twins separated at birth, I tell you. This organization just makes me entirely too happy haha- it all looks awesome! Go girl!

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  5. Well done lady, looks so organized! And oh that hat, so cute!

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  6. Way to go, mama!! Going through my girls' clothes each year is always so emotional for me, too (even as they are well beyond the baby/toddler years). I usually save a couple of their favorite outfits and then give the rest to friends with younger girls.

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  7. Wow! That's a big project. I actually have close to zero storage in our house, so I've been tackling this as Harper grows out of her things. I only keep a couple of things, especially things that were given to me by family. The rest gets donated. I'd like to think I'll use all this stuff over again, but who am I kidding? If I have another girl, I'll be shopping for her, just as much as I did for Harper! And I kept all my absolute favourites! :) I do have to say though, I hate getting rid of things that she's out of, it is just another sign to me that she't getting so big, so fast!

    aintnodramamama.blogspot.com

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  8. BAH! I need to do this with Weston's clothes so far. SO SAD! HAHA

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  9. Such a heart breaking task, as funny as it sounds! I've been throwing Colton's stuff in boxes as he grows out of it...but I really, really need to go through it too! Can't wait to hear that baby #2 is close ;)

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  10. I think I would have been overwhelmed. I had to sort out the clothes by size my sister gave us and oh my goodness it is a big job! I know it will be another big job filling the drawers once the baby is here and we know if it's a big or girl, but at least it's organized by size now haha. I like the idea of sorting the gender neutral separate. Good job!!

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  11. I am so impressed with you!! xo m

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  12. I cried like a baby when I packed away Clay's clothes. My best friend had a baby this past December so she got a ton of clothes but I kept my favorites to turn into a quilt for Clay :)

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  13. space bags are GENIUS. we have all of lex's stuff in big plastic boxes. . . totally not as space friendly :)

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  14. Just before Thanksgiving I packed away all of Madelyn's newborn and 3/6 month clothes. My plan of attack was the same as yours. I organized everything into piles - new born, 3 month, 6 month, jammies, short/long sleeve onesies and matched tops and bottoms together. It's amazing to see how many outfits they accumulate over a 9 month period. We filled an entire 20 gallon Rubbermaid container! It was a great feeling to get everything packed up and pull out the new 9 and 12 month outfits :)

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  15. This makes me so sad. I just picked up some bins at Target while they were marked down after Christmas and need to go through Noelle's clothes. She has SO many outfits and we need to make room for the next size. I also just packed up my maternity stuff. So sad!!

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  16. I am so glad I did this as she outgrew things....I don't think I could've handled packing it away all at once! Cue the tears!

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  17. i remember doing this and not too long ago, either!! it's a HUGE chore but a fun one once you get going. We just used totes and have them in one of the spare rooms in the basement, the room has been dubbed the "baby room" ALL of her baby stuff is in there for hopefully another baby someday!

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  18. This is an amazing idea! I have *lots* of totes (my LO is 2 and we are talking about another) but I really like the vacuum bag idea, especially since I'm out of totes right now.

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  19. Aaaand....pinning. I have been cramming all of the things Grayson outgrows into his dresser and it's already about to overflow with newborn through six month stuff. I know I'm going to have no choice before too long but to pack it all up...waaah!!! But I love the way you organized it all. Fully intend on copying every bit of it ;)

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  20. ugh I am dreading the day! I need to do it soon thought because all of the stuff is shoved into boxes still from our move and nothing is organized. I'm going to make piles too- thanks for the tips!
    there will be tears!

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