Pregnancy is the perfect time to organize your house, especially if this is your first baby. Once the baby is born, you won’t have the time or the energy to clean out the closet in the foyer. When I was pregnant with my first baby, I had delusions of life after baby. I imagined my little princess sleeping peacefully while I organized the closets and created beautiful scrapbooks in her honor.
Well, reality turned out to be nothing like I had imagined. It turned out that her naps were short and sweet. She preferred to nap in the comfort of my arms, rather than in a crib. When she did nap, the time was needed to do routine cleaning and maybe jump in the shower. I remember feeling disorganized and lost in clutter.
Organizing your house before the baby is born will leave you with more time and less stress after the baby arrives. Clutter makes me feel nervous. I have a difficult time relaxing if the house is cluttered or messy. Having the house in order before the baby arrives allows me to feel more relaxed and enjoy the early days home with a little one.
The urge to nest may come over you in the final weeks of pregnancy. This phenomenon is not unique to the human species. The word nesting comes from the activity of mother birds and other mammals in preparing a nest for the new little one. The nesting period is great for getting the house very clean and maybe a little time for organizing.
If you have a larger goal and want to reorganize most of the house, you will want to start long before the nesting urge kicks in. You can start in the second or third trimester and break the big job down into little tasks. Tackle one closet every weekend or even every other weekend. Put everything you don’t want into a box to be donated and throw away anything that is not good enough to donate. Drop off the donated items right away to really see a difference.
Organizing the house can be addictive. It is for me. Getting rid of clutter can inspire you to get rid of more. Do the job a little at a time and the entire house will be organized before the baby arrives. Save larger jobs, such as the kitchen or a play room for long weekends or break the job into small tasks to be completed one at a time.
Once your house is organized, you will find keeping it clean is much easier. Many women cite keeping up with the housework as one of the biggest challenges with a baby at home. Starting off organized can help the job feel a little more manageable.
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