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Declutter your nursery: Our top tips

The key to a decluttered nursery is carefully choosing what should be in the nursery, then arranging and storing those items effectively. We have some excellent nursery storage ideas that will help you keep your baby’s room tidy and feeling airy.

A chair and dresser In a nursery
virtua73/Shutterstock

Organizing your nursery

First, start out with the bare basics and think hard about what you really need. Are there other closets in the house where you can keep their winter clothes in the summer? Can those toys and books go in the living room? Can extra boxes of diapers not yet opened go in the basement? And even beyond those items, look at the furniture choices. Do you need a floor lamp, or can you use a nightlight? Can the top of the dresser be used as the changing table?

Once you know what you want to keep in the nursery, it’s time to declutter by having the perfect storage place for each thing.

Nursery wall storage

Look for solutions that don’t take up floor space, like wall storage. Keeping the floor clean, clear, and open will make the space feel bigger, and having storage options off the floor will make it easier to keep the area picked up because you’ll have somewhere to put everything.

Door organizers: One spot you may not have thought of as functional is the back of the door. Look how much you can fit there with this 3 Sprouts Hanging Wall Organizer.

You could designate an over-the-door organizer for just toys so that if the baby pulls things out of it once they’re mobile, it won’t be dangerous like diaper cream or frustrating like finding they’ve thrown clean diapers everywhere. Don’t just use the door to the rest of the house — also hang organizers on the outside of the closet door. This would be the perfect place for shoes, booties, socks, hats, bows, tights, bandanas, bibs, and headbands that could easily turn into piles of clutter.

Toy hammocks: Toy hammocks are perfect solutions for toy storage. While most of your baby’s toys should be kept out of the nursery to designate it as a sleeping area, you likely have some stuffed animals you’d like them to have nearby. These storage hammocks can be placed in any unused corner either close to the floor, so your baby can access it on their own once they are crawling and walking, or high up near the ceiling where only the parents can choose to bring them down one at a time without creating a mess.

Shelving: The final piece of wall storage we recommend is shelving. These are popular for books but can also be used for toys, a night-light, a white noise machine, or other items. It’s best to only keep a few bedtime books in the nursery and stick the rest of the books on a larger bookshelf in the living room.

Off-wall nursery storage

Closet organizer: Besides using wall space, you can also take advantage of closet space with a caddy that hangs from a closet rod inside. This could be a good option for bedding, sleep sacks, swaddles, receiving blankets, and burp cloths.

Hamper: One of the only items you need in a nursery that will take up floor space besides essential furniture is a hamper. Look for one that is tall and narrow instead of wide, so it will take up less floor area. Also choose one with a lid to keep the mess out of sight.

Under the crib: One of the easiest places to find extra storage space is under the crib. If you don’t have anywhere else to store clothing they are too little for yet or are out of season (like puffy coats only for cold weather or swimsuits only for beach weather), this is an out-of-the-way area for things you don’t need to access as often.

Keep things fresh

Babies outgrow clothes and accessories quickly, so to keep clutter at a minimum, keep the rotation of what they need right now in circulation. Once they transition into swaddles, put them into storage for your next child or sell or donate them right away. Keeping items you don’t need anymore in the nursery is one of the easiest ways for clutter to build up. Onesies in a 0-3 size, pacifiers, unused size 1 diapers, and so on can all move out the door as soon as they’re not needed.

Whether it’s once a month or every three months, have a regularly scheduled “spring cleaning” year-round to reexamine what’s needed in the nursery.

With these storage hacks, you’ll be on your way to a decluttered nursery in no time. Enjoy all the moments along the way with your newfound floor space to play on.

Editors' Recommendations

Sarah Prager
Sarah is a writer and mom who lives in Massachusetts. Her writing has appeared in The New York Times, The Atlantic, National…
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