Even the most tidy of couples can find themselves surrounded by clutter once they have children. Their once immaculate home, with nothing out of place, can gradually turn into a scene of mayhem when children come on the scene. Then, the older they get, the worse it gets. It seems all they can do is look forward to the day it is just the two of them again.
There is no need for it to be that bad. In fact, tidy parents will probably do a good job of keeping their children's rooms tidy, too. Some, though, may falter and give up in despair. Having children in the home is, at the very least, a bit of a challenge if you want to maintain that spick and span home you might have been used to as a childless couple. So, how do you go about arranging things so the arrival of children does not disrupt your home organization too much?
Pre-planning before a baby arrives is a good idea. For many, it is a priority. When designing the nursery, try to plan well ahead. Not just for the baby, but bearing in mind that baby will become a toddler, a boisterous infant at school, and later a teenager. OK, you may not want to jump ahead that far, but you can probably and sensibly plan for those pre-teen years to a degree.
It is probably best to aim to always have enough storage space in their room for all of the child's clothes, books, and toys. For the baby stage, storage room for diapers, wet wipes and all the other paraphernalia of bringing up a newborn baby. Some of the modern plastic storage boxes can be multi purpose, and be stacked. They may start out full of baby things then be adapted for toys as a child grows. Similarly, cabinets and shelves can be multi purpose.
The important thing is for there be enough storage space for a growing baby, not just for their first few months. You may not want to add additional shelving solutions months later, with the extra dust that might entail. It is best to get them in before the baby is born, then their bedroom need not be disturbed again for a long time.
Once the baby is a toddler and understands what's going on, try to get them trained early to put away their toys and generally clear up after them. If you make a habit of doing so before they are capable of doing it themselves, then their watching you will help prepare them for the time they must do it themselves, or at least help you.
Roy Thomsitt wrote this shelves for the home article, and you can find more at http://shelvesforthehome.com
