10 Easy Nursery Organizing Ideas to Simplify Your Life

You’re excited to design a beautiful nursery, but you’re quickly learning how functional it needs to be as well.

No one wants to be searching for diapers in the dark when the 3 am blowout inevitably occurs.

Here are 10 easy nursery organizing ideas, to make those early days much easier.

Disclosure: Affiliate links are used in this post, at no cost to you.

Nursery Organizing Ideas

1. Set up a changing station in your nursery.

There is nothing worse than needing something immediately and realizing it’s in another part of the house.

Whether it’s a changing table or the dresser, make sure these areas are supplied with diapers, wipes, creams, and extra clothes.

If you live in a multi-level home, I recommend setting up a changing station on each floor – you can use your pack-and-play for one in the living room.

You will be changing A LOT of diapers, so making sure these areas are organized and always stocked will make diaper changes run smoothly.

2. Take advantage of baskets, with labels, for ample nursery storage.

Baskets are your best friend and are great for a variety of baby items to curb visual clutter.

Baby clothes are tiny, and you may not have the energy or the need to hang a lot of their clothes early on.

Label your baskets so you don’t have to pull it out every time you are looking for something.

An idea way to make labels is simply to use pretty gift tags! Tie them on right around the handle.

You’ll also want to dedicate a basket or bin to outgrown clothes.

Babies seem to grow out of clothes at lightning speed. Keep this bin in the nursery closet for future kids or to donate.

3. Use closet and drawer dividers to stay organized.

If this is your first child, you’ve likely been gifted or bought a ton of baby clothes.

If you decide to hang them, clothes dividers like these are an affordable and easy way to keep sizes organized and separate.

Drawer dividers can also help keep your little one’s clothes from falling over in their dresser.

This can be especially helpful if you are keeping different types of clothing in one drawer (i.e. pants and onesies).

4. Make a breastfeeding and pumping station.

If you plan to breastfeed, set up a dedicated space in your nursery with everything you will need to feed your baby.

I recommend your pump, extra bottles, nursing pads, your nursing pillow, snacks, and a water bottle.

Place this on a side table next to your rocker.

If you plan to feed in multiple places, try getting a rolling cart that can move with you.

Here’s a great photo example by Macchiatos & Confetti!

5. Get a large, lidded laundry hamper that also functions as decor.

Depending on your laundry situation (like a laundry room on a different floor), you may want to keep a separate laundry hamper in the baby’s room to corral dirty linens.

Believe me, you will be doing plenty of laundry so having a convenient place to throw your little one’s laundry ensure nothing is missed or forgotten.

Shop These Lidded Basket Favorites

6. Start a keepsakes box for baby.

This is a perfect place to keep those sentimental items that don’t need to be accessed regularly or serve no real purpose other than they’re special to you.

Be sure to go through the box every 6 months to a year so you can prioritize what you’d like to save.

Unfortunately, you won’t be able to keep everything!

Designating this box early on will help you keep these items organized.

Here’s a wonderfully functional one that comes in multiple colors.

7. Create a back stock area for those extra supplies.

You may feel tempted to store your entire supply of diapers or bum cream together but it will likely end in clutter and five opened tubes of cream.

It’s not efficient and can lead to overwhelm.

Instead, put what you need immediately in a drawer or basket within reach and keep back stock in a dedicated bin in the closet or under the crib.

Nursery Organization Hacks

8. Add a shelving unit to your nursery closet.

This can be helpful if your nursery is small or the closet has a lot of underutilized space under the clothing rack.

Adding a shelving unit can keep the closet organized and provides for additional storage for books, toys, and clothes.

Here’s a great DIY tutorial for you on how to build a nursery closet like this one below for only $100.

9. Utilize the space underneath the crib.

If your nursery has little to no closet space, put a plastic bin underneath the crib with extra diapers and wipes or off-season clothes.

This easy storage hack can really help a small room feel less cluttered.

The bin shown below is awesome because you can open just one side of it. With a lot of other ones you have to pull it all the way out and take the whole top off to get access.

10. Make use of vertical storage space to organize anything remaining.

Make sure to take advantage of wall space, especially if the closet leaves a lot to be desired.

Books can be placed on picture ledges and shelves or baskets can be hung to house toys or stuff animals.

An over-the-door shoe organizer can be used for extra swaddle blankets, wipes, or baby shoes.

Organizing a Nursery

Bonus Tip: Make sure your nursery has a good flow.

Out of all ten nursery organizing ideas, this is the most important one!

You want your furniture arranged in a way that allows you to walk through the room easily and safely.

If you are at the changing table, you should be able to easily reach the diapers, cream, wipes, and diaper pail.

You should not have to leave that area once you’ve laid the baby down.

The layout should also flow so there is no risk of tripping or bumping into anything at night.

Conclusion

If you implement all of these nursery organizing ideas, all of your baby stuff will have a place and you won’t be scrambling around to search for anything.

As any first-time mom can attest, the newborn phase is one of survival, but there are things you can do ahead of time to prepare yourself and your nursery for your little one’s arrival.

Next Up:

Check out my in-depth guide on How to Design the Nursery of Your Dreams!

Thank you to Alexandra for this guest post!

Alexandra Kozak is a professional organizer and owner of Living Simply PGH based in Pittsburgh, PA. She works one-on-one with her clients to conquer the clutter in their homes and schedules to make room for what matters most in their lives. Follow her on Instagram @livingsimplypgh or visit her blog at www.livingsimplypgh.com/blog