Nesting: in 400 sq ft
Behind the Scenes:
Nesting in 400 sq ft?
I’ve been doing quite a bit of organizing lately in my own functional space, as my family is about to grow from 2 to 3. Baby Cutright should be joining us in June! My husband and I are ecstatic.
As many of you know already, we live in a studio apartment - happily!
So what happens now? We’re hoping to stay here through Baby’s first year. My nesting does look a little different from the average, but then, we are all different as people and as parents. So far we haven’t purchased any objects. Here’s what we have done so far.
Tidy Up
I’ve processed clothes in real time as my body changes. I’ve kept the all-stars from each size and sold, given away, or donated everything else.
My husband started going through his possessions to make more room for Baby the week we found out I was pregnant. Swoon!
Learn
I’ve read one book (from the library) on each of these subjects so far:
Pregnancy
Childbirth
Baby/ Toddler Sleep
Baby/ Toddler Feeding
We’ve sscheduled a consult with a nanny with 3 decades of baby experience to design our baby registry/ shopping plans. We’ll start with the absolute minimum of basics, then add things as we learn what additional needs our tiny family has.
Talk
We’ve talked through things like how we’d like to adjust our household responsibilities for the many, many changes to come. We’ve covered questions like:
How will we distribute chores, so that it still feels fair to both of us?
Which personal needs do we each want to prioritize, if we can make any time at all to do so? Physical activity for Mike, solitude for me.
My choices so far have been informed by what I see in homes while tidying. So often, parents-to-be are told that they will need huge quantities of specialty products to be good parents. I see changing tables used for storage instead of changing diapers. I see SNOOs functioning as very pricey hampers. Diaper warmers gather dust still in their boxes, and unworn, novelty baby clothes clog dressers and closets. There is no doubt that these products work beautifully for some families, and also, not for all families.
Within reason, Mike and I hope to proceed like we always do with new purchases.
Wait to see what we actually need
Talk about how to meet the need
If appropriate, either change our routine or buy a product
In my experience with organizing, what I see so far is that space and freedom leave people better positioned to cope with challenges than piles of just-in-case items. Wish us luck!