Hi friends! We hit the 20 week mark this week, so we’re officially half way to meeting Baby B. We had our anatomy scan on Thursday and baby looked perfect, and we even found out the sex – let me know your guesses below! Ever since we got out of the first trimester, though, things have really kicked into high gear. Right now we’re focused on getting our house ready for when Baby B arrives. Let me tell you, it’s a lot more involved than I thought it would be! Getting your home ready for baby can be incredibly stressful, so I’ve put together a list of six tips to help make the process go a little more smoothly.

1. Start as soon as you can.

Surprise! Babies operate on their own timelines – something that is not ideal for a procrastinator like myself. Nine months may seem like a long time, but when you really think about it, it’s not. If you’re someone who has a really rough first trimester, you might not be able to get nearly as much stuff done as you would like. And as you get into the third trimester, your energy levels (and mobility!) will likely start to drop. This makes it important to have the bigger things out of the way as soon as you’re able to. Try not to stress out about the time frame, but make sure you keep it in mind. You don’t want to try to bite off more than you can chew!

2. Evaluate your entire space.

Every home and living situation is unique, which makes it difficult to make a one-size-fits-all checklist of specific things to do to prepare your space for baby. How we prepare our current two-bedroom house is going to be completely different than how we would have prepared if we were still living in our one bedroom apartment in Boston. This means that one of the most important things to do when getting your home ready for baby is to take a really close look at your space. You want to (1) identify how much room you’ll have for baby, and (2) figure out where to move things to make more space if needed.

For us, we have a spare bedroom that we’ll be converting into a nursery. The problem? Right now it’s serving as my closet/getting ready space/catch-all room. As a result, we’ve had to identify where all that extra stuff is going to go. By looking at our entire house as a whole, we’ve been able to identify every single nook and cranny that we can use to maximize our baby space.

3. Make a list.

Once you’ve taken a good look at your space, make a list of all the things you’ll need to do. And I mean everything. Even things that aren’t necessarily baby-related. After all, once your little bundle of joy arrives, house projects will probably be the least of your worries! We made a (very long) list of all the projects that, in an ideal world, we would complete before Baby B gets here. Everything from getting the nursery done, to re-painting our office, to updating our living room furniture. Although having such a long list may seem overwhelming, it will really come in handy for making a plan to tackle it all.

4. Identify your project priorities.

After you’ve made your list, you’ll want to go through it and determine which projects will be the most important. Ranking them from most to least important will help you set a realistic expectation for what you will actually be able to get done before baby comes, while also making sure the most important projects get done first. It will also help you strategize any multi-step projects.

For example, we knew that the contents of my vanity, which currently lives in the nursery, would need to be moved into the bathroom. Unfortunately, though, our bathroom doesn’t have a ton of storage space. One of our higher priority projects, then, became rearranging the bathroom to maximize storage space. Even though it wasn’t directly baby-related, we knew the bathroom would be our first priority so that we could move on to nursery.

5. Make a plan (and stick to it).

Getting your home ready for baby can involve a lot of moving pieces. Combining this with the short time frame can lead to a lot of stress. Using your prioritized list to make a concrete plan can help take some of that stress away. Once I had my list ranked, I made a spreadsheet complete with deadlines and estimated project timelines (thanks, law school) detailing exactly what we need to get done and when. Now, you definitely don’t need to get that crazy – just find a way to keep yourself on track that works for you. And once you make your plan, try to stick with it as best you can. That way you can get as much done as possible before baby arrives!

6. Don’t be afraid to get help from the professionals.

Like I said in Tip #1, you have a pretty limited time frame for getting your home ready for baby. Having an extra set of hands (or two) can definitely help with getting your projects done quickly. Especially if your projects involve moving heavy furniture around, or transporting odds and ends to a storage unit. That’s where a company like Fresh Start – The Moving Crew comes in. They are a full-service moving crew, and although they’re best known as labor movers in Worcester County, MA, they actually cover all of New England! Their labor-only services are available for help with moving heavy furniture within your home, or packing and unloading your own vehicle if your putting things in storage. Best of all, they can work within your budget – just contact them for a free quote!

Getting your home ready for baby can feel overwhelming, but these six tips can help minimize your stress and maximize your time. Have I missed anything? Let me know in the comments below! In the meantime, I’ll be tackling my plan – send help if you don’t hear from me! 🙂

With love,

A