Now that I'm officially 6 months pregnant, the reality is starting to set in that our sweet baby girl will be here before we know it.
One thing that has amazed me throughout the last number of months is how many things to keep track of, prepare for, purchase, organize...and that's all before the baby even gets here! I'd be lying if I said that I haven't had moments of panic, of feeling overwhelmed and of, well, sheer terror. All mixed in with sheer happiness, of course.
But!
I find that the more I organize, the more I read and the more I slowly cross things off of my to-do list, the better I feel. I think there's a reason why women are pregnant for 10 months...so that there's plenty of time to get everything done! Slow and steady wins the race if you ask me.
Over the first few months of my pregnancy, I had paperwork, sonogram photos, doctor's bills, coupons and more strewn in all different places in our home.
I decided to make a little baby organization binder which has helped me wrangle it all together. Oh, and I got a little crafty with it, so I can happily display it right on my desk, keeping it easily accessible for filing and referencing at any time. Oh and getting another glimpse of my sweet baby's face doesn't hurt either :)
Here's what I used:
1 white binder (I used a 1.5" ring)
tab dividers
plastic sheet inserts
scrapbook paper, tape/glue & markers
any & all paperwork, photos, cards, flyers, etc.
First, I gathered up all of my baby goodies. I threw out any paperwork or flyers that I didn't need.
Next, I organized what was left into piles and placed them into the plastic sleeves. Then I placed the sleeves into the binder, separated by these cute (yet still unnamed) dividers:
Some of my categories included:
doctor's information (e.g., baby class listings, pediatrician recommendations, glucose test instructions)
coupons & flyers (like my Babies R Us Rewards card, Buy Buy Baby coupons, etc)
sonogram photos
congratulatory cards from friends & family
doctor's bills, explanations of benefits, etc
baby registry lists with the brands/products I want to research
a giant to-do list before Baby arrives
Once everything was organized to my liking, I decorated the outside of the binder. Using some leftover scrapbook paper scraps (which I purchased to use for a baby book that I'm putting together about my pregnancy...more on that later), I simply found an arrangement that I liked and lightly taped the strips of paper in place. I repeated the same thing on the back panel. Then I added a little sonogram reprint from our 20 week ultrasound. And finally, I cut one long strip for the side binding and simply wrote 'baby humiston' on it in dark purple marker. Voila!
It makes me smile to see this on my home desk and I feel a lot more settled knowing that I have all of the information I need in one place! Not to mention that I'm mildly obsessed with all of these scrapbook paper patterns, so I love that I get to have yet another use for them. I'm also considering using some of them as a mat for framed artwork and photos in the nursery. But that is a post for another time :)
What is your favorite organizational tool?
How do you keep all of your files wrangled?
And for the moms and moms-to-be out there - any other organizational/sanity-saving tips for me?