Worried if your home is ready for your little bundle of joy who will arrive in a few months?
As D-day nears you’d need to make sure your home is baby-proof and is equipped to keep mama and baby comfortable, especially in the first few months. A baby is tiny, but his/her needs aren’t! Think interior décor changes, new pieces of furniture, and most importantly loads of storage. To make it simpler for you, we’ve rounded up 6 essential home improvement tips before your baby arrive:
Declutter and Deep-clean
Decluttering is one of the first home improvement tips before your baby arrive. Setup the daily routine cleaning aside, look closely to spot those areas which have gathered dust over months or years.
- Get your sofas, mattresses and other upholstered furniture deep cleaned by professionals.
- Dry clean or wash all your pillows including bolsters, and comforters.
- If you’re planning to reuse any hand-me-down furniture or mattress for your baby – be doubly sure they are disinfected and deep cleaned.
- Dust and wipe clean all electrical appliances including light fixtures, air vents, fans, ACs, and air purifiers.
- Clean wardrobes and bookshelves taking out everything and rearranging them all over again. Dust can gather on books, CDs, music systems and any other display items.
- Clean the fittings, floor, tiles and every inch of the bathrooms.
- If you have a lot of house plants, time to wipe them clean too.
- Clean your window tracks, blinds, and curtains.
- Clear out all the hoarded junk that you’ll never need.
- Remove all things that can be potential trip hazards like loose rugs on the floor, wires, furniture that sticks out of corners, and so on.
Set Up a Nursery or Kid’s Room
If you don’t want a separate nursery, you can spruce up a part of your bedroom for the baby. In any case, keep the room functional above all else.
Plan for:
- Items that can be dismantled
- Furnishing and upholstery that can be removed and washed easily
- Multi-functional pieces that grow with the baby. A crib that can convert to a toddler bed, or a diaper box that can be used to store toys later.
- Leave lots of floor space for play
- Plan plenty of storage
- Night and day curtains to ensure a good sleep
- Night lamps
Your existing furniture will need to be added on with these in the nursery:
- A crib or a baby cot with storage and a built-in changing table. Buy one off the shelf, or custom-make one of your choices.
- Plenty of closed storage space for clothes, diapers, bags, feeding bottles, formula, creams, medicines, and gifts that you receive.
- Open shelves for displaying treasured baby photos and a few other collectables.
- Flexible storage such as foldable organizers and toy boxes, and flexible seating.
- Foldable furniture like a vertical wall bed, a wall-mounted table, or a foldable bunk bed.
Choose a soft baby-friendly colour scheme, and have a personalized theme or if you’d like to. Opt for wallpapers or decals to pretty up a wall or two.
Baby-proof the Home
Plan ahead for the next year and beyond. Months will fly past, and very soon your little bundle will be all over the place, running around and experimenting with his/her new skills. Your home interiors must be geared to support your baby’s adventures, and not restrict them.
If not immediately, get ready to do these very soon:
- Lock or latch lower shelves in kitchen and bathroom
- Move breakables out of reach
- Block the staircase with a temporary gate
- Cover plug points
- Get stain-resistant rugs and upholstery. Let the spills happen when they do.
Nooks for Relaxation
This one is for the mother! She needs to get some rest whenever she can sneak in a few minutes here and there.
If your home doesn’t have any space for relaxation other than the living room couch, maybe you should create space for a lounging nook. Leave it to your imagination to furnish this space to your tastes.
Organize the Rest of Your Home
So you’ve cleaned up, and gotten all the furniture ready for the baby. Time to organize everything else in the home, starting from your wardrobes. The last thing you want is to hunt for maternity wear, or any urgent items when you’re rushing to the hospital for delivery. Keep everything in stock, and handy. A clutter-free, organized home is just what you need now. And once the baby arrives, you’ll hardly have the time for organizing, deep cleaning or regular decluttering.
Create Baby-friendly Corners in Every Room
Your baby won’t just be in his/her nursery all the time. So put in your energies in creating baby-friendly nooks in every room including the kitchen and bathroom. For instance, make space for a counter-top chair or high chair in the kitchen for the baby to play while you cook. Get bath chairs or a tub in the bathroom, with separate storage space for the baby’s toiletries.
Need help in refreshing your home interiors in time for your baby’s arrival? Don’t hesitate to talk to the design experts at HomeLane for the best ideas.
Also Read:
How To Child-Proof Your Kitchen
Babyproofing Your Home Against Common House Hazards
