What are you going to do with all of the "stuff" you get from your baby shower?

HeatherandRay

I'm sure I am not the only one here, but my house has absolutely no storage space.  Our spare guest room is being converted to the nursery and all of our extra space is already taken by our normal pre-baby stuff.  Of course, I am in full-out nesting mode and trying to purge as much as possible. But babies require ALOT of gear - some you use right away, some you use when they are a bit older.  I am hoping to get alot of it for my shower.  I just have no idea where to put it, and am having a tough time figuring it out.  On top of the normal gear that you register for, I just know people will buy me alot of "stuff" off registry.  No flames please, I am not one of those people that gets snitty when I get off registry gifts, many are very nice and thoughtful.  But I do have to say that I expect to receive alot of "stuff" I would never use.  If it is anything like my wedding shower, I am still finding boxes and boxes of "stuff" in my house from my wedding shower (9 years ago!) that have never seen the light of day - knick knacks, dollar store stuff, etc.  I have seen some doozies at my family baby showers - bird cages filled with flowers, ceramic baby carriages, toys that do not possibly look remotely safe, used things, dollar store things, knick knacks galore - and I am sure I am in line for more of the same.  Which is fine, I'm not complaining, it is all about the thought, but considering my storage issues I have no idea what I will do with it all.

Temp23782687501318

Items that you truly think you will never use or want, I would give to Goodwill or the Salvation Army.

For us, we are storing the items that we'll need soon in our nursery.  Other items that won't be used for a while will be stored in our basement.  Try to find hidden storage spaces in your nursery.  Behind the crib, under the crib, behind the changing table/dresser.  You might be surprised on how creative you can be.

allowry

We are fortunate in the fact that 1: we have an attic and 2: we own mini storages.  My husband put all of our Christmas stuff in the mini storage this year so there will be room for my clothes and any baby stuff that we get that we don't want to have to go get should we need it.  At Christmas we will make one trip to get that stuff.

I do agree if you don't think you'll use it send it to charity. 

rebus82

We'll have the nursery relatively set up by the time we have our shower, so clothes will go in the closet/dresser, diaper stuff will go in drawers under the changing table, toys in the toy box or on shelves, etc. We didn't register for "older" kid stuff, so I don't we'll have that storage problem.?

Anything we get that we will certainly not use and can't return, we'll sell on Craigslist or donate. I don't have the room, or frankly the patience, to deal with totally off the wall garbage that people pick up without thinking. Some stuff will be fine certainly, but I'm not keeping random unsafe knick-knacks around just because someone else thought they were precious.?

EastCoastBride

We live in a very small house and also have VERY limited storage room.  Here are a few things we did:

1- rent a storage unit.  We put a LOT of stuff in storage in order to make room for baby stuff. 

2- borrow as much as you can.  If people offer to lend you baby stuff, take them up on it.  What's great about it:  they can hold on to it until you need it, and once you no longer need it, you can give it back.

Right now, we have a swing that our baby has hardly used and wil shortly go back to my friend who lent it to us.  And once he's able to sit up, I will then be borrowing the same friends exersaucer.  But these big items don't have to reside in our home indefinitely! 

But I do have to say that I expect to receive alot of "stuff" I would never use.

MOST of this stuff, though, will be small at least!  Peopel usually don't buy large items unless you've registered for it.  But clothes--- it got to a point where I really wanted to tell people "stop buying us clothes!".

PregoCC

I was just thinking about this myself. We have no basement, and no attic. I am thinking about storing some of the stuff either at my parents house, who have tons of storage space, or possibly asking a friend, who lives alone, and also has a ton of storage space.

I'll tell ya- it sure is hectic trying to figure out where to put everything. I am just about going nuts!

Crissy&Josh

I also live in a house with a small amount of storage. Your already taking the first step by eliminating what you don't need anymore. In all honesty, babies don't have to have so many things. Be picky when you register. Purchase things that work in more than one way. Cribs can come with extra storage drawers, and you can register for a swing/bouncer in one. You don't need a bassinett and a pack n play, choose the one that works best for you. Remember that you have to find a place to store all the baby items when DC has finished using them, so choose wisely.

Make sure that everything you bring into the house has a purpose and a place of it's own. Anything that you get at the shower and you won't use, get rid of it. You can donate, sell, or return the items.

When it comes to storing things in the nursery, the pp said it best when she said to be creative. You can find a variety of hidden storage places in the room. Use the height of the room to your advantage. You can hang shelves where needed, even in the closet. The bottom of the closet can also be used to store items like the exosaucer and stroller.

Good luck, you have plenty of time to be prepared!