I swear I woke up one morning to find I no longer had a baby, I had a toddler, but I still had so much baby stuff!
Baby Products: loads of them probably fell upon you when you brought home a newborn. But, now that you have a toddler, your day looks very… different. So, do you need to purge everything and get all new toddler accessories? While, yes, I’m all about the great purge and getting into minimalism, it’s also important to save time, money, and the environment by upcycling, or repurposing things you already have. Here are few ideas!
- Changing Table: Although many people swear this item is a waste of money, because you can change a baby anywhere, once you begin the migration to the potty, they become even more useful. Wide, low shelves are easy for toddlers to put toys away and see/take them out as they want them. Basically, it’s a miracle. Plus, it’s less than buying a new organization drawer set to take up room.
- Changing Pad: These still catch messes and make a great art project station!
- Newborn Clothes: Actually, don’t keep these in containers drawing dust and mice and worry. Instead, keep them and make them useful by turning them into toddler bibs, stuffed animals, quilt patches. Or, use them to make a child’s first baby doll. Also, baby shoes, socks and bows can inside make beautiful keepsake ornaments.
- Diaper Bags: These make the perfect overnight bags, carry-ons, and storage for messy sheets/pools/ beach toys without ruining canvas bags.
- Burp Cloths: Absorbent, multi colored, and washable?! These things stay in stacks around the house to clean up toddler messes. Little ones can learn to wipe up, put in the laundry, and even fold.
- Diaper Genie: Do you have an insane number of tiny balls? Decorate a diaper genie with glitter spray paint/stickers, take out the bag dispense parts inside, and you have a rain ball holder.
- Wipes Container: Are they trash or the perfect place to stow crayons, socks, hair bows, and all things that escape?
- Bassinet: Why BUY an animal zoo or storage chest for sheets and blankets when you have one right here?! Fold and lay spare clean sheets and blankets on the bottom, right next to the bed for emergencies. Next, store that horde of animals on top too.
- Food Pouch Lids: Colored and Round, these serve as game pieces or for counting and color practice. However, they are small, so save them for ages 3 or 4 and up.
- Bottles: Rather than useless, fill these pains with ice or snacks for the car. Glittery liquids, buttons, beads, and other things to calm a melt down. Bottles can also hold watery paints or brushes for art time, or can be used as pins to make a bowling set. Add stickers for decoration too!
- Rattles and Teethers: Put them into a shoe box based on each color. These are excellent hands on, sensory toys for learning colors and numbers or quiet time boxes.
- Infant Bathtub: These are the perfect place to store dry bath toys and keep them on rotation. Likewise, kids’ towels and robes fit. It slides neatly in the bottom of a closet or under a bed etc.
- Diaper Boxes: Hands down, the perfect boxes for moving or donating items! Get rid of everything taking up room and these boxes at the same time! Never buy cardboard boxes.
- Baby Sound Machine Radio Monitors: If you want to sleep through the first few minutes of your toddler waking early, take that handy noise maker out of their room and put it in yours. These come with several sounds, time out options, can use battery or wall power, and are much less than the made for adult counterparts. Baby monitors with audio options don’t just make toy walkie talkies, but adult ones to for times such as: “tell me if the light/water comes back on!”
- Bottle Sanitizer: Take out the nets and make this a snack carrier or craft supply container. I lost a cupcake holder and this was the perfect fit!
