Maybe your nursery dresser has gotten a little out of control? Or maybe you’re a new parent just getting started putting together a brand new space for your little one and are overwhelmed thinking about how to get organized? There are loads of great ways to get started, from drawer organizers to changing table bins. Do you roll or fold baby clothes? I’ve been through it before! Let’s take a look at some easy and practical ways to get your nursery dresser organized.
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For more nursery organization tips including how to organize your nursery closet and make the most of your storage space, check out this article on nursery organization hacks! You can also get a free diaper caddy checklist from this article.
Let’s take a look at some great ideas for each area of your dresser. Jump to a section or scroll through them all:
Top of Dresser
Let’s start at the top! Depending on how you are using the top of the dresser will help you decide how to organize it. The top of your dresser is great for a couple different options.
- Option one: change station
- Option two: storage and decor
Change Station
If your dresser in the baby’s nursery is a good height for a changing station and it’s sturdy enough that you feel it’s safe, using it to change your baby’s diapers would be a great idea. There are a few ways to make it work well for you.
If your dresser is the right size for one, a change station topper for your dresser is a handy way to stay organized. It has space for keeping diapers together and wipes and diaper cream as well as a large spot in the middle for a changing pad. This is a practical option for a small space that may not have room for a separate change-table.
If a big changing topper isn’t your style, you could still put a change pad on top of your dresser with a diaper caddy. There are all sorts of styles of diaper caddies out there like this caddy from Amazon, but you can also use a bin of some sort or wire baskets to keep your diapering items together and tidy.
Storage and Decor
If your dresser top isn’t the best place to change your baby’s diapers and clothes you can still make practical use of the space. Use it to hold items like your white noise machine, humidifier, books, lamps as well as numerous care items. You can keep all your baby care items (like nail clippers, thermometers, vitamins, toothbrushes) together in a little box or bin so they’re easily found and accessible when you need them.
The top of your dresser is also a nice place to showcase special pieces of nursery decor. This could be a great place for something cute that’s the perfect size for the top of your dresser. Here’s a cute LED silicone star night light that is both practical and sweet!
Top Dresser Drawers
I like to suggest keeping baby care stuff (like nail files, thermometers and tooth brushes) as well as other small items in a small top drawer on your dresser if you can’t find another spot for them.
Extra diapers, wipes or change pads are items you might want to store in your top nursery drawer if your dresser is also used as a changing station. There is seriously nothing worse than running out of wipes when you need them. You have a messy situation to take care of and need to go get more wipes? Hmmm do you pick up your poor messy baby and take them with you to look for more? Can’t leave them on the change table alone… Skip the dilemma and store extra wipes in your dresser drawer right next to where you change them. Trust me.
The top dresser drawers in your baby’s room are also a good place to store extra change pad covers, and if your dresser is large enough, storing some extra diapers up top is a great idea too.
One last idea for your top drawer is to use a drawer separator or cutlery divider to help separate your little items from each other. When everything has a place, it’s easier to keep things tidy.
Middle Dresser Drawers
The middle drawers of your dresser in the nursery are great for baby clothes. These drawers are easily accessible so you’re not bending over towards the floor. Easy access is important for newborn clothes. In my experience a new baby can go through multiple outfits in one day and it can be so helpful to have your baby clothing nearby and ready to go when you need it.
A great way to keep these drawers full of baby clothes organized, is to use drawer separators. Then you can roll or fold your baby’s clothes neatly and fill each section of the drawer. Here’s a fabric box-style drawer organizer from Amazon that might help you out!
You can use one drawer for tops and another for bottoms and using drawer dividers, separate each drawer by long sleeve or short sleeve (and shorts vs pants). Alternatively, you could use drawer separators for organizing your baby’s clothes by size. The first year your baby is going to grow quickly; it can be nice to have all of his or her clothes in the next size available, washed and ready to roll for when you decide you need them. Here’s a drawer divider option from Amazon with great reviews.
You can use labels on the inner part of your drawer or the top of each clothing divider to help you easily visualize where things go. This is also a handy trick if you have help caring for your baby from another person who may not be as familiar with your nursery as you are (like a partner, grandparent, or nanny).
Keeping socks and bibs together can be another storage solution made easier with dividers. You can also consider storing pajamas and sleep sacks together so they’re easily found at nap and bedtime. Additionally, you could contemplate using drawer dividers to separate clothing into different colors if you have a lot of clothes that need organizing.
How to fold baby clothes
Since we were just talking about storing baby clothes, let’s talk about the best way to fold them! Is it better to roll them up or fold them like origami? What’s the deal?
How to roll baby clothes
One popular option is rolling because it’s easy and saves space and sanity. If you’re looking for a quick easy solution to putting away your onesies, this could be it. The main principle you’ll notice that’s helpful when rolling baby clothes is to make it all one big rectangle first with nothing sticking out so that when it is rolled, it is a nice uniform shape.
Onesies and shirts rolling: tuck the sleeves in towards the body of the shirt or onesie and then roll the whole thing up.
Pants rolling: fold the whole thing in half so the legs rest on top of each other. Tuck in anything that sticks out like the crotch of the pants. Roll it all up.
Pajama rolling: fold the jammies in half vertically. Fold the arms into the body. Fold the crotch and anything else that sticks out towards the body. Roll it up.
Folding Baby Clothes
Folding baby clothes is my preferred option. I’ve included a photo at the end of this section to show you how much space you can save by folding instead of rolling. Here are some step by step photo instructions for how to fold baby clothes neatly.
Onesies and shirts folding: tuck the sleeves in towards the body of the shirt or onesie. Fold in half twice.
Pajama folding: fold the jammies in half vertically. Fold the arms into the body. Fold the crotch and anything else that sticks out towards the body. Fold in half twice.
Pants folding: fold the whole thing in half so the legs rest on top of each other. Tuck in anything that sticks out like the crotch of the pants. Fold in half twice.
There are two options now that your baby cothes are folded. Stack them on top of each other or ‘file’ them on their edge. I’ve included a photo below these descriptions so you can see how folding options one and two look when they’re all done.
Folding option 1
Stacks of clothes are a very traditional way to use a dresser. If you like this style of organization here’s a nice way to fold your baby clothes so they stack on top of themselves neatly. You can see in the photo below on the right side, the clothes are stacked directly one on top of the other.
Folding option 2
In the photo below on the left side is a different style of storing folded baby clothes. This is a more ‘Marie Kondo’ style of folding that lets you see each item of clothing from more of a birds’ eye view in your drawer. I personally prefer storing clothes this way so I can see each item instead of digging through layers of clothes to find what I’m looking for.
Rolling VS Folding
So, is it best to roll or fold your baby clothes? I took the same outfits and rolled them in the way I’ve described above in this article and then I folded them too. When they were folded I could fit one more outfit in easily. I think Marie Kondo is on to something here… She has a very particular way of folding that I haven’t replicated in my descriptions but the way of ‘filing’ clothes on their side is similar to what she suggests.
Because it seems to save space, I would suggest folding baby clothes.
Bottom Dresser Drawers
Burp cloths and swaddle blankets or extra bedding in large drawers could be at the bottom of your dresser. When you’re looking at what to put in the bottom drawer, think about items you use less often because you’ll be bending down furthest to reach them. You also want to put your heaviest items at the bottom of your dresser. Bulky items like extra blankets store nicely down here as well.
Final Thoughts On Nursery Dresser Organization
I hope these storage solutions have helped set you on the right track to organizing your baby essentials. Whether you’re a new mom or seasoned parent, it’s always great to get organized so you can have what you need within arm’s reach when you need it. For some more great tips on organizing your family’s clothes, check out this article on how to fold pajamas next!
Having an organized nursery can help you feel less overwhelmed by all the new baby stuff you get from your baby shower or from your baby registry. By using some of these tips and tricks you’ll be well on your way to creating the nursery of your dreams.
For more nursery organization tips check out this other article!
For nursery decor inspiration check these articles out!
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