Small house, pregnant, plenty of time- help!

[applesandbananas93]

So I am due my second baby in a few weeks. We (me, husband, DS who has just turned 3) live in a small 3 bed (700sqft) house.
I’m off work now, DS is still in nursery so I have plenty of time to sort things out, but I don’t know where to start!
Our house feels really cluttered and I know it’s only going to get worse when we have baby toys/general baby paraphernalia added to it. The room that will be the baby’s is full of hand-me-down clothes that I’ve sorted through but don’t know where to store for now (especially clothes that are 6+ months).
There’s a few DIY bits that I want to get done too before baby is here like putting up blinds, decorating the baby’s room etc.
And I also want to get a cleaning routine going that I can keep up with once the new baby is here.
Any advice on where to start?! I feel paralysed by all the things I want/need to do that I’ve not started any of it!

Perhaps start by getting storage- a kallax/ cube style storage would be good. Or at least storage boxes for each size.

Make sure you are not keeping clothes that are stained or will be the wrong season.

Try and declutter existing toys that are not used. You will get lots of replacement gifts!

Have a look at The Organised Mum Method on Instagram which is a realistic routine to keep on top of things.

I was in a small home when we had our first two dc

Start by getting two bin liners. One for charity and one for dumping.
Put on some decent music and time yourself for 30 mins and go from room to room

Vacuum bag the clothes you can't use yet.
Send the big plastic toys to charity (honestly they were the pits in a small home)

Batch cook meals now (slow cooker casserole and curries)

Have you got a loft space?

I'd buy some really useful boxes and put the clothes you've saved into bundles in the boxes.

Re cleaning. You could split the jobs into days. Monday-bathroom
Tuesday-upstairs dusting and vacuuming and tidying
And so on.

So 6-12 months nightwear and vests in one
12-18 months nightwear and vests in another.
And so on. That way you can just grab a box out of the loft with the right age in. Plus, if you buy the same sizes, they stack.

I'd do similar for any toys and books that you want to clear out that may come in handy for the new baby: group them in age ranges and out them in one box, so you can grab it when the time is right.

If you want to be super organised make lists of the boxes and their contents.

I'm in a 1 bedroom flat, honestly the best thing you can do is sort out storage, storage and more (or better) storage. Really clever storage is the root to happiness. I even had 3 cupboards under the bathtub made, small bathroom but still tidy. 😁

Great advice on this thread ... also be realistic about things you are never going to get around to (like fixing things etc) & just get rid of what you cannot use

Prioritise the 1-off tasks (decluttering/storing/decorating etc)]

Then if you have time/are physically capable of it, deep clean the house (maybe with your DH's help) - by which I mean under the furniture, backs of cupboards etc... as if the house has been cleaned really well before you deliver you can just do light cleaning/what you are able to for 1st couple of months with a newborn

Re storing clothes etc for later:

• label
• organise in a logical way
• maybe keep a list (paper/spreadsheet) of what you have so you don't buy things you already have

Start by making a massive list of what you need to do, put in order of priority & logic (ie declutter before getting storage in so you know what you need). If you have a ruthless friend/relative, see if you can get some company for a day/half a day to really make a dent in it - this is really motivating