The arrival of a newborn brings with it equal parts excitement, joy, anticipation...and STRESS.

On top of everything else, there’s always concerns about the house not being ready for your new bundle of joy to come back home. It’s like the panic you have about your home not being clean enough for guests, except way worse because it’s your new baby and everything has to be perfect.

While that isn’t true, and you don’t need to be so hard on yourself, that’s a discussion for another day! In the meantime, though, there are some things you might want to do around the house to welcome your new baby into the cleanest - and safest - environment you can in the little time you have.

Organizing Your Home for the New Baby

Plan it out

Before you even get to the hospital to deliver the baby, make a plan to figure out a few key things before your baby comes home. This will save you time in the long run, as well as making this that much less stressful when you get back home.

Plan things like:

• Where is the new baby sleeping?
• Where will the feeding/changing/etc happen?
• Do you have space to keep things like clean diapers and other necessities?

While you might not have all the answers right away, taking a look around your house to get ideas over time will make your job a lot easier.

Find storage for your supplies

Babies need a lot of stuff to help them stay healthy and safe, and all that stuff has to go somewhere. You’ve probably been purchasing (or been gifted, as the case often is) a lot of things like strollers, diapers, new clothes, and the like. And it all needs a home, right?

Take a look around and see where you could use more storage. Could you set up some closet organizers to hold onto all their new little outfits? Do you need some garage shelves to help make room for the stroller before you start using it? Does their bedroom need a clothes dresser before they come home? It will make the process so much easier when all is said and done to know where these things are going as they come into your home.

Start babyproofing

Of course, a huge part of welcoming home any new baby is to babyproof their new home. Look for obvious hazards like electrical outlets, low tables they could collide with, unsafe stairs, and the like, and make a plan to keep them away from these dangerous areas. Use things like home wall shelving to store things you don’t want to run the risk of them being able to reach down, make a plan to block off rooms you don’t want them going into, and start thinking about things from two feet off the ground (instead of adult-sized, like you’re used to).

Don’t be afraid to ask for help

Lastly, you’re going to be going through an awful lot right now, both in the home and otherwise, and it can all seem a little overwhelming. If you’re trying to get your home ready for your little one, don’t be afraid to call in a little help from the friends to see if they can help you clean, help you sort through stuff to donate or get rid of, or just be there to hear you out during stressful times.

And again: don’t be so hard on yourself! Your new baby will just be glad to be home with their parents, no matter how the house looks.