Excerpt from The Organized Mom: Simplify Life for You and Baby One Step at a Time

By Stacey Crew
Published by Adams Media

Transitional Organizing: What Is It?

Major life changes and transitions are generally what throw people into the greatest state of disorganization. Think about these common scenarios:

A job change: Changing jobs requires physical and mental dedication, and can lead to a new schedule or not having the amount of time to address routine household maintenance issues.

A move: If you’ve moved from a larger place to a smaller place, you may lack storage. Or if you’ve moved into a larger house, you may be in the process of accumulating furniture and accessories.

Getting married and/or moving in with your partner: Combining two households can be overwhelming because you are attempting to merge items that potentially come from different styles and tastes. It’s all a natural process that is very exciting, but it can also be overwhelming because you are settling into a new way of life and possibly new surroundings.

These are generally not times of decluttering, but instead are about combining and accumulating stuff. Motherhood is one of these times when we are inundated with all sorts of gear—bottles, diapers, toys, and tiny pieces of clothing. All those items can leave new moms wondering where to put them and how to maintain some sort of organized systems once baby arrives. The key buzzwords today are “decluttering” and “organizing.” However, when you’re a new mom, to a certain extent, it’s all about cluttering—just like the scenarios we just talked about. It’s challenging to stay on top of everything when you’re caring for a new baby and accumulating and managing all of his or her gear! That is why many new moms experience a slew of emotions that can potentially contribute to postpartum depression and feelings of disappointment because what is supposed to be a most blissful time has turned out to be stressful.

Preparing and organizing before a new baby arrives can certainly help ease the potential anxiety and help simplify your surroundings so you get to spend quality time with your bundle of joy!

Stacey Crew is the mom of two, Author of The Organized Mom book and The Organizing Mama blog. After a successful career in marketing and publishing, her days as a SAHM and the multitude of endless tasks involved with raising two children, she was inspired to develop her own systems for implementing and maintaining organization. You can read her blog at staceycrew.blogspot.com.

Enter to win your signed copy of The Organized Mom: Simplify Life for You and Baby One Step at a Time on Wednesday! Or if you can’t wait, you can purchase her book here.