My Diaper Changing Station - Organized and Ready to Go!

With only about a month till Lincoln gets here and my diaper stash pretty much complete, I thought it was high time that I get the diaper changing station organized and ready to go.  Let me tell you, that isn't easy when you've got a nursery as small as ours is.  Well, it's really about an average sized room, just awkward in the space that's available.  It took some pretty creative thinking in order to get everything I needed easily accessible for diaper changes.

I started out with a basic changing table just big enough for a changing pad on top and two shelves underneath. Baskets were the obvious choice for the shelves so I started there.  I found a cute set of baskets at Home Goods that were already embroidered with the words "Baby Stuff" and "Baby Things", and the colors were a perfect match for the nursery theme.  Score!  Unfortunately I realized after I got home that I also needed to put my wipes warmer on one of the shelves, so that meant that two of my baskets would need to be skinny and long in order to utilize my space the best.  I found these two canvas baskets at Lowe's of all places, but Target also has some great ones right now too.  My bottom left basket holds my AIO's, AI2's, and Pockets.  My bottom right basket holds my prefolds and covers.  The top left basket holds my disposable diapers that I'll use for the first couple of days.  Later this basket will hold all my covers.  The top right basket holds my fitted and easy winged prefolds.  I also have one basket in the back that holds all my rarely needed items such as wool wash, wipes solution, etc.

Well the diapers took up all my shelving space so now I had to figure out what to do with the rest of my necessary items.  That's when I decided to add a cabinet above the changing table.  I still wanted the cabinet to look good though, so it mostly holds decorative items, but a few of my diaper changing necessities are also up there.  On the bottom left and right cubbies I have my wipes and the middle cubbie has my q-tips.  The rest is all decorative with pictures and dolls.  Under the cabinet I put three hooks.  These are great to hang a couple outfits so that you always have a change of clothes nearby.  They're also great for hanging toys for your little one to play with during diaper changes or hang your diaper cover to dry between changes.

I still had lots to organize though.  What about all my inserts, doublers, snappi's, liners, and more?  Where was I going to put all of those?!?!?!  This took me quite a bit of time to figure out.  I knew in my mind pretty much exactly what I wanted ... I just couldn't find one.  I wanted something skinny (about 6 inches) and deep (about 18 inches).  I wanted it to be as tall as the changing table and attach to the side.  I also knew that I wanted it to be canvas to match some of the other items in the room.  I just could not find one!!!  I almost broke down and completely sewed a storage unit, but then at the last minute I had an idea.  I decided to buy some small canvas bins that I saw at Babies R Us, string them together with ribbon, and hang them from the side of the changing table.  The storage bins even have dividers already built into them.  It was PERFECT!  In the top bin I store my wee wee covers, brush and comb, snappi's, diaper rash cream, and liners.  In the second bin I store my extra wipes and a few inserts.  The third bin has inserts and doublers.  The last bin has breast pads, my extra pail liner, wet bags, and disposable inserts.  If you don't want to take the time to modify all these bins I also found this great hanging storage unit that's ready to go at Babies R Us.  All you have to do is add ribbon to the top so you can hang it from your changing table.

You might laugh, but this is just storage for my newborn stash.  I also needed storage for my post newborn stash.  For that I purchased one of those hanging canvas storage units for the closet.  It's the perfect size to hold everything that Lincoln won't fit in when he's born.  I love that it's easily accessible so I can check now and then to see what diapers I can pull out next for Lincoln to use.

All that's left for my changing station is my diaper pail.  I have a basic swing top trash can I got from Target and I use a Planet Wise pail liner inside.  I love the way the top swings in so all I have to do is drop my diaper on top and the diaper will fall in.  I also love that the trash can is plastic so it's easy to clean if I need to.  Another detail that's great about my changing station is that our nursery is attached to a restroom so I have quick access to a sink as well as the toilette for diaper spraying.  The laundry room is also just next door so everything is in close proximity.  I love it!

Well, that's another thing I can check off my list.  Diaper changing station is prepped and ready to go!  I think the setup is going to work out great and I hope it helps to stir some ideas for you when you're organizing your changing station.  Feel free to share your changing station pics on my Facebook page.  I'd love to see them and see if I need to make any changes.  Till then keep checking back for more posts about my Adventures In Fluff.