Storage for Strollers, Carseats, Activity Toys

I know what you mean! I wanted to save -everything- from my first. (and we weren't even planing on ever having another one) But it's a good thing I did hang on to stuff. To store stuff like strollers, I just used those big heavy duty trash bags. I put the stroller into one and put another over the top and taped them both together. Since they were heavy duty, I didn't have any problems with it taring. Sheets and the like will do well too. Take apart anything and everything that you can to try to save room. Boxes do work nice too as they stack very well. :) Anything that I couldn't keep, I sold to one of those baby resell shops and saved the money, or gave to friends. Which I just got back anyways because I found out I was pregnant and they weren't anymore. lol!

Hope this helps! Good luck! :D

You may not think it is wise to sell the stuff then rebuy--but it beats paying for storage. I say sell to a kid to kid store and re-buy when needed.
good luck!
S. C

We put our stuff in trash bags in the attic. You can buy really large lawn bags if you need extra big ones, but all of our items fit in regular ourdoor trash bags. They didn't rip for us. And we labeled everything since the bags aren't see-through. Good luck!

I went to Lowe's and found a roll of plastic storage wrap and used that. It is just like the plastic that grocery stores use on the stacked merchandise being stored in the back before it is put on the shelves. It is very heavy duty and comes with a handle coming out of both ends of the roll so you just walk around the item you are wrapping pulling it out as you go around the item. I bought one roll for around 20 bucks and have been using on it for about 4 or 5 years now. lol I hope that made sense to you. :o)

I would not put any of the baby stuff in the attic. The heat (here in Texas) distroys any natural products, not to mention if they are not prefectly clean you will get mold growth anywhere there is a trace of food or sticky finger residue. If you are short on closet space, I would consider renting a small 5X5 climate controled storage unit ($15-20). If you do rent a unit make sure you do these things: get a few old wooden pallets and put them on the floor to keep all your stuff off it, buy a humidity rid product and change it as directed, get rodent rid and put it on the floor.

Good luck!

If you have a garage, they have shelves that suspend down from the cieling. also you could buy risers for all of the beds in your home and make more use of the space under your bed.Many closets don't utilize their space very well, perhaps a second shelf around the top of some of your closets will accomodate a few items.

If you have any old sheets lying around just sew up all but one side and create a trash bag with extra strength! The bag sheet will protect things and it's durable! No extra sheets? Try Goodwill or a garage sale for sheets:) You don't have to be a great seamstress, just sew a line (wavy or not)!

Make sure you remove any batteries from toys-they will corrode and ruin the item. Some of those toys are best sold while in better shape. Especially electronic toys-the dust/heat ruin them. Children don't need all of them. Be very careful on storing clothes-I did for 2 years and had to trash most of them. The elastic rots and they came out with yellow stains. I found out these were milk that you can't see when washing but the protein stays in the fabric. Sort thru them carefully and sell some of them. I am the youngest of 6 and had nothing but hand me downs so remember your new child deserves to have some things new-even in this economy!!
Try taking some to a re-sale shop and see what you can get for them. YOu can go back to that same re-sale shop to buy what you need for the 2nd child. If you get a storage building, the cost will be about the same. Hope the advice helps.

We bought a big tub. I pulled off the fabric parts that I could and stored those with the clothes incase of water damage and to prevent mold. The rest we put in a big tote. They make them big enough for most strollers and car seats and spending $5-10 for a good tote to preserve a $300 travel set seems like a good investment. Good luck.

Jackie,

Try carrying the stuff up to the attic - THEN put them in the big bags - no need to worry about torn bags.

I also recommend a separate section/area in the attic for baby stuff, if space permits, and label everything - BIG AS DALLAS (I usually use a Sharpie on a 9x12 paper, then tape it to the bag or box). A friend told me recently that her one-year-old didn't get to wear some of her favorite 6-9 month outfits, because that box wasn't labeled well, and was set to the side, away from all the other clothes.

Warning: If nobody else has given you a heads-up, there is something about storing baby clothes, that brings out milk-stains. I spoke with an employee at Children's Orchard (one of my favorite resale shops), and she said (if I recall correctly) that breast milk is worse than formula. She had recently pulled an outfit out of storage to sell (once the correct season rolled around), and it was stained VERY badly. She KNOWS they never would have bought something that stained, so. . . there's definitely something about storage that brings out the 'ick.'

Best wishes,
M.

I recommend saving, here is what I have done...

I am not planning on having another child anytime soon, mine is 2 this month, but I did want to hold onto as much as I could. I had a large shower with lots of baby stuff and as my son out grew the clothes/toys/items I found that I had no place to store anything. I live in a mobile home so there is no such thing as storage and I am a little OCD about clutter and I refuse to have anything under a bed, thanks to my mom growing up. I rent a storage building and keep other kinds in it besides baby items so I don’t feel that I am wasting the money. As for the clothes, if my son did not use it I gave it away as for the clothes that I wanted to keep I started purchasing the Rubbermaid containers and each size is in its own box. Yes, they are all full from newborn to 12 months. They stack very well and high. This is good for when you have another child and you just get out a box as you need it. As for the toys and smaller items (wipe warmer/ bottles), went into Rubbermaid containers labeled and sorted by age. As for the larger items (carrier, bouncer, walker, ext.) I was able to get these large clear industrial trash bags and I put them into those and taped them up. This way they were clear and if I need to get them out them I can see them. I do like the plastic wrap idea, I might be doing that for future items. If you know of anyone pregnant offer to loan out the larger items, my friend and sister in law are using some of the larger items. Just beware with cardboard boxes they attract roaches and mice. The Rubbermaid containers are plastic and have the lid on them. I buy them at Lowes for about $5 - $6, if you buy as you go it does not seem like so much money. Better to be safe then sorry and open up something later to see that some little rodent made a new home with your baby's clothes.

Good Luck!!!

Jackie,
Have you considered storing the larger items under the beds? I use dust ruffles on all of my beds, even did on the crib, and found that space helped me out a lot. I now use the lifters you can buy at Bed, Bath and Beyond to lift my beds up, so I can store more under there. You cannot see the lifters with the dust ruffle and after a while, I don't even notice the bed is higher. If I did not have to have a single thing under my bed, I would love it, but that is not the way my life is! We also added an additional shelf to our clothes closet, up above the top shelf. We could only do a half shelf, due to the closet opening, but we found it helped us out a lot. I also store some items in wooden trunks that I use as coffee tables and also use our couches (with skirts on them) to store folding tables and chairs. By moving around some of the items to store to other locations, you may find you can utilize your closet space for the larger, bulkier items. Good luck!

Hello,
I have a 6 month old baby girl and so I am also beginning to put things away. I read you put the clothes in boxes I was doing that until I decided to try those storage bags that you vacuum the air out. I loved them. They really shrinked everything and gave me more space. You should try it out and that will pretty much double your space in the closet. I bought the large bags at walmart for 10 dollars. I hope you decide to try this.

Do you have a yard? Meaning, you live in a house not an apartment?
This is how I solved my storage problem; I went to Home Depot and purchased a Rubbermaid Storage shed. They basically have three sizes, small, medium and large. I opted for the medium. The cost was around 500 bucks. Now, before you faint, this is how I figured it to be cost effective. After finding the one I wanted, I went to e-bay, craigslist and the sort, trying to find a used one, to no avail. I bit the bullet and went to buy a new one. I told the salesman I was trying to find a used one and he giggled while saying,"good luck". He said the resale of these are wonderful. So, I bought it for 500, will use it for two years and will sell it for 350-400. Even if I get 300, that makes my storage price about 8 bucks a month (less if I get more, which I'm sure I will)
It is a great shed. Essentially a giant container. Inside that container, are all my totes, child swing, bouncy chair, etc, etc. The best part is that it is easy to get in and out of and you dont have that dusty "attic" stuff everywhere. Good luck in your venture....If you havent solved your problem in a year, I know where you can get a storage shed for cheap!!! (wink, wink)

Margaret :)

Old sheets or blankets will work they can be tied with tape or a piece of ribbon even they should not tear going up the ladder. I know about the cost of replacing these. Better to save if possible. A trunk can hold a lot of things and stores good, this might also be a help with some of the things that you have in box's, they also stack on top of each other. good luck

I store awkwardly shaped items in heavy duty outdoor trash bags. The bags are great at keeping dust and bugs out. You can double bag items as well...bag it the first time, then turn the item around and bag it again. That way both openings are not exposed at the same point.