Then Along Came Baby…Saving Space for New Parents
Man meets woman, sweet romance ensues. Before too long the knot is tied and not too long after that a baby makes three. Nothing could be sweeter, but with the new baby in tow will you have the room in your home amongst all of your things?
Fortunately there is a solution and, surprisingly, it won’t hit you too hard in the wallet: self storage. While being able to drop some bills for a bigger and better place that could hold every single possession of yours and your loved one is no doubt the ideal, let’s face it, self storage centers are much cheaper, much more accessible, and will make it easier for you to save the possessions of your ‘pre-baby’ life instead of just discarding it and kicking yourself later for losing that electric guitar from your first high-school band.
What follows is the skinny on the best characteristics of a storage facility and some general tips on the where and how with which new parents can score big space and storage in light of the new little life between them.
Storage Spots In Your Area
With the increase in profit that has been gained by the creation of the self storage business, a plethora of locations to choose from are almost always close to home, but it’s important to choose wisely as there exist great variations in the kind of storage that each company offers.
Amongst the available facilities, there are a wealth of different options that provide different flavors of the same basic service. Some storage facilities are cheaper than others, but they will lack amenities such as climate controlled areas and price guarantees. Others can be more expensive but include qualities that you may not need – such as too large of a space, or 24 hour access – which you then end up paying for in the bottom line. Additionally, some of the bigger companies will come at the cost of not having accessible and helpful staff.
And considering many big city dwellers don’t own vehicles, it can help to look for a storage company that also offers moving service, so that they can come pick up your stuff for you. But if you’re looking to save money and don’t own a vehicle, it might then be wise to go with a storage company that will rent you a truck so as to cut back on the time involved in renting a truck elsewhere and bringing it back to the rental company.
On the Home Front
So you’ve outsourced what you could to every storage depository in your neighborhood. But just as you’ve begun to congratulate yourself and your spouse you realize that while your home has lost some weight it could still use a little cosmetic surgery, at least for your baby who hasn’t quite learned the subtleties of feng shui. Here are some ideas to keep in mind that may make your babe’s new home something that you’ll all remember fondly, think ‘Little House’ meets ‘Full House’ except maybe somewhere in the middle of nowhere.
Baby-proof, safety first, and Rounding the Edges
Surely no new parent needs to be told this but safety comes first, above and beyond every other consideration. Whether in converting a room to a nursery or just in every other spot of your happy home, all spaces should be screened for baby safety.
Baby-proof all exposed electrical sockets, remove all sharp objects or pieces of furniture (especially if it’s your former office, work station, or art studio your converting) with sharp edges/corners from the intended nursery as well as any area the baby could conceivably come into contact with.
What to do when you’re thinking Nursery
Though your blessed new arrival may not appreciate how you organized his/her first nursery is, it can really be worth your while to keep these ideas in mind. The size of the room permitting, fashion the room with a purpose and designate specific areas for specific functions. One corner for a changing station, one for the crib, a spot for toys and, of course, a closet and/or area for clothes, this will create an ease and a flow to the room that will better ease the transition from new to veteran parenthood. Don’t forget with all the concern for safety and efficient space usage that this is your baby. Paint the nursery in soft and soothing colors, maybe add a cartoon character or five (maybe indulge some favorite character from yester-year), and have fun with it since happy parents help to make happy children.
Going from being a couple to being a couple with a newborn child can be, to say the least, a journey of roller coaster like stability, thrills, chills, peaks and valleys included. But with all the aforementioned tips your formerly stuffed house can quickly become a family home.
Byline: Jared Friedman hopes to be an amazing parent one day. For now, he enjoys helping parents prepare their homes for new arrivals as a content editor for Westy, a full service self-storage facility. When he’s not writing, Jared enjoys exploring the many hidden neighborhoods of Manhattan.