7 Tips for Staying Organized During & After Your Baby Shower

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About to have your baby shower or just had it and feeling slightly overwhelmed? No worries! Here are seven tips to help you get organized and on top of it all during a time when extra stress is the last thing you need.

1. When it’s time to open gifts at your shower, ask 2-3 of your friends to help you with the following roles:

The Handler: She responsible for handing each gift to you to open and announcing who it’s from. Everyone likes to see the mom-to-be’s reaction when she opens the gift she selected for her and it’s nice to give each gift-giver a heads up that hers is next.

The Scribe: She's responsible for writing down each gift and who it’s from. Try to pick a friend who’s very detailed oriented who will write something like “pink and purple striped onesie” vs. “onesie” since you’re likely to get quite a few of the latter. If she’s really cool (and maybe a tad bit anal), she’ll put everything in a nice neat spreadsheet for you after the shower so that you can easily keep track of everything and even add fields like “thank you” card sent.

The Organizer: She’s responsible for making sure that all of the gifts are neatly re-packaged with their cards after you open them. Or, if there’s no card, then she's got a Post-it pad nearby to label all the cardless gifts.

2. When you get home, don’t try to sort through the gifts right away. Give yourself a day or two to just decompress before you get to work. And when you do, it's a good idea to have a family member or friend around to help you.

3. As you begin sorting, separate the gifts into two piles: 1.) Things that you’ll use within the first six months; and 2.) Things that you’ll use later. Put everything that you’re not using in the first six months (e.g. a highchair) away.

4. Take a photo of each gift with the card and/or Post-it showing the name of the gift-giver. I used the photos to help me add a personal touch to my “thank you” cards and to help jog my memory when I wanted to send photos later of us using the gifts to many of the gift-givers. When people know that you appreciate their gifts, they feel like their money was well spent and the gifts keep coming. Just sayin'.

5. Wash all clothes, wash cloths and towels in a baby-safe/gentle detergent, fold them and put them away. Although some might beg to differ, your baby won’t actually need a wipes warmer, a white noise machine or a bouncy seat when she first comes home, but she will need freshly washed clothes and wash cloths. So make this the first thing you do, just in case she decides to make an early arrival. You won’t need the towels immediately, but it’s still a good idea to wash them at the same time.

6. Use closet dividers to separate the clothes by month (e.g., 0-3 months, 3 months, 3-6 months & 6 months). You can get these from Babies "R" Us, or, if you really want to get fancy, you can head over to Etsy to check out some great handmade collections that can also be customized.

7. Start writing your “thank you” cards within the first five days after your shower and send them out in batches as you complete them so that you don’t get overwhelmed. I used the spreadsheet that I mentioned in #1 to keep track of whose cards were sent and when. I don’t recommend starting any later than this, otherwise you might be writing your cards after the baby arrives, and trust me, you’ll already have more than enough on your mommy plate once she’s here. Trust me.

I hope this list helps you get a little more organized and a lot less stressed! Here's a clip of me sharing a few of these tips on Great Day Washington (WUSA-9):

Check out my next post in my countdown to “D” (Delivery) day series, entitled, "What to Pack in Your Hospital Bag."

Hey Haute Mamas! I'm Riche Holmes Grant, a modern mom + mompreneur who designs smart + stylish products that make your mommy gig easier.

When I'm not busy taking orders from my #miniboss, I'm contributing to MarthaStewart.com or in the kitchen whipping up delicious family-friendly creations in my BambiniWare Apronini.

Get my FREE book on How to Make the Best Food for Your Baby here!

I live in the Washington, DC area with my husband and daughter. Follow our adventures on Instagram via @BambiniWareLife!