Note from Hint Mama: Getting ready to leave the house with a baby or toddler can take a long time. There’s all the gear you have to gather and remember to take, and properly packing up the diaper bag is almost a mental puzzle of sorts – one I have yet to put together right. As I’ve mentioned before, I find it very hard to leave the house with my daughter without forgetting some essential piece of baby gear, like a bib, pacifier or bottle, or some essential piece of mom gear like sunglasses.
This is why I’m so excited to try the clever methods described below by new Hint Mama contributor Olivia Howell for getting out of the house fast with the necessary essentials. Olivia, the mom of an 8-month-old son and a full-time middle school teacher, has mastered the art of leaving the house with what she and her son really need. Here’s her first hint.
Before I had my son, I was the type of woman who could be ready to get out of the door in fifteen minutes. I took great pride in that, and though all the stereotypes said otherwise, I didn’t want becoming a mom to change this aspect of my life.
But once my son arrived eight months ago, I quickly realized that figuring out what a baby needs when you are out in the world takes time; sometimes it took me as long as an hour to prepare to go out in the early months. I definitely overstuffed my diaper bag for those first few outings with unnecessary gear like too many blankies and five changes of clothing; and further, I hated lugging around both my giant purse and the diaper bag.
However, as time passed, I hit on two organizing methods that allow me to be super efficient and out the door with my son in no time at all, and with all necessary gear and personal belongings in tow. These two methods –fitting your necessities into your baby’s diaper bag and fitting your baby’s necessities into your purse– are today’s hint.
I tend to waver between the two methods, depending on where we are going and what we need. Most of the time, I use the “I fit my items into the diaper bag” approach. After lugging two bags around one too many times, I realized that I needed an organized way to fit my belongings inside my son’s diaper bag. I didn’t want them floating all over the place, and there wasn’t a pocket to spare, so I did a little shopping (oh well!).
I bought myself a black clutch, with an easy-to-open closure (one of my requirements was that the clutch must be able to open with one hand!). In this clutch, I have room for my wallet, keys and phone.
When I know we will have the stroller, and therefore, I can throw the diaper bag in the bottom of it, I put my belongings in my clutch, and I put the clutch into the diaper bag. When I go to work in the morning, and my son goes to grandma’s, I simply take my clutch of necessities out of the diaper bag and throw it into my giant leather bag.
This clutch method lessens the chance that I’ll forget to take my things out of the diaper bag (which has happened!), since everything is already grouped together and ready to go from diaper bag to purse and back again. The diaper bag is usually packed already and ready to go (I don’t switch the emergency clothes unless they are used or my son grew).
However, if we are going somewhere sans stroller and with our car, I use the “baby’s items fit into my purse” method. I certainly don’t want to lug around my nice leather bag and the giant diaper bag; and sometimes, if we’re going someplace fancier, I don’t want to be carrying a huge diaper tote bag.
So, I’ve figured out what my son actually needs when we are out of the house: formula packets, a bottle, diapers, wipes, a change of clothes and a toy. The nice aspect of the modern world is that there is a pharmacy pretty much on every block, so I just pack the necessities. If we need something beyond the necessities, we can always find somewhere to quickly shop.
I neatly folded all of these necessities, and packed them into a gallon-size plastic zip-top disposable bag. When I squeezed the air out of it, it ended up being pretty small, and so easy to throw into my bag.
I keep the plastic bag of necessities in the car, so I always have it with me if I need to run into a store and just hold the baby; I update the items in the bag every few weeks, or if we used something in it. I like the security in knowing that I can grab the plastic bag from the back of the car, throw it in my purse, and quickly run into the bank, supermarket, etc.
And often times, if I know our car will be accessible to us during an outing, I will leave the diaper bag in the car, and throw the plastic bag of gear into my purse; we can always run back to the car. But as it’s sometimes a hassle to get the stroller and diaper bag out of the car, the necessities bag gives me the option not to do that, which is wonderful.
Now that I have these methods down, it takes about a half an hour to get myself and my son ready, the bag packed and us out the door. Seriously (yes, that’s a little longer than 15 minutes, but not by much, so I feel like I’ve found happy medium!).
What are your tricks for more quickly getting out of the house with a baby? Share them below.
Olivia Howell is a new mom living with her son, Weston, and husband on Long Island. When she’s not blogging about parenthood over at The Lovely Sisters, she is teaching middle school Latin and Ancient History. She is also a quilter, paleo cook, and loves rearranging her living room on Saturday nights. Follow her on Twitter, Instagram and Pinterest.
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Great article! Sometimes my wheels keep spinning until the logistically easier way of life finds me! This article helped me to visualize a simple and “makes sense” way of organizing a simpler life. Thanks!