Have you Kon Mari’d your baby’s nursery yet? This trendy decluttering philosophy may have a positive impact on your baby’s sleep.
Marie Kondo’s book The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up and inspired Netflix series is sweeping the nation. It seems like everyone is hopping on board with decluttering using Kondo’s method of keeping only what “sparks joy.”
Applying the Kon Mari principles to your baby’s nursery will yield many positive results, including better sleep! And as all new parents know, better sleep for the baby means better sleep for mom and dad too.
Here’s why:
Tranquility = Rest. Clearing out the clutter means less stimulation. Bedrooms need to be restful environments to be conducive to sleep. Neatly organizing a select few items will keep the nursery’s aura peaceful.
Fewer Toys = More Mental Stimulation. A few carefully chosen toys will properly engage your baby’s developing mind. It has been shown that kids play more when they have fewer toys.
A baby with too many toys or toys that are not yet developmentally appropriate becomes overwhelmed. She tends to tear them all down from the shelves, accomplishing not much more than creating a mess. On the other hand, a baby presented with a handful of engaging toys arranged neatly tends to focus intently and play productively.
You may be wondering what this has to do with sleep. Babies need a very specific amount of stimulation throughout their awake time to promote good sleep. Too much and they are completely hyped up. Too little and they just are not tired. Making your nursery a good environment for playtime helps sleep just as much as making it a good environment for sleep time.
Chill Mom = Chill Baby. When the nursery is beautiful, organized, and easy to maintain, parents will breathe easy. Babies pick up on their caregivers’ emotions. If mom is stressed and overwhelmed in the nursery, that can negatively affect her child’s sleep. When she is calm and relaxed, the baby will reflect this, helping with sleep.
How To Kon Mari Your Baby’s Nursery:
The Kon Mari method has you go through your home, progressing through set categories. For each category, you take out everything and put it into a big pile. Then you go through each item and keep those which “spark joy”. Once you’ve decided what to keep, you find a place for everything in your home.
The Kon Mari categories are, respectively, clothing, books, papers, komono (miscellaneous), and sentimental. Adjust a little for your nursery like so:
- Clothing
- Books
- Toys
- Swaddles & Bedding
- Diapering
- Sentimentals
How To Decide What To Keep
You can’t really sit down and ask a baby if something sparks joy, so this is a joint effort. You will have to make the decisions but keep your baby’s likes and dislikes in mind. There is no reason to have a toy in his room if he has no interest in it.
Ask yourself:
- Is this object engaging or liked by my baby?
- Is it visually appealing or texturally appealing (nice to touch)?
- Does it play a practical role in the nursery?
- Is there a place it fits?
Remember to find a place for every object you decide to keep. Always keep it in its place. As your little one ages, you may need to adjust. You may also be pleasantly surprised to see that she puts her toys and shoes back into place all on her own.
A calm and serene nursery will promote good sleep. So Kon Mari your nursery today!
