How to Organize a Baby Dresser

One of my fondest pregnancy memories was preparing a nursery for my soon-to-be new baby. I remember folding his tiny clothes, sorting them in his baby dresser, and imagining how we would someday use that space together.

Organizing a baby dresser is a sweet part of preparing for a new baby. It’s also practical and necessary! 

By organizing your baby’s dresser, you are also creating a system for efficient diaper and outfit changes – two things you will be doing a LOT in the first months/year of your baby’s life. 

Set yourself (and your baby!) up for success with these tips on how to organize a baby dresser.

How to Organize a Baby Dresser

I have broken up the process of organizing a baby dresser into six steps, which sounds like a lot.

But once you have the baby’s clothes, gear, and dresser drawer bins and dividers in hand, this project shouldn’t take you longer than an hour or so to complete.

Step 1: Assess Your Inventory

As with any organizing project, assessing your inventory is the best way to start. In this case, that will most likely be baby clothes and diapering supplies. 

Once you have your baby’s clothes and gear, it’s time to sort. Here are some categories that I found helpful for this step.

Clothing and Accessory Type

Here are a few of the most common baby clothes and accessories you might be organizing. 

Some of these categories are unnecessary and just for fun (e.g., baby shorts, baby shoes, hair accessories, and more). 

But if you’re excited to accessorize your baby, go ahead and set aside space for these items!

• Onesies
• Pants
• Shorts (optional for babies, in my opinion)
• Dresses 
• Socks
• Jammies
• Swaddles
• Shoes
• Hats
• Bows
• Turbans
• Tights

Clothing Size 

Investing in bins to store future clothing sizes for your baby might be helpful. I keep a bin in each boy’s bedroom for clothes they’ve grown out of or are growing into. 

In the first year, babies transition to new sizes every few months, and you might be able to fit the next few sizes in their dresser without separate extra storage bins.

• Newborn
• 0-3 Months
• 3-6 Months
• …and beyond!

Diapering

Whether you choose cloth or disposable diapers, you will need a storage system. 

Babies go through SO many diapers in the first few months, so make sure to equip yourself with a comfortable diaper-changing area with all the supplies you need.

If your baby’s dresser will double as their changing table (the best way to go, in my opinion), making space for their diapering supplies is especially helpful.

• Diapers
• Wipes
• Diaper Cream
• Lotion

Health, Grooming, and Other Gear

Besides clothing and diapers, I found it helpful to store a handful of health and grooming supplies in my baby’s dresser.

• Pacifiers
• Pacifier Clips
• Thermometer
• Nasal Aspirator
• Nail Clippers
• Hair Brush
• Burp Cloths
• Blankets

Step 2: Systemize Baby Dresser Drawers

How you systemize and designate drawers to a specific category depends on the size and design of your baby’s dresser!

While dressers can come in all shapes and sizes, most will have at least three sets of drawers: top, middle, and bottom. 

It can be helpful to assign a general category to each of these dresser drawers or “zones” while you’re getting organized.

Top Drawers – Diapering

If your dresser pulls double duty as a changing table, I recommend storing the baby’s diapering supplies in the top drawer(s). 

This makes for easy access to clean diapers, diaper creams, or wipes when you’re in the middle of a precarious diaper change. 

I also like to keep certain grooming and health supplies in the top drawers, like the baby’s hairbrush, nail clippers, lotion, and a thermometer. 

If your baby wears accessories like bows or turbans, you can also designate space for them here.

Middle Drawers – Everyday Clothing

I put seasonally appropriate, everyday clothes in the middle drawers. 

I used to keep warm weather clothes in the left middle drawer and cool weather clothes in the right middle drawer. 

By keeping all the middle drawers dedicated to everyday clothes in my baby’s current size, my husband could easily dress and change him without asking for help.

Bottom Drawers – Swaddles, Blankets, Future Clothes

If you’re changing a wiggly baby on top of their dresser, reaching down to a lower drawer for everyday supplies is not easy (or particularly safe). 

Instead, use the bottom drawers for items you need occasionally and not with every diaper or outfit change. 

Think swaddles, blankets, and clothes in the next size up.

Step 3: Consider Dresser Top Storage

The top of your baby’s dresser is a great place to store diaper-changing supplies.

Invest in a diaper-changing pad with a good grip underneath so it won’t slip around. 

Consider investing in a wipe dispenser if you’re using disposable wipes. I used to think these were unnecessary, but if you’re trying to grab a wipe with one hand, then a dispenser like this one is key.

You can keep supplies like baby hair accessories, lotion, and diaper cream in an attractive caddy on top of your baby’s dresser.

Step 4: Invest in Baby Dresser Organizing Tools

Now that you know what will go where it’s finally time to consider bins and drawer dividers. 

Bins

I like using small bins inside drawers to contain baby supplies. 

In one drawer, I can keep pacifiers and clips, thermometer and nasal aspirator, hairbrush and nail clippers in three separate bins.

Drawer Dividers

I like using drawer dividers to organize baby clothes. If you file-fold baby clothes in tidy rows, all you need is a drawer divider to separate each row of clothing. 

One row can be short-sleeved onesies. The next is long sleeves, then pants, then sweaters. 

Labels

I have used this inexpensive embossing label maker for years with minimal issues. 

If you’re a label person, then consider labeling each dresser drawer.

You can put a label in front of each row of baby clothes to help your partner know where to find (and put away) clean baby clothes. 

If adding stickers to your furniture makes you nervous, here’s a helpful tutorial for removing old sticker labels without damaging furniture (I recommend the hair dryer method in this case).

Risers and Storage Boxes

If you’re working with a small baby dresser and limited storage space, consider lifting your baby’s dresser with risers. 

Risers will allow you to tuck storage boxes underneath the dresser for added storage.

Step 5: Determine an Overflow Area 

After going through these organizing steps, you might be left with extras of certain items.

For instance, I always had extra diapers and wipes because I liked to stock up to minimize trips to the store. The extras sometimes fit in my baby’s dresser.

It might be helpful to determine a place to store your “back stock” of these items, whether that is a bin in your child’s closet, under their crib, or under a bathroom sink. 

Step 6: Put it All Together

Now it’s time for the fun part – putting everything away! 

By now, you have sorted, acquired bins and drawer dividers, created labels, and designated space for back stock. 

I recommend file folding or rolling baby clothes before putting them in their proper place. This saves space and makes it MUCH easier to locate the specific outfit you’re trying to find when dressing your baby.

If you have multiple matching outfits, you can fold them into a set by following the folding tutorial below.

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Final Thoughts on Organizing a Baby Dresser

Enjoy this process! Organizing your baby’s dresser is a nice time to dream about what’s to come. 

It can also be a good way to feel just a little bit more prepared for your baby’s arrival. Hopefully these tips make the process of organizing your baby’s dresser as smooth and sweet as possible!