Lets face it we all love Target, whether to roam the aisles leisurely, spend hundreds of dollars when you only went in for shavers ( and then proceeded to forget said shavers), grab an indulgent cup of coffee from Starbucks, buy out the dollar spot with items that you absolutely don't need (but can now theme out an entire party with...give me all the chalkboard items) and bask in all the Cat & Jack cuteness.

She is a REALLY relaxed Target shopper

Although I may not be the baby food making type #dontjudge, I will say my talents lie in being an organizing guru and maximizing space, especially when it comes to baby stuff. Hullo all the chalkboard labels and glass jars at the Dollar Spot. There are not a lot of baby essentials I swear by in that I learned early on that one mama blogs treasure is another mama's "what was I thinking" and "why does my baby hate this must have item" (here is looking at you newborn rocker). We literally have a closet full of these must have items that E.V. just never took to, but are saving in case the potential next one "can't live without it". I have an entire storage container (one of the big ones mind you) filled with an assortment of bottles and nipples since E.V. went through a "phase" and liked a particular bottle one day and preferred another the next.

If I did have to pick a can't live without item, or at least one that can be used for multiple things once you no longer use it for baby, it would be the rolling Room Essentials storage cart from Target. In fact, I didn't just purchase one, but three for the baby and I use one in the bathroom for all my hair and makeup essentials (mama likes her products, what can I say?). Ikea does have one as well, but one, I never find it easy to just go into Ikea and two, it is more expensive and a pain in the butt to return if any pieces are missing. Have I mentioned I also hate parking at Ikea more than anything? It is right up there with Costco. But, I digress (as per usual)...I never realized the importance of having these carts until E.V. figured out how to roll and never stopped moving since. These carts are perfect for mama's who like everything in one spot and do not like to see your counters cluttered.

I have one cart in the bedroom. E.V. was born with respiratory issues and was in the NICU for 4.5 months of her life, so it was suggested that she stay in our room for at least the first year of life. She is an amazing sleeper (7-8 hours and I am nto even exaggerating) and because she is at the foot of our bed, she doesn't even really know we are in the same room with her, so when it comes time to transition her to her crib, I don't think it'll be much of an issue....or so I keep telling myself (maybe more so for me than her). The cart in the bedroom has all her bathing, cleaning, and sleeping essentials (lotions, blankets, diaper cream, diapers, etc.). Being able to roll anything she needs without stepping away from her too long or having her in my arms, has proven to be essential.

The caddy at the top of the cart holds all her bathing and cleaning items is actually from Homegoods. It makes it super easy to find her nail clippers, hair brush, thermometer and any other small items that can be a hassle digging around for. It is a normal size caddy so I am sure whereever you purchase one it will fit. Her bath towels used to also be at the bottom, but we got her a really cute bath towel rack for what will be her bathroom, so her towels and animal bathrobes, hang in there (also purchased at Homegoods)

The second cart is in the kitchen and holds her medication, formula, bottles, food, and other baby travel items (formula dispensers, disposable placemats, travel bowls, etc.). This keeps everything off the counter and makes it easy for anyone in the house to find "her stuff." As mentioned, her two grandmothers watch her so I don't want them to have to search for anything in the house and it provides me more room in our pantry.

As you can see, it barely takes up any room and fits nicely against our wine glass buffet (also from Target). Because our floors are gray tile, I opted for the gray storage cart, plus it looked nicer up against the yellow buffet.

All the colored metal storage buckets I get during Summer time at Target's Doller Spot, I am pretty sure they are used as beer caddies.

The top of the cart has formula, medication, and her travel bag. It is actually a Vera Bradley makeup bag, but I love the size and style of it. Plus, it makes it easy to throw everything into the bag and then into her suitcase.

The second part as you can see is solely food. and the bottom is everything that we use for travel (dispensers, extra bottles, mats, storage bowls, etc). The joy of this cart is that not only is everything in one place, but if we take any staycations or go away we are not fishing around for everything. It makes packing an absolute snap and since I am the one that packs up the babe, the process is an absolute breeze and I am less likely to forget anything.

The last cart, I did not take a picture of because one, it is kind of an embaressment and two, it is kind of boring. The last cart is in her Nursery and it is her overstock of clothes. Basically her closet for the time being is my office. See Exhibit A....

Don't mind the lovely chaotic mess that was the holidays. I swear it is normally quite organized. But you can see where little miss's clothes are for the time time being. Hubs and I picked up inexpensive tension rods, I think the retail for $3 at Target and hooked up three of them. Because E.V. is a preemie, she is not growing otu of clothes nearly as fast as we thought she would have so we not only have an abundance of clothes in her size, but all the way up to 9mths (I blame Cat & Jack for this). Due to tight quarters, we now use the third cart for clothes that she does not yet fit into. This allows her to wear all her current stuff and for me to see it as well give me a little more room.

In addition these storage cubes, which I know can be found at Ikea, but once again are cheaper at Target and did I mention the easier parking as well as the fabric crates I use for onesies, jammies and pants that can't be hung #becauseiamextralikethat. This provides me the room I need in the meantime for my office without sacrificing any of her own space.

Basically all the storage in our home is one big shout out to Target!

As a brand new mama who is also a brand new homeowner, maximizing space was imperative to both myself and my husband. We both like for things to have a place, but we also didn't want it to feel sterile either. We also didn't want to make purchases that wouldn't make sense in the home once she got older.

These items will not only make any mama's life easier but can be repurposed for something else in the future (laundry room, toy storage, etc). Kudos to that!

#Preemie #Target #TargetBaby #BabyEssentials #BabyFurniture #StorageCart #RoomEssentials #nurseryfurniture #Targetfurniture #RoomEssential