Organizing A Diaper Changing Station

Hey, to all you moms-to-be out there...you do not...I repeat, you DO NOT have to buy one of those fancy diaper changing pieces of furniture. Sure it looks like it might convert into something that doesn't look like a diaper changing station in the future. And sure, it's a great match to the crib you want. But do you really want to spend that money? Do you really want to have that furniture forever?

Honestly, I don't have anything against those diaper changing/dresser things. I just didn't have the money for one when my first was born (still don't for that matter!), so I thought I'd share what we did instead.

Here's a picture of "The Poop Station" at our house. Let's start at the left and move right.

First, we have a good old fashioned dresser. When I say old fashioned...I mean OLD fashioned! This was the very dresser that my Dear Hubby had as a child. It used to be dark blue with wooden knobs and remnants of "A-Team" stickers on it. It's particle board. I had to dig deep to see it's potential.

I sanded it down, primed it, and then painted it this gender-neutral green (we didn't know if we were having a boy or girl). I added some cute knobs, and splurged on the fancy changing table pad. You can buy these, along with fabric covers, separately. It's important to attach it to the top of the dresser for safety. The pad I bought came with a way to attach it. Most do.

Moving on...the diaper pail. We had a number of different diaper pails. This garbage can works as well as any. Here's a news flash: poop and pee? They smell gross. There is not a fancy container in the world right now...nor will there ever be a container or bag ever invented that makes poop and pee smell good.

Use a good garbage can with a plastic bag. The garbage can lid should close all the way with no gaps. My favorite part of using just the garbage can is that we can use plain old garbage bags. Those special diaper pail liners/bags cost a fortune. Save your money for college...or for a massage (for you, not baby)...or for a second honeymoon...or, if you're really lucky, a cool minivan!

And then there's the storage. You'll need a place to put the diapers, wipes, lotion, Kleenexes, etc. I found this cute bookshelf at Target for a reasonable price. It would have been more frugal to find a used/old bookshelf and refinish it too...but I only have so much frugal in me! I wanted something new, and I just loved this particular bookshelf with all it's little shelves and cubbies. I got one for my older kids' rooms too...makes a great toy/book shelf for the older kids.

Do you see that I have 2 Kleenex boxes on the shelf? One of them contains...Kleenexes (surprise!). The other one contains plastic grocery sacks. I use these for the real stinky diapers. Toss all the smelly stuff into the bag, tie it off, and bring it right to the garage. The Kleenex brand tissue box (or any other "one up" type tissue box) is a great way to store your grocery bags. If you put them in one at a time, they also come out one at a time (and you'd be shocked by how many you can stuff in there!).

So that's it! That's my organizing post for the day...week...month? OK, year. :)

I'm just kidding. I really love to organize...I'll share some more ideas later (can you hardly wait?!)