72 Hour Kits for Babies - Special Post!

I came across a pin about 72 Hour Kits for Babies. Of course! We would need one for the baby too. I have used the Food Storage Made Easy for reference before and was pleased to see they had a section on infant 72 hours kits.

I didn't follow the list exactly but used it as an excellent jumping off point. Here is what I have:

Of course, the kit has changed a little as Angela has grown, and will continue to change. But here are my basics:

• Infant acetaminophen (Tylenol)
• Travel-sized shampoo
• Travel-sized lotion
• Travel-sized baby powder
• Travel-sized baby soap
• Desitin
• Two onesies and one pair of little pants
• Socks
• Infant-sized towel (is soft and can double as blanket, if needed)
• Little washcloth
• Bib
• Jersey-knit blankets (2)
• Muslin blanket
• Diapers
• Wipes
• (6) 8 oz. ready-feed formula bottles 
• Empty Playtex drop-ins bottle
• Drop-ins for the bottle (I figured this would allow us to get by without washing the bottle over and over)
• Extra nipples for the bottle
• (5) 2nd-stage prepared baby foods

Now. Here's the important part. I do NOT leave home without a well-stocked diaper bag. In a disaster, the diaper bag is coming too! Here is the list of my diaper bag contents:

• Diapers
• Wipes
• Bib
• Blanket (usually muslin)
• Pacifier
• Few toys/books
• Change of clothes (onesie and bottoms)
• Container with powdered food (pumpkin in our case), powdered formula, and rice cereal
• Four little spoons
• Card with pediatrician's info
• Cold storage compartment for already-made bottles
• Extra bottles (already-made)
• Wet storage bag for damp clothes or dirty diapers or whatever you need to seal and store

Keep in mind, this is a list adapted for our family, our baby's needs, and our environment. We live where it is HOT. We are not likely to need more blankets, even in the colder months. Keeping hydrated is going to be much more critical than food, so we need more bottle room than baby food space. Lastly, fitting all of this was a little tricky, so I had to be clever. For example, I rolled up the bib, socks, etc., and stuffed them inside the empty bottle:

Also, rolling blankets and clothes takes up less space than folding. I'd love to hear your tips and ideas for baby 72-hour kits! Please share in the comments!

Holepunched Cards as Keepsake: 5/5

Do you keep all of the cards you receive from people? I do. When my dad passed away, I realized he kept 100's of cards he'd gotten over the years. I went through them all and kept the ones that were sentimental or especially funny. Even though I bemoaned my dad's slight hoarding instinct while going through the rest of his things, I was glad to have those memories.

The problem is that these cards take up space! And they're a pain to organize. My dad had a box. And it worked. But it wasn't great. I, on the other hand, had a folder or two in our filing cabinet. It didn't work much better except that it gave me reasonable space constraints (so I couldn't save too many, which I saw as a good thing). SimpleMom.net has some wonderful ideas here! I have used the scrapbooking idea for Baby Girl's cards in her keepsake book, and I loved it! Sadly, it took about a billion years (or at least several hours) to cut apart all of her cards and attempt to collage them artistically. I liked the journal idea but don't have a journal that can be taken apart, so the hole punching thing would be out of the question.

Some pinner along the way had an idea to hole-punch the cards and make them into their own "book." No extra writing required! I gathered all of my folders and sorted the cards. I made categories such as, from Mom, condolence cards, from husband, etc. Then I borrowed a friend's fancy hole-puncher and got to it! I am terribly ashamed of my photography, but I was super excited about the book results!

P.S. The card with the orange and yellow birds was made by my talented friend Meredith. You can check out her other lovely work on her website Lily Jane Stationery. I wish she lived closer so she could take my pictures for me!

Cereal Container for Car Trash: 4/5

Another easy organization tip! Can you tell I love these? I've had a plastic bag in my car for trash collecting. You know, the used tissues, granola bar wrappers, unwanted receipts, and other random debris. Sometimes the bag spills. And sometimes I worry that ants are going to pick up the scent and make a home in my car.

A cereal container was the solution I didn't know I was looking for. I even found a container that was designed to store cereal while still in the bag; it was easy to just stuff it with a plastic bag. Of course it seals, so I'm less worried about tossing food-related garbage in it. Then when it's full, I'll just toss the bag and put in a new one.

My only complaint is that it does roll around in the car. I don't have a middle console, so the "garbage pail" is underfoot. I'm sure I could weight it down or even velcro it under the dash or something like that. Any suggestions?

In-Style In Boxes: 3/5

These storage boxes are much cuter than the organizers on most desks. I didn't need standard paper size filer, but I thought using mini cereal boxes could make a great coupon organizer. They worked pretty well. I was too lazy to use pretty tape, so I just used plain old duct tape. I do feel like the organizer is lop-sided. Cereal boxes are cheaply made and thus aren't exactly the same size and shape (it's not like the manufacturers are worried about producing perfect craft boxes).

I'm sure most people would be able to make an organizer that looks better and less shoddy than mine. It works though and is still more fun (and cheap) than anything I would've bought. I have two of three more boxes saved so that I can give another one a try. Now I just need to convince myself to eat Lucky Charms, Golden Grahams, or Trix . . . Maybe the husband would like to do it for me.

Gift Wrap Door (er....shelves) 4/5

Wrapping paper is a regular frustration for me. I've wanted to get a hanging door organizer for awhile (my mother-in-law has one that I love!) but haven't found one that fits my needs. The rolls of wrapping paper have just been crammed in the closet where they aren't easily accessible and often unroll. Then a friend on Pinterest posted a gift wrap door.

My closet doesn't have a swinging door but has sliding doors instead. However, I do have a metal shelving unit in the closet, and it was perfect for hanging the gift wrap.

I found some cheap shower curtain hooks from Amazon.com and clipped the rolls onto the side of the shelves. Done. Couldn't have been easier.

Battery Storage in a Tackle Box: 4/5

Excellent idea. I don't know how you store your batteries, but ours were floating around the infamous junk drawer. Finding them was a pain. Truth be told, we usually bought new batteries instead of trying to find what we needed. Now they are nicely contained in one place. These are the simple things that take five minutes to do, but you can feel like you really accomplished something important!

See what a mess the drawer is? But the batteries are organized. By the way, if you want to rob my house and steal my checks, don't bother trying. Those may be check boxes but they don't have my actual checks in them. Sorry.