Is baby and child clutter taking over your home?

Isn't it amazing just how much space they take up??!!   I cannot believe just how much of the stuff we  moved were boxes of their things.  There were 10 boxes of books! OK s this could be because I am a bookworm myself and a 'set' person.  I cannot just have 1 of the Narnia series we have to have the whole lot, Famous Five erm.... ok anyway....   And being a blogger I enjoy getting new titles through for the boys so they add to it.  In fact I tried to sell around 200 of their books before we moved and no one wanted them (well except timewasters) so they ended up coming with us.
Then you had the large box of board games.  We found some great boxes in Poundland for their other toys so each type could be boxed up seperatly (I must have spent £30 on these!).
Clothes .......... seriously how much have they got!!!  Must stop buying T-Shirts and onesies just because I love them!

This is KIDS mine are 4 and 6 now I dread to think how much I would have had if one had still been a baby with highchairs, prams and walkers to contend with.



Big Yellow Self Storage heard my cries of pain and sent me through some great statistics this week to let me know I wasn't alone (go one admit it you were a little concerned about yourself too) baby clutter can account for around one third (31%) of the stuff in a families home (I'm pretty sure women's shoes and bags account for another third perhaps someone could research that next)....

Did you know:

- Leading up to the arrival of a baby an average of three rooms in the home are filled by baby items as parents prepare for the big day.  One in 10 parents have to store baby items in the hallway (11%)
- 49% of people surveyed felt their own parents had more space in the home when having their first child.  To be honest this doesn't surprise me, think about the toys you had as a child (my mum bought me a washing basket for Christmas one year!*) compared to how much we spoil them now.

- 52% of UK parents claim they need at least one extra room, with 11% wanting to move to a larger property before the birth of their child but unable to afford it.  We did, we moved from a 2 bed to a 3 bed when I was expecting Ben as we wouldn't have been able to fit things in the other house, there wasn't room to swing a cat let alone a toddler running around.

-  A quarter of parents underestimated the amount of space needed for a baby and as a result, new parents have thrown away up to £2,000 of their possessions to make space for the additional belongings needed.   This incluudes clothes (20%), bulky furniture such as a chest of drawers or desk (19%), double bed (18%) and bookshelves (16%), books (16%) and fitness equipment (10%).

- 15% of people aren’t too happy about the clear out, with one in six respondents admitting they only got rid of their belongings because their partner had told them to (man drawer and slippers with holes in anyone?).  Men sacrifice the most with a fifth of fathers (21%) being told to give up items such as games consoles and bikes (eek I'd not like to have been the wife that suggested those 2!) compared with only one in 10 women being made to let go of their possessions.

New parents spend, on average, £950 on new items for their first child with 33% spending ove £1,000.  To be fair though it does add up, a travel system can cost £600 before you start with a cot and storage.  

The good news is Big Yellow Self Storage can help and for a limited time they are offering NCT member a special discount, where you can get 50% off your first 8 weeks storage and an extra 10% off for as long as you stay.

To obtain this discount, you need to use the code NCTBY when getting a quote online and show your NCT membership card when you move in.

So whether it is a piano that you love and want to keep until the kids are old enough to appreciate it or a space to keep the Skiing stuff until your next Aspen trip, Big Yellow have a space for that.   I know for us baby clutter was a pain, I knew after the first I wanted a second, however I also wanted to leave 2 years gap.  I didn't want to sell everything because I didn't want the outlay of rebuying it but on the other hand I didn't want to fall over a walker and travel system that had't been used for ages every time I went to the bathroom, I wish I had known about Big Yellow then as it would have really helped.


Big Yellow Self Storage have easy to arrange, secure and affordable spaces.  The storage facilities come in any shape and size from 9sq ft (half a phone box)

to 40sq ft (a large garden shed)

a 125sq ft one should fit the contents of a 3 bed house  (they clearly didn't see mine)

all the way to 400 sq ft (perhaps you are re-locating a business).

They are individually alarmed rooms with external CCTV monitoring 24/7.  Only you hold the key and you can access it free of charge whenever you need to during opening hours.  The storage facilities have well lit corridors & intercoms with excellent customer service.  There are currently 84 storage sites in high profile, easy–to–access and secure main road locations.

The research questioned 2,000 parents in the UK with a child under five and currently living with their partner, commissioned by Censuswide.

*No we weren't poor and it wasn't my only present.... my mum was fed up of me and my sister stealing hers to use as a boat or a car so we got one each!