Every time we bring home a new baby item it comes with tons of literature. There’s a registration card, manual, safety info and receipts. And since babies need so many things, my desk was covered in paper.

While you may be tempted to toss it all, it’s important to hang onto them and reference as needed – especially when it comes to keeping baby safe. Keep them all together and organized so you can quickly find information on a product – say for example, your baby has a blow out in their car seat and you have to figure out how to disassemble the thing (car seat, not baby) before poo gets everywhere! Yep, personal experience.

In the final months of pregnancy when I had tons of free time, I read through each of the manuals and practiced using my beloved monkey stuffed animal to get comfortable with the products. I studied the manuals, watched youtube tutorials and took notes on how to operate everything.

By the time Ryder was here, I forgot everything! The first time I went out of the house with Ryder by myself, Lou had helped me pack up the car and put the stroller in the trunk. I arrived at my destination and for the life of me, couldn’t figure out how to open the stroller. I must have spent 15 minutes looking like a moron just staring at every inch of the stroller looking for a hidden latch. I quickly realized how important it is to review a product’s features and user guide.

I’d love to say after you figure it out, you can go ahead and toss the material, but thats not the case. At less than 6 months, I’ve had to revisit the manual multiple times. Babies grow so fast and we’re constantly having to adjust settings to accommodate Ryder’s height and weight. Organizing my paperwork has been super helpful.

Grab a large three ring binder,  3-hole punch and A-Z tabs at your local school supply store and in just a few minutes you can save yourself the trouble of having to hunt down the manual you’re looking for in the middle of a doozy. Another recommendation – do this before baby arrives. Once they get here, having time to organize is off the table.