Minimalism Withdrawals

I am one of those people who can make things fit anywhere.  You want to reorganize your closet with an additional twenty pairs of shoes?  I can do that.  You want to fit the dirty dishes from a dinner service from twenty, included pots and pans and cooking utensils into the dishwasher? I can do that.  You want to shove luggage for five, plus a stroller and high chair in the trunk of a little four door car?  I can do that.  You want to wash five loads of laundry at once in the washing machine?  Well, that one I can't do.  But, I will cram as much as I possibly can into any space I can find.  I'm just one of those people.

I'm not disorganized, either.  If I'm in charge of something, it is super organized.  In the words of some random person, "Everything has a place, and everything in its place."  I like to apply this to my diaper bag (I would apply this mantra to my house, but after getting married and having children, they just laugh in my face and drop play-doh all over the kitchen floor and rub syrup in the carpet).  A change of clothes in one section, diapers and wipes in another, snacks in another, a blanket goes here, extra shirt for mommy goes there, blanket is rolled up here, etc.  It drives me crazy when Husband packs to diaper bag.  I end up pulling everything out and redoing it. 

I am also a minimalist.  I will take the least amount of items possible with me out of the house.  If there's a possibility of not using something, then why take it with you.  Or, if something can serve more than one purpose (gotta love those receiving blankets that can serve as swaddlers, burp rags, blankets, suncovers, makeshift bags for blowouts, etc), then I take that item instead of a load of others. 

Going out of the house with Baby was easy.  She wouldn't take a bottle or pacifier, so I didn't have to worry about those.  She didn't spit up, so I didn't have to bring burp rags or bibs.  She just wanted to be held and attached to me, so the carrier and a purse with extra diapers and possible one extra outfit was all I needed.  I would look at other parents with their bags overflowing and wonder what in the world they had in there. 

I figured it out.

Baby2 needs lots of accessories.  She takes a pacifier, so we need to bring that with us.  If it drops, I want a backup.  She spits up like no other baby I've seen, and it gets everywhere!  Bring on the burp rags, the bibs, the extra clothes for Baby2 and mom.  She likes her thick, extra soft blankets (and those take up a lot of space!) if we want to calm her down somewhere.  Not to mention, I also have a needy three year old.  In case she has an accident, we have an extra change of clothes for her.  Then she gets hungry all the time.  I pack a few different snacks and a drink just for her.  Add on any toys to entertain her wherever we go. 

I'm running out of room here.