I may earn money or products from the companies mentioned in this post. This is at no extra cost to you.
As every new mama finds out, when you have small children it feels like you have to carry half of your house anywhere you go. Diapers, wipes, changes of clothes, bottles and extra formula, snacks, sunblock, toys, rash cream, breast pump, extra batteries for said pump, nursing covers, etc, etc, etc!
For the longest time this was me. Goodbye to my beloved purse collection and hello sad diaper bags. Because it seemed to me like all the cute diaper bags cost a fortune!
What to pack in a Diaper Bag
As time has gone on I have come to the realization that I really don’t need most of that stuff! When we go out it is usually just a quick trip to the grocery store or other small errands. Sometimes we do combine errands with play dates or trips to the park but we still aren’t usually out for more than 4 hours at a time.
With this in mind I decided to distill down to the very basics.
Most days all you really need is a couple of diapers, a small bag of wipes, and some milk. If you’re exclusively breastfeeding you don’t even need the milk! Possibly a nursing cover. My babies never took a pacifier but I know a lot do. After that you’re done. Really! Everything else is just fluff for your normal day to day short outings.
Diaper Bag Checklist
For Baby:
- 2 diapers per child (this is probably overkill!)
- Small bag of wipes (like maybe 8 wipes is all you need)
- Bottle of milk (extra formula if you will be more than an hour or two)
- Nursing cover if you use one
- Pacifier
For Mom:
- Keys
- Wallet
- Phone
- Chapstick
How to Pack Your Diaper Bag to Save Space
If you stick to the basics then it should all fit easily in a diaper bag but you can also fit it all in a medium sized purse!
I use a super simple and super cheap product that will allow you to use all the cute purses that you already have that you had banished to the back of your closet.
The Purse Organizer.
There are tons of brands out there. I got one off of Amazon for — Read it — $10! Ten dollars was all it took to turn my adorable green satchel bag into something functional that I can still use with two in diapers.
Now this is not a huge bag. At 12.5 x 10 x 6 inches it is half the size of a diaper bag at best but I am able to stuff the essentials in here that will get me through a trip to the grocery store, a play date, a doctors visit, or a walk in the park.
I’ve got 2 diapers for each kid (which I rolled to save space), wipes, a large bottle, diaper rash cream, keys, wallet, phone, and my favorite lipstick.
And this is even more than I actually need. I don’t usually need rash cream or that many wipes when I go out. I usually have a tiny ziploc bag with just a few wipes in it. Heck, I could probably get away with one diaper per kid. I just wanted to show you how much you can actually carry in a small space.
This might not get me through an all-day outing but for most days it is more than sufficient.
They do also make larger organizers to fit all your old totes that would be perfect for an all day excursion.
Now if only I could find a way to transform my beloved clutches into diaper bags…….
Purse | Purse Organizer | Ruffle Shirt (similar) | Pants | Shoes (similar) | Necklace | S Ring | Starburst Ring | Stacked Opal Ring | Earrings (similar)
