A baby is not just the biggest lifestyle change you are ever going to experience, but one that will require the biggest reorganization of your living space you are likely ever going to experience. The number of new accessories, articles of clothing and culinary items that are part and parcel of bringing a new life into the world take up space and if your home is like most people’s, space is a hot commodity. You are not going to want to start reorganizing and filtering out unnecessary items the day of.

Here are three important steps to follow in order to declutter before the baby arrives:

Have a game plan. Sit down with a pen and paper and visualize what your space looks like at the present moment, and compare it with how it will need to change in order to accommodate the arrival of a new family member. Ask yourself which areas of your home you are going to be spending the most amount of time with baby and you will start to get a feel for the areas that are going to require the most attention.

Be methodical. After you have created your plan, tackle one area at a time and when it’s done, cross it off your list. It is reassuring to have some way to measure your progress and know you are getting everything done.

Know how to say goodbye. Take the arrival of your son or daughter as an opportunity to carefully consider how much you really need and use certain things that seem like they have always just been a part of your life. If you know the baby‘s outerwear is going to need a certain amount of mudroom closet space dedicated to it, start thinking about how many of those winter coats you really need and wear. If you have storage space for things you still wear or use, make use of it, if you don’t but still want the option to store your belongings, perhaps consult a self-storage company. The goal is to remove things from rotation, whether they are in your closet or pantry, that are not going to make your life as a new parent easier.

Clearing your house of clutter may seem like additional, unnecessary work that is a distraction from other more pressing preparations, appointments, maybe even home renovations you have to schedule – not to mention work – into the busy lead-up to the arrival of your little guy or girl, but it will be the last thing you are going to want to do as your body is recovering from and your time consumed by the birth of a child. Plan in advance, rent a junk removal bin for the large items you’re going to be getting rid of, and make sure you have everything ready before the little one arrives.