1) Before learning a new Spanish word, be very selective and ask yourself 2 questions:

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- Is it a common word that I'll using?

- Is it a word that helps me talk about my world?

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What do I mean about your world? If, for instance, you love talking about birds, you'll want to learn about the different names of birds in Spanish. Otherwise, knowing that bird in Spanish is 'pájaro' is enough. Actually, you may even decide that you don't want to learn just yet that word if it's not a priority. 

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2) Always learn the gender of a noun. Although there are rules that will help you know when it's masculine or feminine, there are quite a few exceptions.

Find out more about the gender of nouns here.

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3) Learn new Spanish nouns in context, i.e. in a phrase or a sentence. This way it's easier to remember the noun and use it.