What kind of storage /play area do you have for your kids toys in the living room if any. Now that my child is old enough to play in his room I keep most of his stuff in there but still keep some in the living room since he doesn't like to play in there alone. I had a shelf with some bins on it but I want to use the shelf for other things now. Looking for some new ideas. I could put all the toys in the bedroom but he doesn't have much extra room in there to begin with. When I put stuff in totes it gets to be too much and he can't find what he needs. I do separate it but he ends up mixing it all up anyways. Somehow my boy accumulated lots of stuffed animals like dogs and dinos and stuff. I couldn't find anything to put them in so we bought a big laundry basket with the holes in the sides so they can breathe. It's hard to throw them out because they're all so special. I have so much of his artwork coming home all week that I had to go buy a long tote to throw it in there so it's not laying around. I use to sort through it and just keep the best ones or most special ones but now that a friends child passed away I feel like holding onto all the Christmas pics he made and stuff. What if something happened and there wouldn't be another one? Call me crazy but I love my child to death and I treasure everything he makes and does.
the under the bed storage bins work great for the back of a coach, under bed or in garage. They are thin and long.
Careful, saving everything like that can take you down a dangerous path as he will accumulate quickly and you don't want your house to become a storage unit bit instead a lovely living space. I recommend going through stuffed animals and choosing 5 or 10 special ones. He really can't enjoy his animals if he has so many that he can't find specific ones to play. They will just sit in a big basket getting dumped out and making a big mess but often just being ignored. As for your living room you could get a small bookshelf from target and the cube totes to go with it. That way toys are hidden when you want a pretty living room but still easily accessible. As for his pics IKEA has a cheap little picture hanging system that is a wire with clips. Also cheap nice photo frames so you can chose special ones to hang on walls for cheap. I wouldn't save everything. Put all papers in a box and every Sunday pick the best one and save it in a portfolio. Toss the rest. If you save everything nothing will be special or easily accessible
We have a storage shelving unit. On the shelves we have the rubbermaid clear plastic tubs - in different colors - each box has different items in it and is labeled "GI JOES", "LEGOS", etc. their Nerf guns are kept in the LONG Rubbermaid storage box on the floor along with their "ammo"
Balls and bats go in the collapsible netted laundry basket (you can get them at Target), they are see-through, light weight and multi-purpose...and holds a TON of balls!!!
Artwork - well, we store that in a box that's big enough. The ones that I truly LOVE go on the wall - one wall in our family room is dedicated to their art work, then at the end of the year, we go through it - if they shrug their shoulders - I take a picture of it and throw it out. the ones they like - we either keep or for the sake of fire hazard, etc. we take a picture of it and throw it out. I take a picture of the back too - as sometimes his little hand print(s) are there as well as his name.....
Stuffed animals - the ones that are just for "show" go in a hammock in the corner of their room. They are allowed three (3) stuffed animals on their beds - to keep the clutter down. My youngest has a Winnie the Pooh wooden toy box in his room of all of his stuffed animals - he switches his "favorites" out every once in a while...
We had a grocery cart, she could wheel it around the house and since it was plastic, it did not scuff up the walls. We tried a wagon, but while really young, she had trouble getting around corners. She was allowed to keep it parked in the living room if the toys were in it, but she liked to roll it to her room, if we told her we needed the living room all cleaned up. She was in control of what she brought to and from the rooms.
Our daughter has always been an artist.. We purchased a card board Portfolio keeper. They sell them at craft stores.. Lots of times, Michaels has them on sale. Keeps all of that paper contained till you can go through and edit.. We kept it behind her headboard.. it just slips in and out out there.
The stuffed animals are tough.. we had a tall wicker basket we kept in the corner. every once in a while, I went through it and took out the ones she had not played with.. We talked about "giving them to children that do not have toys". She loved giving away things she was tired of a few times a year. But she is in College now and I told her that the storage container with her stuffed animals, is the 1st thing I am shipping to her when she gets her first place of her own.. Each summer she has gone through it. I think she is down to about 6, but a few of them are still pretty large,. I wonder what she will decide to really keep. I still have a bear, my husband (I have known him since we were 13) gave me for my 16th birthday.. So I do understand wanting to keep some of these type of things.
We all think everything our child makes is special, but you need to teach him they are just things.. This is a gift you give him.. In the long run if there was a fire and you could only grab 1 thing, what would it be? Mine would be my child.. Not another thing.
I do Estate Sales. Need I say, I see what is not wanted.. There is a lot of paper and "things"..That will never sell, that no one even wants for free.. My husband and I have told our daughter.. All of this (waving our arms) this is not us. This is not your responsibility, you are not expected to keep any of this. Sell it, give it away, throw it away.. We do not want you to be burdened with this.
We got a nice-looking wooden box on wheels for the LR stuff. A portfolio for the papers is a good idea. When we want the box out of the way, we roll it into our front closet or the front enclosed porch. Their rooms contain all the rest in several ways. All those things should be treasured. When they are 18 I will give them their stuff, except a few things, such as hand prints that I will keep.
We bought two nice armoires from Ikea for our basement play area.
Recently I purchased a 6 cube organizer from Target...with the canvas bins that you can slide into the cubes... I put stuffed animals, toys, and books in them and this helped to straighten up my daughter's room and all the clutter.
We use a lot of those linen boxes. I recommend getting some that fit under the bed - then you can just switch them out for what's in the living room and what's in the bedroom.
We also got these covered boxes that double as ottomans/seats. I think they could hold up to 200 lbs. They were about $50 each. After about 1.5 years the lids broke so they can't be used as seats any more, but I thought they were worth the cost anyway.
Good luck.
In answer to where I store toys in the livingroom: we have a preschool in our home, and the two old built-ins in our bungalow dining room hold toys pretty well. When preschool closes, I'll likely leave one of those still available for toys (ready for some family books on the other shelves). And I have old milk crates for storing unit blocks, which I intend to keep out, as the big carpet is the best place to build with them. They stack away and store easily if company comes and we need more space.
Two things that work for me: storing the toys out of the room, and rotating toys regularly. Choose some toys to put into storage for a while (use bins, giant Ziplocks, shelving, whatever you have) in an attic, basement, garage or storage closet. Then what's remaining in his room and the living room should feel 'do-able'. If not, take more toys out.
Then, be sure to switch out toys every so often. 2 weeks-a month is great for introducing novelty when we see our kids get bored. And then, take a toy he isn't using a lot and put that in storage.
Lastly, kids are going to keep bringing their toys out to the living room because they want to be close to us. I try to leave out the stuff that works best in the living room (like blocks, Tinkertoys, tubes, ramps, etc.) because my son's room is smaller and can't accommodate the larger scale of play. The old Little People sets, the Toobers and Zots and small vehicles all live in his room. Let the space and how it will be used determine what you want. A nice basket in the living room looks great, too, and looks less like toyland than shelves will. JMO.
H.
