Toy Storage
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Anonymous
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Feeling overwhelmed with toys and feel like my kids would play more independently if the toys were more inviting.
Kids are 2 & 5. Different genders. What have you found that works? I'm looking for product recommendations, but also tips like what to mingle, how to sort, basement vs bedroom etc. anything at all helpful to get it under control would be much appreciated! |
dcmamaconcierge
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http://www.landofnod.com/kids-toy-boxes/kids-storage-and-shelving/put-a-lid-on-it-metal-dot-floor-bin/s238317" target="_new" rel="nofollow"> http://www.landofnod.com/kids-toy-boxes/kids-storage-and-shelving/put-a-lid-on-it-metal-dot-floor-bin/s238317
I used these for a client and the results were amazing. If I were doing it in my own home I would save a couple bucks and head to Home Depot and get a plain ole' galvanized can and use fun vinyl (cut with my Cameo or purchased from etsy) to give it a more polished look. Its difficult to offer suggestions without knowing what type of toys your children play with. If the 5 year old is a boy and plays with legos I would have different suggestions. The main thing is ensuring everything has a home and rotating the toys from the different play areas for optimal use. Also Pottery Barn kids has their Carolina grow with me play table on sale. info@dcmamaconcierge 202-538-2449 |
Anonymous
| Ikea trofast. The top can be used for larger items that don't fit in bins and you can select the size of bin or opt for shelves. Sorting, I have boys so I sort in categories, Legos, little people, things with wheels, train stuff, and so on. For books, I just use a shallow basket. For puzzles, I have some ikea expedit shelves and I stack them. These can also work as bookshelves but there is no back to the unit. |
Anonymous
Someone paid you to buy overpriced ugly trash cans. Those do not look safe for a two year old. |
Anonymous
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The things I've read suggest small bins/boxes rather than huge toy chests you dump everything into. For us, it works best to have bookshelves in the room, filled with bins for separating toys. We keep things that are used most often there and try to limit toys overall. The other toys are in our guest room, but I would put them in the basement if it weren't unfinished and a huge, dirty mess.
I sort the toys we have in "storage" so that they can be rotated out. Try to avoid your kids going into the storage area too often -- they get all excited and want to take everything out. We have a "one-for-one" rule where you have to put something back if you take something out. It can also work to have an area for craft-type things (i.e. coloring, play dough, etc.) -- keeping that separate can help with the chaos. As much as possible, label things so that you and others know what goes where. You could even put pictures on things for littler kids. We try to have a rule always that we pick up before going on to do something else. It's not always possible, but having a general rule about it helps. |
Anonymous
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Storage ottomans are your friend. Also, the IKEA expedit system with baskets. Also, get rid of a bunch of stuff -- especially stuff with small pieces.
All of the above worked for me. |
dcmamaconcierge
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I make suggestions to clients about the aesthetics and utility of a particular storage choice and they go from there. This particular mom wanted her informal living and dining area to have a kid friendly but "toys hidden" feel. If a lid or door couldn't be closed to hide the toys the storage piece wouldn't work for her. I agree they are just cute (subjective) garbage pails which is why I suggested the Home Depot option. I don't think they are unsafe but the issue of the toys on the bottom never making its way up to the top to be used might make something else a better choice. O.P. PBK's Cameron storage is also on sale but try craigslist first. I've found several pieces there. Also the PB floor models go on sale around the holiday season so you may have luck then. |
Anonymous
| Bookshelves and built in desk. One old fashioned toy chest. And (this is the hard part) good old honest and regular purging to eliminate clutter as well as a dedication to regularly cleaning and putting away. |
Anonymous
| I found boxes like these at Dollar Tree and bought a stack in different colors (I think we have 8 in 6 different colors). We put a subset of books and boys in these boxes for our 2 yo twins. We have the rest in a pair of Pax wardrobes (Ikea) that we had from our old house (a house that did not have enough closets) and moved these into our playroom. We rotate the toys and books. The boxes are good because the boys like to dump the boxes out (or we sometimes leave one or two empty for them) and they are the right height to sit on and also a good height to use as a step stool. Also, when it is time to leave the playroom, we sing the Cleanup song and they put their toys and books away back into the boxes. They love being able to see all the toys in each box. |
Anonymous
Oops...forgot the link: 
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Anonymous
Do you stack the boxes or are they lined up on floor? Seems like they wouldn't hold a ton, but I love the price! |
Anonymous
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You can choose a house specially put toys, to be honest, it is important for children's toys, toys are their playmates, their teacher, they learn a lot from toys. So it is important to choose a good toy, I often from http://www.toyswill.com/wooden-toys-c-17_116.html buy toys for my children, because children learn from here is not a toy less. Especially when I was sick to my care. |
Anonymous
They are stacked up when empty, and when filled, they line the wall under the windows. My kids are young (2 year old twins) so they fill several key elements. When it is clean up time (we make them clean before going to bed, so just before nap and just before bedtime) each toddler can take a bin and walk around and put toys in the bin. They are small enough that the kids can carry it around and it won't get too heavy for them to carry back to the wall. They also love to turn them over and use them for stools. They like to dump toys out so that they can see what they are playing with and the small size means that they can't dump too much out at one time (unless they dump out multiple bins, which they've been known to do). We can also sort a few toys out to carry to a room other than the playroom and not have too many toys out. Plus when they are done in that room, everything goes back into the bin to return to the playroom. Lots of pros for young children. |
Anonymous
Oh, in response to your comment about them not holding a ton, we also have a pair of Ikea Pax wardrobes with wire basket shelves. Most toys are in there. We cycle the toys that they have to play with so that they can't make too much of a mess and also that the toys seem fresh and new when they get cycled back into use. Toys that are getting stale or that they have lost interest in go back into the Pax and many of them are interesting again when they next come out. |
Anonymous
| Each child has a desk with a hutch, and a bookcase. All toys kept in their bedroom go in one of those two places (except the doll bed, which lives on the floor. All "family toys" which are board games or games the kids are willing to share (with each other and with friends/cousins) are kept in the family room closet, on two shelves. |