If you have room, we found giving one lower cabinet in the kitchen over to the kids worked for them and us.

When your children are little you will have clutter and toys everywhere. But soon your children will grow and the toys and baby gear will be put away. My best advice is just to accept that your home will feel more chaotic when kids are young. Just do the best you can and enjoy your time with your kids.

Yep, the fact of the matter is that unless you severely purge, you will soon find your new furniture and containers filled with even more toys, clothes, crap, etc.

Get rid of 100 things--it seems like a lot, but you will quickly find it liberating.

Anonymous wrote:You are just creating ways to store more toys and crap. If you want to get organized, get rid of a ton of your stuff. Train your kids to put one thing away before taking out something else.

I agree with this and other posters that suggest throwing out/ giving away most of toys and do not ever buy that much again. That goes same for toys received as gifts. If the giver asks, say that it got broken. DD loves to draw with markers and crayons. When they get dried up or broken, I take her shopping for new set so she will not protest when I throw out the old ones.

I don't like having things out so we do a lot of wooden bins and then under bed and under couch storage. the kids just slide out what they want and then slide back when done. I also purge regularly. when they were little, I rotated toys a lot. they got more play out of them that way because it always felt like something new.

Sometimes we found dressers to be more productive storage than bookshelves. We had Malm 3 drawer dressers lined under windows in our living room.

Bookshelves with doors so that you can close the doors and it doesn't feel so cluttered.

I know everyone loves the Expedit system but I just find it not to be the most productive storage option. You might want to see if you can find other pieces that would work better. If so, Ikea sells easy and fast on Craigslist.

Go vertical. Even in a small bathroom if you can squeeze a shelf up high to store extra shampoo and toilet paper it clears that much more space from your cabinets.

Underbed storage and under couch storage. In one home I stored fitness stuff (weights, foam rollers, etc) under the couch in another I stored a underbed box with gift wrap supplies.

Like everyone has mentioned, you need to purge. Family knew of our small space and knew their thoughtful and appreciated gifts might not be so appreciated if we didn't have the space to store them. You also would be surprised how much baby gear you can live without.

Kids don't need a million toys. Just because a child loves trains, doesn't mean he will love them more if he has 50 of them. In fact, he might not appreciate it them because there are so many.

Seasonal decor takes up a lot of storage space. Evaluate what is necessary, what can be put in a storage unit and what needs to go.

We don't buy bulk items of things because even if it is cheaper, the real estate in our home is too costly.

Anonymous wrote:
The truth is that you need to throw out half your things.

Seriously, with small spaces, figuring out how to live without a ton of stuff is the secret.
You can't tidy up what you can't put away, and there is a limit to how stuffed your closets can become. Too stuffed, and you forget what's at the back (or you forget what you put in the basement) because you can't get to it. Then you buy it again because you need it. And the vicious cycle goes on.

BTDT.

Right. Your strategy is buying these Tryfost or whatever I cannot even pronounce these things you are accumulating I am guessing you intend for them to help organize. But in reality, you just bought MORE stuff. My habit is when I buy new things, I throw out old things - that way, there's never more things in the house accumulating. Think minimalist. Empty.

purge to get down to just your very favorite things. rotate if needed.

You are just creating ways to store more toys and crap. If you want to get organized, get rid of a ton of your stuff. Train your kids to put one thing away before taking out something else.

Limit; purge toys.

Double duty furniture. Get a play table with storage, e.g.:
http://ana-white.com/sites/default/files/4401110187_06ef7fb4cf.jpg

Seating with storage:
http://st.houzz.com/simgs/0611af5b0022f092_4-4554/contemporary-footstools-and-ottomans.jpg

still working on it myself! we have a rowhouse, which sounds like it should be a lot of space, but somehow isn't. we do have the benefit of some storage space in the basement! i just did a serious toy purge and stored a ton of stuff in my storage closet of a basement.

otherwise, i try to limit the toy clutter to one banker's box for the nursery and one box for the living room. and the toddler gets to practice putting things away at the end of the day.

The truth is that you need to throw out half your things.

Seriously, with small spaces, figuring out how to live without a ton of stuff is the secret.
You can't tidy up what you can't put away, and there is a limit to how stuffed your closets can become. Too stuffed, and you forget what's at the back (or you forget what you put in the basement) because you can't get to it. Then you buy it again because you need it. And the vicious cycle goes on.

BTDT.

Have less stuff. That's the most important.

Rotate toys so they aren't all out at once.

I would rotate toys religiously -- only allow a small number of things out at a time and keep the other things stored in a closet where your kids can't get to them (better yet if they don't know where it is so they don't ask about it all the time). When you bring out something new, you put something else away. Better than literally getting rid of stuff but maintains a less cluttered day-to-day lifestyle.

I'd also consider bins, particularly the rolling ones like from IKEA. Shelves are wonderful, but bins or baskets also work.

Defining areas a bit will also help. Perhaps the bulk of the toys stay in the new play area you're making. It's nice to have toys in other areas, too, but significantly limit them (like one puzzle on the dining room table or something). Make it a habit to pick up things after you use them and encourage your kids to get in this habit, too.

Now that DC2 is on the scene and has his own gear, our house is exploding. We need to figure out how to corral it all (and I know some of that means weeding...I'm trying, I'm trying!) I would love to hear how other small home dwellers make it work. Right now we have a bunch of Expedit units in various rooms, one Trofast unit, and I just ordered two bookcases to put under windows in the kids' room and the kitchen. I'm converting our eat-in kitchen area into a play area since we eat in our dining room anyway, so I'm going to get a play table and encourage DC1 to do puzzles and games there (right now they're on the floor all over the house and I'm about to lose my mind!) I think we need at least one more Trofast for toys that aren't easily stored on bookshelves, but what else can I use to contain things without lining our entire house with shelving? (We're actually not averse to that, but it feels like overkill.) How do you store things in a way that keeps our living spaces livable?