The Definery Co

Saving the world, one toddler meltdown and DIY project at a time.

  • Home
  • Project Gallery
    • Inspiration
    • DIY
  • Parenting
    • Health Issues
    • Sensory Processing Disorder
  • Wellness
    • Home Remedies
    • Recipes
  • About Me
  • Contact Me
  • Shop Now

August 16, 2016 by mdonahoe

Living Room Toy Storage

Kid friendly living spaces

I think one of the biggest decorating challenges people get hung up on is kid’s toy storage in living areas.  Living room toy storage is no joke–I mean, do toys multiply at night when we’re sleeping!? Where do they all come from?! But I think the saddest thing you could do is decide that since you have young kids, you can’t have a nice, clean house.

Balderdash, I tell you!

You just need to outsmart those sneaky little toys, and consider your kid’s toy storage needs in your design plan.

You see the picnic baskets in the first photo? Full. Of. Toys.  The slipcovered chairs?  At any given time they have a smattering of stuffed animals and books under them.

To be clear, I have no idea how to actually make your house look like it belongs in a magazine at all times with children in the mix, but with some simple systems in place, you can go from toy chaos to totally clean in 5 minutes.  Seriously! Check it out…

Living room toy storage

See the difference? If you show up at my door unannounced, you will probably see something resembling the first picture.  If you call me and say you’re on your way, you’ll most likely see the second picture by the time you get to my house.  Unless I love you enough to let you experience the true state of things. 🙂

If you come when my house is totally clean, the only actual toys you will see in the living room will be these right back here…

Living room toy Storage

There’s a method to my living room toy storage madness, I promise. Essentially, my entire toy storage philosophy can be broken down into three basic steps.  Are you guys ready?

1) Plan For Play

We have a kid in our house–our whole house.  Just as I am welcome to use any room in my house, so is the rest of my family. So to go about setting up our living room–the area we spend the most time in–without giving any thought to the toys and playing that will inevitably end up there would be denial. 🙂

This means you need a big ol’ place to throw all the toys at a moments notice when company is coming or you just wanna remember what color your floor is.  Not saying it has to be a giant coffee table storage trunk, but come on–it’s too good of an opportunity to miss, right?

living room toy storage

My husband threw ours together out of inexpensive 1x4s, with limited woodworking knowledge.  If DIY isn’t your style, you can find many storage coffee tables and trunks that are sure to go with your décor, no matter what style it is!

The first step to containing the clutter is to acknowledge that it exists! (However painful it might be…)

2) Rotate Toys

So you’ve planned for play and you have a giant storage receptacle for the bulk of your toys. Now it’s time for some smaller, secondary storage places.

These smaller storage containers can be anything that goes with your décor–baskets, crates, galvanized buckets, or drawers.  Be creative and use what you already have! These particular containers should be easily accessible to your child, like the open basket I showed you earlier. We also designate a few drawers on our entertainment center for toys.

Kid Friendly Living RoomSneaky, huh?

The reason I have a small selection of toys that are easy to get to (and the bulk of her toys stored in the trunk that is not so easy to get to) is because we rotate toys every couple of weeks.  This means she always has a small selection of “new” toys available to play with in the small basket, and everything else can be stored out of sight.

By rotating through toys, we can have a more manageable number of toys to corral at any given moment.  I find that it also helps her to play with her toys more, when she isn’t so overwhelmed by the selection.

3) Be Realistic

Remember that nobody with children has a perfectly styled house at all times.  Even the people who post the perfectly styled pictures can admit the work that goes into getting a room to look like that.

Living room toy storageRemember this picture?  The goal in having a good living room toy storage system is not so that your house always looks like the “after” photo, but so that it only takes you 5-10 minutes to get your house from looking like a “before” to looking like an “after.”

If you take the time to set up your own toy storage system, the world becomes your oyster! Last minute dinner guests? Why not. Host small group? Sure. 10 minutes and you’re good to go.

So what clever tricks have you guys discovered to corral the kid clutter?!

 

link-party-palooza-button

Optin Form

Posts You May Like…

Modern laundry room makeover

Modern Laundry Room Makeover -$100 Room Challenge

IT”S TIME!!! I have been bursting at the seams to show you guys our Modern Laundry Room Makeover reveal and the day has finally arrived! Do you hear the angels singing? …Just me, then?! Well that’s okay, because I am here to tell you the best part of this whole laundry room makeover–are you ready? […]

DIY Farmhouse dining room table

DIY Farmhouse Dining Table

One of the very first woodworking projects my husband made for our new house was this DIY Farmhouse Dining Table. I honestly have no idea how I forgot to show you guys this beauty! I get a lot of questions about this table on Instagram, and I hope to answer them for you today. The […]

Kid friendly living spaces

Living Room Toy Storage

I think one of the biggest decorating challenges people get hung up on is kid’s toy storage in living areas.  Living room toy storage is no joke–I mean, do toys multiply at night when we’re sleeping!? Where do they all come from?! But I think the saddest thing you could do is decide that since you […]

❮❮ Previous Post
Next Post ❯ ❯

Trackbacks

  1. Living Room Toy Storage – Best Home Decorating Ideas – Top Designer Decor Tricks says:
    May 16, 2020 at 1:30 pm

    […] Download Image More @ thedefineryco.com […]

    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

My Etsy Shop

Search

Like us on Facebook!

WordPress Countdown plugin

What We’re Pinning

  • Contact Me
  • About Me
  • Shop Now

Pretty Chic Theme By: Pretty Darn Cute Design