Toy storage for Living room- reducing clutter

summerday

I hope no-one minds me posting this here instead of on 'In my Home'-I just thought that more people are likely to see it here who already have children and be able to offer help.

We are due a baby in a few weeks, and realise that although we are both fairly house proud and tidy, toys are likely to invade the house at an alarming rate! I wondered if anyone has any suggestions on the best types of storage to keep the living room tidy, and that is not too expensive either.

I initially thought perhaps a toy chest, in a natural wood colour, but then everything inside may just end up one big mess and as it would be tricky to find anything in it so the whole thing may get emptied every time!

Ideally we would prefer a storage unit to be not much higher than back of sofa height, and not too bright/garish colours. Perhaps something with separate storage baskets/containers that can be pulled out?....

I will be really grateful for any suggestions, many thanks.

balletshoes

I'm not sure I'll be of any help, all I had was 2 or 3 plastic stack-a-boxes (the biggest size, with lids). Babies and toddlers toys don't really come with lots of little bits (not until they are into Lego etc) so you don't really need to worry about that right away.

I rotated the stack-a-boxes ie had one in the living room and 2 in the bedroom, and replaced the one in the living room with one of the others once or twice a week, to rotate the toys and make them seem fresh to little one.

A 5-minute tidy up when baby is napping, and another one before bedtime, and they're all tidied up.

BitterAndTwisted

One way not to have too many toys littered about the place is making sure your child doesn't have too many! Or that they have a few choice items in the living-spaces which can be fitted into a wicker basket and the rest is kept in their room.

Try not to over-think this, your baby hasn't even been born yet. Maybe your family will be so deeply unpopular no-one will buy you a houseful of useless plastic carp. Or your home will fill up with it so gradually you may not even notice it. That's what normally happens.

kingfisherblue

My kids (I have three) never used anything in a toy chest - they preferred to play with things that they could see. Argos have a range of storage, some brightly coloured and some more 'natural' (seagrass baskets on wooden frames, for example). However, you will almost certainly find that some things are just too big to store in baskets.

One good solution when the children were younger was a large trolley from Ikea, with four large wire baskets in. It fitted perfectly under the stairs and could be wheeled in and out as needed. I think it cost about £20. Originally, I used it for nappies, wipes, etc. Nowadays, it contains bedding and is kept upstairs.

My kids are older now, so storage isn't as much of an issue. We have tall bookcases along one wall of the dining room. Although they are mainly filled with books and DVDs, there are a few lower shelves with games on. There are also a couple of baskets with toys in, as my middle child still plays with toys sometimes (he is 13, but has special needs).

mandragora_2

Get a playroom. Close the door on it every evening :-) Other than that, your tidy life is a thing of the past, no matter what boxes you buy....

dizziblonde

We've got those hollow coffee tables that I currently have teaching stuff stored in... planning on chucking that stuff out and just chucking everything in there to hide the mess on an evening.

mummyplus3

I've got a couple o those big plastic buckets in the living room and we just throw the toys in and out of it

Tigsteroonie

We use two large fabric boxes, which sit on the lowest shelf of the bookcase so that A can reach them himself; and there is also a large melamine toy chest. The living room looks a mess by the end of the day, but it only takes 5 minutes to clear everything away and turn it back into a "grown-up's room".

yummymummy79

We bought an Expedit unit from IKEA as you can have 4-25 different slots with baskets/drawers/boxes for different things. We just bought another big one, 4x4 which was £82 plus about £30 for the boxes etc, but the 2x4 are about £60 i think, and the 1x4 will be less.

hollieinbloom

mandragora wrote: »

Get a playroom. Close the door on it every evening :-) Other than that, your tidy life is a thing of the past, no matter what boxes you buy....

Unfortunately it's true! our christmas tree is bare at the bottom due to our 2 and a half year old attacking it. I keep finding things stuffed in her toy boxes and behind the sofa. Being untidy is nothing to worry about, being clean is more important!

We bought a cheap book shelf from Argos for about £12.99 and her books, big toys and a small storage box all fit in/on it perfectly and it all gets packed away at night. Just don't buy too many toys. They don't play with them! they want your mobile phone or the remote more than any toy you can buy them! x

adamantine

to start with i used the bottom of the highchair for toy storage (there was a storage net underneath)

when they got older i got a couple of those pop-up storage things from ikea in a present so i used them in the babys room and just took them into the living room during the day then put them back at night.

now they are bigger (2 and 5) i have a big clear storage box that is down the side of the dining table, that can be pushed under the dining table if i decide to and the rest is in the kids room. i am aiming to get everything in their own room soon and they can just take what they want down as and when then put it back but the 2 year old is a bit too young to understand only 1 or 2 toys at a time and wants every single jigsaw and car and bit of lego!