Inspiration for toddler storage/arts & Crafts

brunettegirl

I have a little boy he is almost 2 over the last year or so true to mse I have picked up cheap easter activity books, xmas activity packs, halloween ect ect for 10p you get the picture for the following year when he will be more able to use appreciate however I wanted to put stuff in an orderly fashion especially as we about to move house to a much smaller space. we also have saved tissue paper, toilet rolls, tubs, string, ribbon, ect ect. I was originally thinking those plastic drawers you can get but then i can't see them on offer anywhere. I don't like the idea of open boxes dusty ect, but i don't have any boxes or lids to make my own.
then i thought about some kind of consetina like what people have in offices, but probably not wide enough.
there must be other organised people who have similar and probabbly much better supplies, how do you store these wisely?

Share your tips please.

Im still looking for storage ideas to seperate toys too, but I think that really will be big deep drawers cars in one, trains in another,ect....

we do have a toy box, and a leather box with lid..... arrgghhh!!

but im more interested in the craft/activity/paper stuff

thank you

ladyg2009

Hi,

Not sure I have found the perfect MSE solution, but I was inspired by a gift my 2.5 yr old received for xmas.

Someone had made her an art box using the "really useful" plastic boxes- and put her name and flowers etc on the top... it was lovely, and I am hard to please!

Having had your dilemma, I decided to go with the theme and get a few more boxes the same size for different "play themes"... it's not as MSE as cardboard boxes- but I had tried loads of solutions (including the ikea storage) and this is by far my best solution as its nice and sturdy....) and I buy them on offer

So one has her music toys in it, one for xmas arts, one for easter etc etc... I like to "buy early"

The original gift box I keep adding too ( it's about a 20/30 litre one, flat 'ish but deep enough for paints and paper etc- but big enough to hold all her art stuff)... and its great. When she wants to paint I just pull out the box rather than hunt for all the bits and pieces! And she knows that everything goes back in afterwards. I do have some smaller plastic boxes inside with tiny items... eyes, glitter etc etc...

One other thing I do... is buy inexpensive lining wallpaper: and a roll of this fits in the box and she can "go mad" with her painting!

.... my advice would be to get a decent size box so it holds plenty (but is still portable), they stack nicely: but I keep hers under the bed.

I keep loads of bits for art.... so I know how much space it can take up.... I've just decluttered loads of shoe boxes this weekend as they were taking over

Now if only I could find a good solution for dressing up clothes...:rotfl:

Hope that helps

LG

hilstep2000

I have a wicker hamper, bought in a charity shop for £3. I put all my DGD's things in there so when she's here she can use it, and it tidies away when she's not.

MandM90

DD has this from IKEA; we keep art supplies in the top, and the best art she brings home from school in the bottom...all the drawers are labelled.

This caught my eye too: http://www.ikea.com/gb/en/catalog/products/90198030/ as it wouldn't take up any floor space, but you said you were worried about dust so not sure it would be suitable.

Why not ask on Freecycle for some plastic drawers?

daska

I found a cheap wooden chest of drawers and all our art stuff goes in that. The drawers are just big enough for cutting boards and easily take A2 pads etc (A0/A1 go in a portfolio under the sofa), paints, pastels etc for 'grown up' art but also deep enough for a roll of lining paper, bottles of poster paints, tubs of chalk etc for DS2.

gollygosh

When my kids were small i found storing all the big plastic stuff a pain, the dolls house, garage, puppet theatre etc. either taking up all the floor space everywhere or huge storage boxes, so I made storage bags (like very large plimpsole bags) in a material that matched their bedrooms and hung them on wall hooks (kept everything dust free as well). really easy to make just a large rectangle folded in half, hemmed down both sides then a piece of thick chord inside a top hem.

lynn2

Dish Drainer for colouring books and a pot for pencils
http://www.cozylittlehouse.com/2009/05/decorating-file-folders.html


Over the door storage


Click

denalester9

Its a good idea to save money, so you can use some kind of plastic things for art supplies within your house. Than you can buy a complete kit of art supplies which includes all supplies.

zippychick

I've moved this to the families board for you


Hi, we move threads if we think they’ll get more help elsewhere (please read the forum rule) so this post/thread has been moved to another board. If you have any questions about this policy please email [EMAIL="forumteam@moneysavingexpert.com"]forumteam@moneysavingexpert.com[/EMAIL].


Zip

pukkamum

Ikea expedit

http://www.ikea.com/gb/en/catalog/categories/series/09064/

I have it all over the house, you can get fabric boxes £2.50 that hold loads, I have all craft in one, playfood etc in another, one for cars.

You can also buy inserts to put doors on or drawer inserts too.

They are very flexible, sturdy and excellant value for money.

I use them in the bedroom for laundry, in the living room for books the possibilities are endless!

alwaysonthego_2

MOVING THREADS FOR BETTER RESPONSES

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