When I decided to work from home in order to spend more time with my three young kids, I didn’t think this time would be spent tidying up toys. My first solution was to create a playroom on the third floor. At first this was great. Out of sight, out of mind.
However, I soon realized the flaw in my plan. My kids always wanted to play upstairs. I missed having them in the kitchen when I cooked or in the dining room when I worked. There had to be a better way.
I found by making a few changes I was able to create a kid environment without converting the entire downstairs into a second playroom.
Toys on display. My husband’s childhood Tonka trucks are my kid’s favourite toys. When the trucks aren’t being used, they look great on display in a cabinet in the dining room.
Books for everyone. We’ve left the bottom of the bookshelf free for kid’s books. This makes it easy for the kids to get at and put their own books away. And having them on the lower shelf makes them less obvious to others coming in the room.
A work of art. Like most kids, mine love to colour and draw. To keep the paper, paint, and markers under control, we keep the lower drawer of our sideboard free for supplies. It’s easy to access and easy to toss things in and hide if company’s coming. Then display the finished masterpiece in a picture frame on the wall.
Out of sight, out of mind. An old seaman’s trunk downstairs is perfect as a bench for putting on shoes or hosting impromptu tea parties, but most importantly it stores the kid’s toys when they’re not being used.
All wet. The holes in the Boon Frog Pod hanging storage unit allows for easy drying of wet toys without having them take up lots of space in one of our smallest rooms. And hanging it behind the shower curtain keeps it out of sight.
Cutting down on clutter. At the bottom of the stairs we have placed a small basket. Whatever doesn’t fit in the toy storage areas downstairs gets placed in this basket and to be brought back upstairs and put away.
I love having the kids around and the new storage solutions make it easy for them to tidy up on their own. The best part, I spend more time playing with my kids instead of picking up after them.
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Other articles you might enjoy:
Getting Paid to Play with Toys
How To Be An Organized Mom
My House is a Toy Store
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