Am I the only one whose children LOVE to play with all of their toys in the main room of the house? The living room! After we moved a few years ago, I was so excited that we would have a "toy room". I thought a clutter free living area was in our grasps.... but reality hit. Our children love to be in the same room, with us, ALL of the time. Can anyone relate?
Don't get me wrong... I love my children and time with them, and I love the fact that they enjoy playing with their toys. After all, these moments are precious and time is fleeting, BUT I do enjoy a tidy, organized space. I just function better when I am happy with the space that I'm in. So how do we accomplish this when our kiddos are small and want ALL the toys in the living room? Keep reading to see how we've eliminated (or greatly helped) the toy clutter in our house!
Incorporate toy storage into your decor-
Baskets, cubbies and bins, oh my! I LOVE a good basket or bin. There are so many cute options out there that you should be able to find all sorts of sizes, styles and colors. I found cute baskets for our computer desk cubby area- now instead of their tablets and headphone cords hanging out everywhere, they are hidden inside an adorable basket that matches my decor perfectly. AND that cute galvanized steel barrel (also pictured below) stores things as well! Open up the lid and store blankets, more toys or whatever you like! Also doubles as a stool. Win-Win!
Use furniture that doubles as storage-
I am a big fan of furniture that has space for storage. A good cubby shelf or TV stand with doors (for hiding things behind them), or even a bench or ottoman that opens up with storage. We have a bench that is FULL of avengers. When the kids are done playing... we throw the heroes back into the bench! Instead of having end tables at this stage of life, we use a cubby organizer at the end of our sofa. We still have a place to set the coffee in the mornings, but also a place where MORE TOYS can be stored.
Even though the stuffed animals are visible, they still bring a feeling of joy. Every time I look at Minnie, I am reminded of our amazing family vacation we took last fall! It makes me happy. So this is Minnie's home.
We also have a home for our dinosaurs and for our Avengers. The Avengers live in a storage ottoman that doubles as a seat when company comes over and our dinosaurs live in a
cute fringe basket that matches our color scheme.
Use your kids' books as centerpieces-
Former elementary teacher here! Reading is a big deal in our house and who doesn't love a good children's book? Our coffee table centerpiece is a small basket with festive, "in season" children's books displayed. This will help your kids cycle the books they read and helps them become excited for new ones to come out throughout the year. I'm sure I'll be posting about my favorite holiday books in the near future!
I can't blame all of the messes on the kids though. Nick and I also have all of our mobility goodies, our books, bibles and blankets we like to have near. The galvanized barrels I mentioned earlier come in a set of two! We have one holding all of our blankets and it serves as Nick's coffee table in the mornings. A large basket keeps all of our mobility items nice and organized too.
I hope you find these tips helpful! My husband doesn't quite understand my obsession with organization or why I become so giddy when I purchase a new bin. It just feels SO good. Go get that toy monster, y'all, and eliminate that clutter!
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