I love a clean living space - a space that’s not visually cluttered with toys laying around. But the reality of it is....we have kids. And with kids, come toys. And I would never want our home to feel like a museum where they can’t build forts, use their imaginations, and go on adventures. This is their space too. However, I do find that having a dedicated home for all of their toys in our main living area is helpful for a couple of reasons. First, it helps them learn, from an early age, how and where to put their things away. We started this when our kids were little, showing them how to clean up their toys. And our first son, for better or for worse, has definitely inherited my OCD, "put it in the right bin" tendencies. Second, having a home for all of the toys makes it possible to maintain a clutter-free living room. This is beneficial for everyone in the family, but mostly for my sanity. We do not have a dedicated play room where I can shut the door and forget about the chaos inside. And have you ever noticed how kids won't play in a space if the floor is completely covered in toys? They usually become overwhelmed and overstimulated, and will often go find a clean space to spread more toys around.
So, for my family, having functional toy storage in our living space is a must. And bonus points if that storage doesn't clash with my decor!
Here are some of the toy storage solutions that we use in our home. These are, by no means, groundbreaking ideas, but they work for us and can hopefully help you too!
STORAGE OTTOMAN
The number one functional toy storage item to have is a storage ottoman. This is also a great piece of furniture if you have toddlers who are learning to walk and having a hard coffee tail with sharp edges is just not practical. We didn’t buy an upholstered storage ottoman until our second child and I wish we had done it a lot sooner. You can literally throw all of the toys in here, close it, and no one will be the wiser.
Our ottoman is no longer available, but this one is very similar. And here are some other great options in different sizes, fabrics, and price points ranging from $80 and up.
HIDE THE TOYS BEHIND AND UNDER FURNITURE
Another sneaky storage idea is to hide your toys behind and under furniture. Here’s an example. When our kids were learning to walk we had a lot of those primary colored rolling walkers that they would use out in the family room, but that we didn’t necessarily want to look at all of the time. So, since our couches are floating in the room, we parked them behind one of the couches, out of sight.
I also store toys under one of our side tables, as well as under the couch. Unless you're down on the floor, eye level with the toys, you don't really notice them. Right now, I have an IKEA pop up tent under one couch and a roll out musical mat under the the other couch.
BASKETS/BINS
Using baskets/bins to store toys is certainly nothing new, BUT I love the idea of taking advantage of any available shelf space with cute/neutral baskets for easy, somewhat disguised toy storage. We don't have a huge living space, so I can't really dedicate an entire shelving unit to toy storage, but I can give up a shelf or two.
Photo Credit: Secrets From a Stylist
We have two felt baskets from Crate&kids that hold toys/art supplies, and are accessible to our kids since they're on the bottom shelf. The toys don’t visually clutter the space since they're corralled in neutral baskets. I also recommend picking out baskets/bins that you could use in other places in your house should you need to move them around later as kids grow.
Here are a few cute options if you are looking for neutral toy storage. Some of these baskets are less then $10, and others are closer to $30. I will say, we've had our Crate&kids (back then, Land of Nod) baskets for over 3 years and they've held up great.
Happy organizing!
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