The toys are out of control!

[JaneDoe]

How in world do keep your kids toys from taking over your home? We only have one toddler, but it's exhausting trying to keep her toys in check. We're losing this battle. At this rate, we're doomed once our second child is old enough to contribute to the toy mess.

How do you store toys so that the room is not so cluttered. My dd has toys in her bedroom and in our family room (where she plays most). My biggest concern is the family room. I want to store/hide the toys so that it doesn't look like a kids room. Help!

One of those ottomans or coffee tables with lids can be a toy box.
Get a coffee table with shelves and put toys in baskets.
Buy a big laundry hamper and use that.
A bookcase and baskets.
One of those shelf & container units at Target.
Use the drawers of your entertainment center if they exist.

[DCJenn]

I roatate the toys- in fact the poor boy has not had access to ONE of his Christmas toys from my side of the family (except for Dr. Elmo....)

They're all packed up and ready to be moved. I keep a few in his play yard and the rest get tossed in a box in the basement. When I get sick of the current toys, I get out the old ones and rotate them in and the current ones to the basement.

He is very limited in what he has access to- I figure he's nearly 2. He doesn't need to believe that he's the King of the the Toys quite yet. No point in overwhelming him or my living room! and in his bedroom, he has books and a few stuffed animals. No toys at all.

Jenn

Good luck. We only finally got control when we finished training and got a bigger house with an entire (big) room dedicated to the kid stuff. The bins and stuff Tracy suggested are all good -- we did them all. Now everything goes in the finished basement.

[SueC]

I can't stand to have toys all over our living areas (we only have one living room and I don't want it to look like a daycare center). The girls are pretty good about keeping their stuff in the room, but Mitchell drags his toys out all day long. I did finally break down and put a couple of soft crate type things in the dining room for his toys to go in.

[JaneDoe]

One of those ottomans or coffee tables with lids can be a toy box.
Get a coffee table with shelves and put toys in baskets.
Buy a big laundry hamper and use that.
A bookcase and baskets.
One of those shelf & container units at Target.
Use the drawers of your entertainment center if they exist.

I really like the ottooman/coffee table with lids idea. That would actually look pretty nice in the area where my dd's toys are currently situated. Thanks.

[houseelf]

I gave in but will resume the battle next year before the house goes on the market with a purge-a-rama.

I like:

http://www.ikea.com/webapp/wcs/stores/s ... 5639*15651

Kelly

[JaneDoe]

I gave in but will resume the battle next year before the house goes on the market with a purge-a-rama.


Kelly

This is exactly why we're in the midst of the battle!

[PrincessFiona]

We have a couple of those in the playroom, Kelly. Problem? You have to pretty much have a little basket for each cubby hole in order to keep things semi-organized

kris