STORAGE | TOYS
For the first post I decided on the very thing that lead to the creation of this blog. It seems like one constant battle in our house is parents vs. clutter. By far, most of the mess is toys.. or toy related. The issue seems to always be the same – where does all this stuff go? Bins, boxes, drawers and shelves, we have them all. The trick is finding something that helps the situation instead of just trading problems. Shelves give easy access, which means you don’t have to help get the toy. This also means the mess will happen at record speed, and you’ll have to pay attention stacking and arranging at the clean up end of things. The Toy Box, the proven standard, is great for hiding toys away. However, it is also great for the smashing of tiny fingers. They also provide a nice height from which to fall in our house.
Maybe someone else has had better luck with the angled bin idea like these from Design Public. It seemed good at first, until I realized our children do not care what is in each bin. Our bins need constant cleaning and re-arranging. Good for a toy room, not the family room.
The second image is one of my favorite strategies for storage. Also from Design Public, this two drawer set helps with quick clean up, and provides a clean linear look when shut. Tall enough to not climb on and strong enough to hold a TV. The best part about these is that when the drawers are shut they easily become an end table, or just blend in with the rest of the furniture.
Boxes are good for longer term storage, but not something you want to be getting out everyday. Bins don’t stack or organize well, and are always strewn around or filled with things you thought you lost.
The IKEA Trofast bins are a clever idea, maybe a good playroom alternative to the large drawers. Kid friendly, hides toys, and has multiple slots for various sizes of bins.
Do It Yourself: The last image in this series is one from my house. We didn’t want to pay the nearly $1,000 for a single set of drawers so we made our own. $15 file cabinets from a used office supply store, $5 cans of spray paint, a little time and effort sanding, priming, and painting and we were set. Some drawers pull open, others flip up and pull out, and magnets stick to the outside. All three look great in a row, and cost no where near $1,000.
Nicely done, the $20 option is functional, affordable, and attractive.