November 3, 2014

Organized Family Room Home Tour – Toys

In my opinion, figuring out a system for containing the toys is crucial to keeping things simple and easy to put away. Regardless of the size of your family room, you can follow these simple steps and ideas and figure out a system for storing toys in this much-used area of your home.

I have a couple ‘rules’ for toys in main living spaces and these rules seem to keep toys from taking over while still allowing for creative play and lots of fun. I have three kids – the oldest is a girl and the younger two are boys. Most of the toys in the family room are toys that my youngest plays with because he is home all day (not at school) and doesn’t get to play in his room unsupervised like the older two. Teeny tiny toys stay in containers in the oldest kids’ bedrooms so they aren’t a choking hazard to the littlest one. This system works well, hopefully it’ll give you some ideas for organizing and including toys in your living space without feeling like a toy store threw up all over your house.

CONTAIN  – I use baskets to contain toys – I like the soft look they give and bonus, they conceal what’s inside the basket. When everything’s picked up and put away the room as a whole has a neat and tidy appearance. Look for baskets with handles to give them portability as well.

EASY TO CLEAN UP – Separating toys into baskets or containers also makes it easy to take out one or two things at a time which in turn makes it easier to pick up and put away. The basket can also be taken to another room or area of the house and easily picked up and put away.

ADJUST AS NECESSARY – See that huge basket in the corner? That’s full of Duplos – my youngest’s favorite toy. Instead of having a basket of miscellaneous toys, I packed those up and put all the Duplos in one basket. Sometimes you have to assess and re-assess the situation to determine what works for a specific stage or age or individual child.

HIDE FROM VIEW – I don’t know about you, but clutter makes me crabby. Toys strewn from one corner of the house to the next is great while they’re being played with but when that time is over, I want them to be put away quickly and easily. We use the bookcase to house most of the toys and some toys are in the TV console. Use the storage that you have and get creative with how you store toys – it’s that simple.

If you’re new here, I’d love for you to follow along on social media and subscribe to the blog on the sidebar. I share lots of simple and easy to implement homekeeping methods and tips.

Next up? Check out how the Top Organizing Bloggers are organizing their family rooms today!

• I’m an Organizing Junkie is sharing her quiet time corner organization.
• Goodbye House, Hello Home is organizing books and magazines.
• Organizing Made Fun is organizing her kids’ computer station .
• Organizing Homelife is organizing her bookcase.
• A Bowl Full of Lemons is organizing her heirlooms & collectibles.
• Organize and Decorate Everything is organizing DVDs.
• Ask Anna is sharing her TV console organization.

  And don’t forget to follow our Top Organizing Bloggers Pinterest Board to see what we’re pinning!