Things You'll Need:
- An overabundance of toys
- Shelves
- An empty kitchen cupboard
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Step 1
Use what's already built in. If you have a spare, low kitchen cupboard, let your kids store their tablets, construction paper, coloring books, and folders on the cupboard shelf. Use the bottom of the cupboard to store crayons, pens, pencils and markers. Can't spare a cupboard? Try a drawer in your kitchen or desk.
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Step 2
Have your furniture do double-duty. An attractive, low storage cabinet from an office supply store can serve as both a toy bin and a table, and it looks so much better than a hideous plastic toy box. Have a coffee table? Consider replacing it with a storage ottoman, or use a double-layered coffee table with storage baskets tucked underneath the top.
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Step 3
Use wasted wall space in bedrooms and closets as storage space by installing shelves. Even a couple of feet of a closet wall can be used for shelving, as can a spare corner of your children's bedrooms. Plastic-coated wire shelving comes in many sizes and can be installed almost anywhere in a closet (and it doesn't collect dust!)
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Step 4
Have storage places for toys tucked everywhere in the house: your basement if you have one; the main living area; and the bedrooms. Sometimes the toys migrate from room to room, but that's OK--each area has its own storage space, so no matter where the toys are, there's a place to put them away.
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Step 5
Clean up! No matter how badly your house is trashed at the end of the day, make sure all toys are put away before bedtime. Even a toddler can place toys in a bin or on a low shelf. If your kids clean up all their toys at the end of each day, the mess won't overwhelm you--or them.
Comments
ShannaFuentes said
on 12/30/2008 Great tips! Thank you so much!
veryirie said
on 10/7/2008 Good tips ..... make it convenient for your kids to put their own toys away! Good job!
cicikiz33 said
on 9/17/2008 gret article with helpful tips
Kilogramm said
on 9/14/2008 This is a wonderful how to, lots of helpful ideas!
Susanh said
on 7/29/2008 Excellent! We've found too, that if we purge now and then (giving toys to church or other families), it's not as difficult to keep things decluttered. Great article!