Toy storage

[calebsmama03]

Help! The toys are taking over!! I can't imagine what it will be like after Christmas. DS is starting to accumulate more and more toys, so I am looking for good storage options. My thoughts are to get a "toybox" (IF I can find a safe one...) for his room, then get some nice baskets, etc for storing toys in the living room - something sturdy enough to be baby-friendly but pretty enough that it still looks like a living room and not a daycare center :) What has anyone else done for toy storage? Any good toy boxes out there (I'd prefer a white one or nice wood, but maybe I'm dreaming to think I'll find one nice AND safe)? Any suggestions for storing toys in the living room (or other rooms of the house)?
Lynne
Mommy to Caleb 3/3/03

[kaitlinsmommy]

I hear you! We have the ChildDesigns toy chest from Babystyle. It was only $80 and I think it's very attractive and it matches her crib & dresser. The lid doesn't stay up as well as it should but I'm hoping they will send me a new part to fix that when I call.

We keep her living room toys in 3 wicker baskets with matching red gingham liners from PBK. They are lined up on the bottom shelf of a built-in bookcase. They also have a large wicker basket with liner if you are interested. And they have white baskets.

HTH.

[vikivoly]

Since DD does most of her playing in the living room, that's where most of her toys are. I have a coffee table that has 3 large wicker baskets underneath that I store toys in. I bought the table with toy storage in mind.

My best investment was a large corner tv stand with doors on the bottom. It is similar to this one. http://www.furnituregalleryinc.com/tables/cornertvcabinet.html The bottom cabinent has doors, so it is safe for DD. There aren't any shelves inside the cabinent, so it is great for storing larger toys. I can fit the leapfrog learning table, basketball hoop, hokey pokey elmo, a large playground ball, and several other smaller toys in there together. The stand is tall, so it keeps the tv controls out of reach of DD also.

[justlearning]

Because we seem to have similar taste, I was wondering what basketball hoop you have for your DD and if you/she like it. I'm wanting to get one for DS but haven't been too happy with some of the FP ones I've looked at that make annoying noises. Do you recommend yours?

[vikivoly]

I have Leapfrog's Learnin' Hoops Basketball set. I bought it during TRU's 2 for 1 sale. It is electronic, but it has a "speaking" voice rather than music and noises. It has 3 settings, ABC, 123, and CAT. In the ABC setting if you make a basket it says "A", the next basket is "B", and so on.

DD cheats! Though she is able to put the ball in the basket, she just pushes the lever inside the hoop to make the noises. I'm going to try turning it off to see if she'll shoot the ball instead of just pushing the lever.

My pet peeve with this toy is the height adjustment. When you pick the hoop up by the stand or backboard it slides up to the tallest height. This gets annoying when you are cleaning up.

Overall, I would say it is an average toy.