Tell me about your playroom organization

[ciaobella]

Toys are overflowing at our house and I know this is common problem. I am looking for some sort of organization system for our playroom and other rooms in the house. How did you get organized? I would love to see photos too!

Thanks for helping save my sanity!

[brittone2]

nak-
ikea's expedit shelves...lots of storage, decent looking, affordable. The branas?? baskets fit great for stuff you want to conceal.

[almostamom]

We bought our shelves at Target. We purchased two short and two tall shelving units (the 2nd short one is all the way to the left). Ultimately there will be wicker baskets with liners on the shelves, but right now they're still being used at the changing table and I refuse to buy new ones.

http://i81.photobucket.com/albums/j220/churchillsaz/DSCN0310.jpg

HTH,
Linda

[ellies mom]

We happened upon a really good sale at Pottery Barn kids so we got the Cameron system. The biggest reason we chose it over the Expedit system was that it had a TV stand deep enough for our TV. We got a bunch of baskets at Cost Plus World Market. The next plan is to put more shelves in the closet to organize the things I don't want DD to have access to all the time.

As for the other rooms, I have a few nice looking baskets here and there that I toss her toys into. When they get full, I put the toys back in her playroom and the cycle starts again. She also has a few bigger toys that live quite unattractively in our dining room (stroller, shopping cart, car). I'm just not sure what else to do with them.

[SnuggleBuggles]

Like 1-2 months ago I asked for people to post playroom pics on the Around the HOuse page. You might want to do a search there b/c the thread got several replies.

After that thread I wound up buying a Do Your Room (DYR) bookcase at Target for ds' room (didn't need playroom furniture). I bought 2 of the small chalkboard bins to go on it and one giant chalkboard bin for his blocks. His room looks so much nicer and the amount of space offered by one mere medium bookshelf has been perfect.
This is the shelf (we have the wood colored one):
http://www.target.com/gp/detail.html/sr=1-1/qid=1176153607/ref=sr_1_1/602-3125321-6507835?ie=UTF8&asin=B000ES274K
Large chalkboard bin:
http://www.target.com/gp/detail.html/sr=1-4/qid=1176153673/ref=sr_1_4/602-3125321-6507835?ie=UTF8&asin=B000ECVEU4
Small chalkboard bin:
http://www.target.com/gp/detail.html/sr=1-10/qid=1176153673/ref=sr_1_10/602-3125321-6507835?ie=UTF8&asin=B000ECVDYG

What we have in our playroom closet is this:
http://www.target.com/gp/detail.html/ref=br_1_13/602-3125321-6507835?ie=UTF8&frombrowse=1&asin=B000LRBNK8

The toy storage stuff on the Target website is really cute. Some items aren't in the store.
http://www.target.com/gp/browse.html/ref=in_br_display-ladders/602-3125321-6507835?ie=UTF8&node=172118011

I may have bought the Company Kids' Kendall collection storage (like the PBK Cameron...but much cheaper) had they had the color I wanted in stock. But, it was backordered for months.

I was pleased to get a cute, sturdy shelf without spending much.
HTH and don't forget to go look for that thread. :)

Beth

[ppshah]

We use skandia from container store. It's pricey, but we were using it for something else, so we already had it.

http://i26.photobucket.com/albums/c123/srs-mom/playroom2.jpg

[kristine_elen]

We bought a shelving unit that has eight slots/boxes. Then we bought canvas drawer/boxes to go in them. Got both at Target. The canvas boxes then come all the way out so the kids can access the toys. It's basically like the Ikea Expedit but cheaper. I don't consider it long-term furniture so I went with something inexpensive. I think it was $40 plus $8 per canvas drawer.

[SnuggleBuggles]

Duh, I should have replied to your's before. :) The collection of shelves look great together. :) Good luck with finding baskets that fit. The spaces are a lot more narrow than I was expecting. At Target I took around all the containers I liked to see if they would fit in the shelves and most didn't. The chalkboard bins are great though but you need to put protective feet on the bottom of them to keep them from scratching the wood as you pull the bins in and out.

Beth

[bubbaray]

We have this from Ikea:

http://www.ikea.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/ProductDisplay?catalogId=10103&storeId=12&langId=-1&productId=47813

If I had the shelves that the other PPs here have, there is NO WAY that they would ever look so neat and tidy! Not in a million years, LOL! I'm a big fan of bins. I like the Trofast unit b/c DD#1 can pull out the lower bins herself. It is really stable and I haven't felt the need to secure it to the wall (though you certainly could).

I also rotate her toys. I keep a certain amount upstairs and the rest in the (heated, finished) basement.


Melissa

DD#1: 04/2004

DD#2: 01/2007

[chlobo]

Those are really cute. Thanks for the link to the Target stuff.

BTW, are the shelves you got wood? Or some kind of composite?

[ciaobella]

These are great - thanks for the photos and the links!

[Maxlee]

We have three of these via toy boxes and I hope to add some more soon they are wonderful! www.viatoybox.com DD loves to put stuff in and take stuff out all day :)

[almostamom]

Thanks for the tip on the chalkboard bins, Beth. :) I just did a test run with the baskets I had. They don't all fit in the cubbies, but they at least fit on the shelves just fine. I have 4 different basket sizes that I bought from PBK. Two of them do fit in the cubbies though.

HTH,
Linda

[almostamom]

Totally OT, but a quick question for you - we have the same wooden garage that you have on your train table, but we cannot get it to stay glued together. Granted, DS is pretty hard on toys, but everytime we glue it back together, it falls apart again. Any tips?

Thanks,
Linda

[KrisM]

We've got a train table. Underneath it, we have 6 dish washing tubs ($1.49 each) with labels on them for: train tracks, train pieces, balls, puzzles, small toys, cars. That has helped tons.

We also have a small bookshelf that I got from my grandparents. And one of those shelves with the plastic bins. I try to go through the toys every 2-3 months and pull out things that just aren't used any more. We also have some things in the basement that come up sometimes.

[nupe]

Our playroom is a sunroom. There are windows all around. We have these bins on the floor, stacked only 1 high. I have four of them, all open, and they hold a ton. The best part is that we can see everything, and they are divided by category. I have other toys/boxes arranged on top of them too. I love the honey color--it goes with our children's table and chairs and rest of the house real furniture. I thought about getting Land of Nod bins, but it was so much more expensive at the time. I am so happy with the TCS ones--I even assembled them myself. And since they are only 1 high I didn't have to attach anything to the wall, which is important since we may move the play room to another area of the house.

http://www.thecompanystore.com/parent.asp?product=xk08x&dept%5Fid=5301

For all the train stuff, I have plastic boxes under the Thomas train table. I have small sterilite containers with the HINGED LIDS from Big Lots and from Meijer. The lids can't get lost, and no one can step on them and slip on the floor like they did with rubbermaid. The small containers are great for hotwheels and other things too and don't get too heavy for little hands because they are small.

http://www.sterilite.com/Category.html?Section=Storage&ProductCategory=41

Nupe

[kathsmom]

Linda,

Did you get these bookcases from a Target store or online? I tried looking online and didn't see them. However, I could have missed them. These look like they would work well in DS's room.

Thanks!

[zoestargrove]

I looked for over a year, but I finally found the perfect storage solution for us.

I wanted to hide the toys behind doors and not have open shelving and I wanted extra counter space for the boys to do puzzles, pretend play with the stovetop or cash register,color, etc.

I bought the EFFEKTIV low cabinets from Ikea, 3 of them, with doors and then, found the inserts that fit perfectly at Target in the scrapbooking/office accessories aisle. (also, found them at AC Moore and was able to get 40% off with a coupon)

http://www.target.com/gp/detail.html/ref=sc_ri_2/602-8696854-1119858?ie=UTF8&asin=B000F4ILIE

It was more expensive than some of the other options mentioned. (I spent a little over $300 on the 3 Ikea cabinets and another $50 on the inserts) but, it's held up well, the kids help clean, because everything has a place, and they really get a lot of use out of having the counter space that is just the right height for them.

http://i53.photobucket.com/albums/g52/zoestargrove_2006/IMG_1620.jpg

http://i53.photobucket.com/albums/g52/zoestargrove_2006/IMG_1619.jpg

[nicknack]

I LOVE those! Might just have to do that when we move. So the height is good for your sons to work at? Do they just sit on stools?

[zoestargrove]

It's the perfect height for them to stand and work at the counter. They are 21.5 inches tall. It comes up to my 2.5yo chest and closer to my almost 4 yo's belly.

I suppose you could pull up a stool, but, there isn't any leg room because of the doors.

[mypa]

I'm looking at all these beautiful playrooms that are so well organized and am wondering how old your DC is/are? I tried doing something similar and all he did was pull everything off the shelves and dump all the bins. He's almost 21mo. old.

[almostamom]

Sorry Toni, I just saw this (and I thought I had subscribed - oh well). We did buy our bookcases in the store, but I had seen them online as well.

Here's the link to the smaller one:

http://www.target.com/gp/detail.html/ref=sc_pgc_r_12_1_10323431/602-0079323-2251858?ie=UTF8&frombrowse=1&asin=B000ES274K

and here's the taller one:

http://www.target.com/gp/detail.html/ref=br_1_14/602-0079323-2251858?ie=UTF8&frombrowse=1&asin=B000ES5VWK

I believe they came in white and natural.

HTH,
Linda

[almostamom]

I can only speak for ours, but it honestly only looks like that when we first wake up and right before I go to bed! I'm too embarassed to take a picture of it now and show you! My DS is 2 1/2. BTW, my son had exactly 1 truck before his bday - I think they multiply in the room when the door is shut! :)