Best Ways to Hide Kids Items in a Living Space
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When raising kids, having toys clutter your house is inevitable. However, there are some creative ways to give your children easy access to their toys while still being able to put them away when you entertain. Below are a few things we have done to maximize toy storage and still keep some level of adult space.
End Tables with Storage
Before we had children, I never paid much attention to how an end table functioned. Now I have tried to replace the ones that had zero function or storage with new tables that can hold as much as possible while still looking nice. This photo shows three end tables in our house. The Espresso table is from Target. The white table with the dark top is a piece we were given and refinished. The rustic table is a Home Goods find. All of the baskets are from Home Goods. We hide books and small toys in these baskets.
TV Cabinets with Storage
This piece was a dining room sideboard from James’ grandparents house. It was originally the color of the inside of the cabinet. We refinished it and use the bottom for the kids toys in our living room. The 3 drawer plastic container holds small figurines and miscellaneous toys. On the right side, I use a stackable shoe shelf to hold puzzles, books, and coloring supplies. It helps maximize the space and I can close the doors when they are done playing.
Storage Bench for Shoes, Gloves, and Hats
This storage bench is an antique that we have repurposed in our entryway. We don’t have a foyer or mudroom to store our shoes, so we had to get creative before the clutter completely took over our dining/living room. The top drawer holds all of the girls hats, gloves, and sunglasses. I used to keep them in their rooms but it made getting out the door that much harder when we had to keep going back to get something. The bottom drawer holds shoes. If I’m being completely honest, we still end up with shoes next to the front door(this is real life and we do have two kids 5 and under!) and the bench does become a landing spot for bags when we walk in. However, it has drastically improved the functionality for getting in and out of the house and it hides a majority of the chaos!
Storage Cubes
Our basement is where the majority of our kids toys live. For this area, I think cube shelves work the best for us. They aren’t always the prettiest but they hold a ton of toys and the kids can access their toys without having to ask. Both of these shelves are from Target. The one on the left is the Threshold brand. The one on the right is the Room Essentials brand. I prefer the Threshold cube shelf because it seems sturdier and the bins have stayed in better condition than the Room Essentials ones(you can see the bins on the right have started to bend and wrinkle over time). However, I should mention that we have had both of them for over 4 years and they are still in great condition. If your budget allows, I would buy the Threshold brand but the Room Essentials brand will still work well if you are working with a smaller budget. The Threshold fabric cubes also cost about double the Room Essentials cubes. The Threshold bins are larger and hold quite a bit more.
Stuffed Animal Bean Bag Storage Chair
For more casual spaces, these bean bag chairs are perfect! They come in 3 different sizes and multiple different colors. We have so many stuffed animals and Beanie Babies stored in these. The animals are accessible when Charlotte wants to play with them but when she’s playing with something else, these can be used to sit or jump on. You could also store extra bedding or pillows in these. The covers are easy to wash. We have washed them multiple times in cold water and hung to dry.
Closet with Clear Bins
A toy closet is not something that every house will have but if you have an extra closet, this could help keep things organized and out of sight. When we renovated the basement, we had a small space between heating equipment and a pole that was going to go unused. I had them add a closet and it was one of the best decisions! James added some shelving and we can hide so many toys inside of here. I bought as many plastic clear bins as I could and added labels to all of them with my Silhouette machine. I like that I can put small toys on higher shelves that need to be kept out of Eliana’s reach. Charlotte can open the closet and tell me exactly what she wants since she can see through the bins. Once they are done playing, I can put the bins away and I no longer have to look at Ryder and all of his Paw Patrol gang!
Unfinished Basement Storage Space
We added a wire shelf in our basement storage room that has helped keep more toys out of sight. This is a great option if you want to rotate toys or keep larger toys out of your main play area. Our children know where to find the toys and they bring out what they want but when they are done playing, the toys can be put away out of sight!