Keeping toys under control is a difficult task, because they can get out of control pretty quickly. No matter what I do, all our toys seem to end up in the living room, so I’ve been on a mission to find toy storage ideas for the living room that actually work for my family.
If you’re working with a small space, toy storage and organization can be a bigger challenge.
If you don’t have a playroom or you have minimal space in your child’s bedroom, finding toy organization ideas for the living room may be your only option. However, I’ve found a number of ways to make my living room kid-friendly by both creating a toy corner and finding hidden toy solutions in the living room.
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1. Toy Rotation System
Creating a toy rotation system has been a game changer in my house.
I store away about half of my kids’ toys in our basement and I periodically switch toys out. This has been a positive change in our home for three reasons:
- It cut the toys I have to store in my living room (or elsewhere) in half.
- My kids have responded well to having less toys.
- They get excited to see “new” toys when I switch them out.
Consider implementing a toy rotation system in your home before you look for toy storage ideas for the living room!
2. Cube Bookcases with Baskets
Photo: Making Home Base
Using a cube organizer shelf has been essential in helping me organize and store my kids’ toys throughout our home. It’s the perfect idea for a living room, because you can use decorative baskets in them to sort, store and hide toys.
You can choose to add decorative baskets that blend in with your living room decor, so it doesn’t end up looking like a playroom.
Here are a few ideas on where you can place your cube organizer:
- Behind a sofa as a console table
- In a designated “toy corner” in the living rom
- Against a wall as a TV stand
- Under a window sill
3. Use a Storage Ottoman to Hide Toys in the Living Room
Using a storage ottoman to hide toys in the living room is one of my favorite mom hacks, because storage ottomans can also double as seating and a coffee table. This is such a great idea if you are trying to store toys in a small living room too. Multifunctional furniture is the key to making any small space work!
4. Keep Toys Sorted
The ottoman above is a great idea, but what happens when your child is looking for one specific toy? All the toys are thrown out of the toy box and all over the floor. I know how this goes too well, so when I came across this idea I was surprised I hadn’t thought of it before! I organize the playroom and the bedrooms by sorting toy collections, but not in the toy box. This hack has defintely been a game changer!
5. Large Decorative Baskets in “Clutter Areas”
Certain corners in our living spaces tend to be where toys stick around, so I’ve found that keeping decorative baskets in these areas where I can just throw the toys in during a quick sweep really helps. In a perfect world, we would have clean ups where every single item goes back to where it belongs – but just isn’t a reality in my home. We do clean out the baskets and put the toys back where they belong a couple times a week. You can find the basket shown below here.
6. Under Furniture Baskets
We use this storage hack under beds and cribs, but if your living room furniture allows, try using shallow baskets to store toys! This is a great example by Our House Now a Home!
7. Utilize Vertical Space
If you’re short on room, a great hack is to utilize vertical space. Tall bookcases and armoires are great pieces to invest in for extra storage.
You can also hang baskets on decorative hooks to store toys like the blogger from This Lil House did!
How do you keep toys in the living room organized? Have you implemented any of these hacks in your own home?
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