Parents everywhere are faced with one common household challenge: organizing kids’ playrooms.
Whether it be the random (and painful) Lego on the floor, the endless Barbie accessories found around the house, or markers, crayons, and glue sticks found in between couch cushions and under the dining room table, toys are everywhere! We’ve heard that picking up toys is an endless cycle that makes Moms and Dads feel like Billy Murray in Groundhog Day!
How exactly can parents break out of this cycle? With design-friendly organization, of course! Thankfully, Pinterest has an abundance of ideas and tips to help keep kids’ bedrooms, playrooms, and the entire house neat and organized. We highlight a few of our toy-tested favorites below, and we have many more Pins on our Pinterest page, “Life With Kids.”
Game board art: We’re not kidding when we say this may be one of the best ideas we’ve seen in a long time. Do you know how board game boxes always get beaten up and start falling apart after a few games? This suggestion solves the problem and eliminates the need to store those bulky boxes. Frame the game boards in wood that is a few inches deep. That’s important because you are going to attach plastic bags containing all the game pieces to the back of the framed art pieces. When your kids are ready to play the game, simply pull the artwork down from the wall. Click here for full, detailed instructions. So cool! Side note: puzzle boxes are also bulky and can fall apart. Another simple but smart idea is to put the puzzle pieces into a zipped cloth bag. It will take up less space and ensure that you don’t lose any pieces!
Over-the-door shoe organizer: While it may not sound glamorous, this organization hack can be used to store craft supplies, small stuffed animals, Barbies, and more, inside dozens of individual storage spaces. If you choose a clear organizer, it's easy for kids to see what's inside too!
Dressers dressed in chalkboard paint: Simply paint the dresser in chalkboard paint and then label the drawers so that kids can help put away their own clothes. We’ve seen another twist on this with drawers labeled by the day of the week, which is a great idea for children who are trying to learn to get dressed on their own. Want to make your dressers even more useful? Attach bookshelves to the sides. Use space wisely and get the most storage you can from that large piece of furniture!
Vintage suitcases: This idea takes the storage boxes to a whole new level, and we think it’s one that kids and parents will both love. These suitcases can be the place for your child’s favorite toys, or maybe their rock collection, or something else special to them. This could be a perfect place for those dress-up clothes, too!
Toy car garages: There are several cute ideas for storing the countless toy cars that drive on the interstate and back roads of your home. One ingenious idea is to transform a knife rack into a magnetic wall-mounted toy car parking pad. Simply add a magnetic strip to the bottom of the Thomas the Tank Engine toy and it will attach to the knife rack! If you are a fan of upcycling, consider turning empty toilet paper cardboard tubes into a multi-deck parking garage.
Bath time toy bins: When we say toys find their way to every part of the home, we mean it. Certainly, bathrooms are no exception. To neatly store all those toys that turn bath time into playtime, consider mounting an extra shower rod on the interior wall of the bathtub. Use s-hooks and plastic bins as a clever, water-safe storage system.
Stuff bucket: This is so simple it’s brilliant. Paint your children’s names on buckets and place them on the stairs. As you find toys and stuff that needs put away in each child’s room, simply add them to the stuff bucket. It’s as easy as that. The hard part is getting the kids to put the stuff away!
This list just barely scrapes the top of the toy bin with smart and simple toy storage ideas we’ve found on Pinterest. Be sure to check out our Pinterest board for more ideas and, please, share your favorite toy storage ideas with us below!
Home offices are at the top of must-have lists when considering a new home. When it comes to decorating these spaces, the practicality and necessity of the space often overpower the design. Sometimes, the office makeover involves a coat of paint, and nothing more. Yet, in reality, this is the space where the professional magic happens, and it should be as inspiring as possible.
For many of us, our pets are our best friends. Some of us even consider them our kids. They are most certainly part of the family. And, as such, we think they should have their special place in our home, just like the rest of the family! Fortunately, with the help of Pinterest, we’ve got several ideas for how your pets can be living large!
With Eastwood Homes, you can let go of all those features of your home that are outdated (think: popcorn ceilings) and embrace the new must-haves that you've been eyeing for years! All at a great value today without having to fill your weekends for the next two years chipping away at a long to-do list!
