Stepped on a building block lately, or a puzzle piece with a jagged edge? If you have small children, toys will be a part of your life, and they will be played with in the living room. Keep the circus at a minimum when you choose to organize and find a space for the toys in the living room.
It is easier to store some of them so that your child can grab them easily. There are a few good places where you can keep your toys so that your living room remains tidy, and your little human can easily access them.
1. Toss the Old Toys
As your children get older, they will start to lose interest in some toys and gain interest in others. What you do not want to do is start hoarding toys for years at a time. Make sure you are tossing the toys that are no longer fun so that you do not get excess in your living area.
The truth is that your child will only be fixated on a handful of toys at once. Also, fewer toy options mean less mess, no pulling all of them out just to pick the same toy over and over again.
If the toys are still in good condition, feel free to donate them to shelters or daycares in your area. Once you remove these unwanted toys from your home, you know exactly what you are working with.
2. Secure a Space For the Toys
Once you and your children have compiled the toys that you want to keep, it is important to make sure you pick a single place in the living room to store these toys. If you start allowing them to be stored in multiple places, then your living room will return to its previous state of chaos and clutter.
If your living area has built-in cabinets or extra storage in your furniture, feel free to secure that space for toys to play with. If not, then consider a toy box that is accessible to children or an ottoman that has storage within.
3. Size Matters
While it is so sweet to have friends and family purchase toys for your little ones, make sure they know there is a size limit. This doesn’t mean picking up your phone and sending a scouting message in a group. Be tactful and aware of their feelings because they are when they bring over new toys.
Be kind, and when they are over visiting, show them the storage space you have set aside for toys. If they have a visual of your space, they will have a true understanding of their parameters when shopping. As the parent, you also want to be cautious of how large and how many toys you are purchasing for your child.
4. Show Them Where to Play
While you may want your small ones playing in the living room where you are, you want to establish a set of rules and guidelines for them to follow when playing. For example, make sure that if they want to play with building blocks, they should go sit at the table to keep all the pieces together.
Making them a small sitting area in the corner of the room will encourage them to keep these smaller pieces off of the floor. By showing them, they will associate that area with play and always take those toys to the table or the play area in the room.
5. Sort The Toys
If you have puzzles or building toys that are in sets, you want to keep them separate from other toys that are independent and unrelated. Keeping all the pieces together is important for these types of toys, so they should be stored in their own containers where everything is kept together. This can be done with either the original box that the pieces came in or with storage boxes purchased with secure lids.
Final Thoughts
Even if your child has a designated playroom, you can expect there to be some toys in your living room, and they will have permanent residence there. That is just the way it is. However, you can manage that residence by finding a space that will store the toys they need, allow them to be responsible, and keep your home clean in the process.
The most important aspect of identifying where to put the toys is the independence you are building in your children and getting them adjusted to the structure so that they can carry it with them.
