At every stage of development, a child is surrounded by toys and educational gadgets. Often there are so many that it’s a good idea to find alternative ways to store and organize them-not only to avoid chaos, but also to teach your child good housekeeping habits
There are lots of ways to store toys. But the problem arises in small interiors, where every centimeter of free space is worth its weight in gold. In this article we present ergonomic solutions for storing children’s things without unnecessary cluttering the room
A child’s room must grow with the child – unless you can afford to lose money and nerves every year during renovation. As soon as your child outgrows the crib, plan the room with a division into parts – a play area, an educational area with a desk, and a bedroom/utility area
The play area can be designated with a colorful rug, a rubber mat, or even a plastic fence (for younger children). This is where your little one can use toys, where it’s a good idea to store them and make sure your child cleans up regularly. This will help you set clear boundaries from an early age
Especially in small apartments, it is worthwhile to implement solutions aimed at maximizing the use of free space. And there is plenty of it! Usually under the windowsills, which can be built in and create convenient cabinets with shelves, and also under the bed.
Depending on the height of your mattress, you can store toys in low, fabric containers that you can easily buy at home improvement stores or hardware stores. And… shoeboxes work great too! They are not visible under the bed, so you don’t have to wrap them in decorative paper and you don’t have to worry about their aesthetics.
Everyone loves functional furniture – such as a sofa with a bedding compartment, coffee tables with additional drawers or pouffes with a storage compartment inside. The latter are especially appreciated by parents. Sofas with storage containers are a great solution for combining the pleasant with the useful
Remember to choose furniture taking into consideration your child’s opinion. He or she will probably be interested in multi-coloured furniture, which will introduce cheerful eclecticism to his or her room. You can get small pouffes in different colors – soon your child will start bringing friends, and the pouffes will be useful not only for storing toys
In addition to poufs, you can also get benches with a lift-up seat. They work on the same principle, but they’ll hold more people and more toys. And if you’re a bit of a woodworker, you can even make them yourself from pallets!
If you absolutely can’t think of any clever ways to utilize the space you’ve seemingly taken up, you can opt for an all-purpose solution – a toy chest. It’ll take up a bit more space than what you’d be able to stuff under a mattress, but it does have one advantage. You store everything in one place
At big home furnishings stores you’ll find plastic trunks, wooden trunks, fabric trunks– whatever you want. Just remember to choose an option that is easy to clean. It is better that the children’s room does not settle dust and does not develop dust mites
Speaking of allergies and dust mites… do you know how often you should wash your baby’s stuffed animals to keep them safe and hygienic? Baby soft toys, which often end up not only in chubby hands but also in baby’s mouth, should be washed twice a month. Older children’s toys only need to be washed once every two months
Kids’ clothes usually don’t take up as much space as the clothes in your closet. Thus, the closet in your child’s room can also accommodate toys, games and educational gadgets. All you need are a few extra shelves or special organizers to keep things organized
And remember – let your child do it with you! After all, it’s his toys, so he should know how to take care of them properly and keep them tidy.
