Parents that aren’t fortunate enough to have a playroom in their home often find themselves sharing the living room with their children’s toys.
In fact, even when we do have space in the house for toys, we usually see the living room being invaded by the little ones as they play.
If you’ve experienced this before (let’s face it, we all have), you’ll know exactly how fast total chaos can erupt.
Before we know it, we can’t walk around the living room without stumbling over misplaced toys.
Luckily, there are solutions, and today we want to share them with you. In this post, we will show you 17 clever ideas you can use to neatly organize and store away your child’s toys.
These ideas will let you keep things tidy and organized without stopping your child from playing. If this sounds like something that could be helpful to you, be sure to check out the list!
Storage baskets are a cheap and convenient way to solve your problem when it comes to keeping the number of toys in the living room under control.
Whether it be a large wicker basket or a softer fabric bag-like basket, placing one or two baskets around the room will make your life easier.
Your child will also be able to access their toys easily.
3. Rotate The Toys Your Child Plays With
If you don’t want to spend any money solving the problem, you could simply reduce how many toys your kid has out in the living room.
By splitting the toys into groups, you can make sure your child only has a set amount of toys out at once.
You can rotate the group of toys regularly so that they can play with them all. This may not solve the problem completely, but it will reduce the number of toys in the living room.
The next idea on the list is to use an ottoman. This extremely versatile piece of furniture is perfect for storing toys and other items out of sight.
Aside from comfortably storing most of your child’s toys, an ottoman doubles up as an extra seat. They also add another element of beauty to any living room.
You can also purchase ottomans in the form of footrests and coffee tables.
Similar to an ottoman, a storage bench is another good option. Another very versatile piece of furniture, a storage bench can be used to organize your child’s toys before also being used as an extra place to sit when you have visitors.
Children’s toys can also be easily stored away in a bookcase. While most bookcases will work well, the best option will be one that has a small cupboard on the front.
The reason for this is simple. By having a cupboard built-in to the bookcase, you can hide the toys away completely, making the room look even tidier.
However, bookcases with no enclosed cupboards might be easier to use if you also have some storage cubes to place on the shelves.
7. Utilize Your Coat Closet
You’ll be surprised by the number of people that don’t use their coat closet. Instead, a lot of people choose to use their mudroom.
If you’re not using your coat closet on a regular basis, why not get some toy bins and use the closet as a convenient place for your child to store their toys.
A stylish bookshelf can add to your living room’s decor and give you a convenient place to store your children’s toys.
Not too dissimilar to a bookcase, a bookshelf with enough space to hold a storage box can come in even handier. If it has small cupboards, even better.
There isn’t too much to say about this idea other than that it can make your life so much easier. Toy bins usually come with plenty of space to store all of your child’s toys.
While some toy bins can be designed to fit perfectly in the living room, others are quite big and may need storage in a closet.
Setting up a variety of cube shelves in your living room gives your child a dedicated toy storage space that will also fit in nicely with the rest of your decor. To ensure toys are out of sight, consider also buying some tote storage bags.
Rolling carts may not be the prettiest of storage solutions, but they are certainly one of the easiest.
Using a rolling cart allows you and your child to organize the toys into different collections, making it easier for your child to then find what they want instead of emptying out every toy.
The beauty of the cart is that you can then roll them out of sight if need be.
12. Create Your Own Toy Hamper
If you’re feeling creative, why not make your own storage solution by creating your very own toy hamper.
You could convert a laundry hamper into a rolling unit that is capable of holding all your child’s living room toys.
The great thing about this idea is that you can design the unit to suit your living room.
Possibly our favorite toy storage idea on this list is to use a trunk to keep your child’s toys organized.
Personally, we prefer wicker trunks as we like what they bring to the room. However, any type of trunk you like is absolutely fine as long as it has plenty of space for you to store toys.
The fact the next idea is called a toy organizer would suggest it is perfect for the job.
In all honesty, toy organizers are a little too big for most living rooms, but if you have enough space in your house, they are arguably one of the best options for your child.
They can effortlessly grab their toys and keep all of their things in one place.
For the last idea on our list, you will need more space and a lot of creativity.
To really maximize the space in your living room, you could contemplate adding a window seat with some storage space.
You could add storage baskets or even add totes underneath where your child can organize their toys.
Final Thoughts
That concludes our list of ideas you can use to store your child’s toys in the living room. As you can see from the list, there are an array of great options to choose from.
Whether you need to use an idea that adds to the living room’s decor or simply keeps the toys organized, there is something on our list for you.
Now you have the 17 ideas we love the most, why not take a closer look and decide which one you want to try? You’ll be able to move freely around your living room again in no time.
Carly Link, a 33-year old mother of two toddlers. She is a parent and goes through a lot of the usual parenting difficulties herself. Carly shares all her experiences and knowledge about the best baby products through this blog.
