One room that gets used more than any in our house is the playroom. When we were building our house I knew that I wanted the playroom to be on the main floor. In our previous home, it was on the second floor and while it got used, the kids just like to be close to the action so having the playroom on the same floor as the kitchen where I usually am was the best decision we made. We combined two bedrooms during the remodel for the playroom. The Mr. kept thinking it was way too big, but I knew we would fill it up quick with all of their large toys and things. Plus, this saying kept sticking out in my head.
I wanted them to have a big place to play and create and imagine and just be kids. Having this large space for the kids is SO nice! What isn't so nice is all of the room for messes. I'm pretty type A when it comes to my house and I like things in their place. Since the day my kids were old enough I started having them help with cleaning up their own toys and it is something that has just become a habit for them. Now don't get me wrong...there are certainly times when there are toys and things spread out all over this room, but when I tell them I can't stand the mess anymore, they know I mean business and they know they better get cleaning. I think the thing that helps the most with this is having a place for everything. Organization is key so I though I would share some more pictures of our playroom today and show y'all how we keep it all organized.
When setting up our playroom I sort of made different areas based on different types of play. My kids love playing school so their "teacher" section is one of the most used spots! Last week I shared the changing table that I painted and repurposed as a shelf for all of their "teacher stuff" and it continues to work out great for extra storage.
On the shelf I use these baskets from Target to help keep workbooks, notebooks, folders, and other supplies in their place.
I also like to use nontraditional storage in places to just make it look pretty. These wooden alphabet blocks could go in a basket, but they are so colorful and fun that I wanted them to show so I used a large vase that I had to hold them instead!
We purchased a craft table from Land of Nod years ago when Little Mama was just a toddler and it we have definitely gotten our money's worth out of it. They use it for crafts, it's the desk for school, and becomes a table when they play restaurant. I bought the red chairs online from Amazon because they were a lot less expensive than any others I found and they came in tons of colors.
I loved this table because it also has space for extra storage below the table. I use the white bins to hold stickers and coloring books and the red pails each hold crayons, markers, and colored pencils. I just dump them all out of the boxes into the pails so the kids can easily grab what they want.
A new addition to the playroom is this antique Coca-Cola wooden crate. One of the advantages of buying an older home to remodel was that the previous owners left us all sorts of goodies in the basement. I have been searching and searching for a use for this wooden crate and it finally dawned on me that tit would work great in the playroom.
The kids helped me put some items in it that they use most often. We used mason jars to hold the markers, crayon, etc.
Another big purchase years ago was this play kitchen from Pottery Barn Kids. It was a combined gift from us and both sets of grandparents and has been so well loved. Every time I think it might be time to sell it, the kids use it to play restaurant or some other type of game so it is still going strong.
My in-laws were getting rid of this shelf years ago and I took it, painted it white, and bought these baskets from Pottery Barn Kids. They are 10 years old and still look brand new!
These baskets hold smaller toy like action figures, Barbies, etc.
In one corner I have this pop-up mesh laundry basket that is used to hold all the balls. These are so cheap, but so great for balls, stuffed animals and bigger stuff like that.
We have a lot of dress up clothes, old dance recital costumes, etc. and my kids love dressing up and getting into character so these large baskets hold all the dress up stuff.
We had a build in shelf put in one of the corners and while it isn't pretty, it's functional and kind of hidden from immediate view. It holds larger things like pirate ships, the karaoke machine and play cash registers.
And because I'm a boy mom we have lots of weapons. From Nerf guns to pirate swords, light sabers and bow and arrows. They all go in this large basket.
Also because I'm a boy mama, we have tons of trains, cars, and trucks. This train table was a gift for Boo-Boo a few years ago and I love it because he can play trains on it, but he also uses it for other vehicles and those two large drawers underneath have so much storage for all the train pieces and larger vehicles, remote control cars, monster trucks, etc. You'll also see that small plastic bin that I use to hold all the matchbox cars.
The wall above the train table is our artwork gallery wall. I wrote all about it HERE and you can see that our wall has grown! I buy random black frames so I can keep adding to as they bring home new frame-worthy art! It's so colorful and an easy way to fill a big blank wall.
An old TV and TV console are in the playroom for the kids to play the Wii and watch movies. It doesn't have cable, but they watch DVD's in here. Also beside that I have two large baskets with all the babydoll/American Girl stuff.
We have tons of books in the playroom that sit on this dollhouse shelf that used to be in Little Mama's nursery.
And one of the greatest things we did when building our house was put a closet in the playroom. It is holds all the games, puzzles and other random toys. In it I have an over the door shoe organizer that holds all of the craft supplies. It's great because the kids can see just what they are looking for.
There you have it! That's our whole playroom. If anyone else has organization tips to share for kid stuff, please share! I need to tackle my kids' rooms and their closets, so I'm always looking for ideas.
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