Taming the Toys

Ask any parent, and toy storage/organization would probably feature as an area that is (or was) an issue! It certainly has been for us. While we have tried to be careful about how many toys we've allowed into our home, the "keepers" still need a home! Between moves and new babies and other priorities, most of our toys were sorted into a variety of bins stashed in a variety of places (mostly the floor of our sunroom/playroom). And with most of the toys stored on the floor, our littles found it difficult to discern between toys on the floor versus toys in a bin on the floor. Cleanup was a nightmare! 

I liked the idea of the IKEA Trofast system, but didn't like the look of the actual units. Then I spotted Shanty 2 Chic's DIY Trofast unit, and I was sold! In the past we've designed (or at least seriously modified) plans for most of the furniture we've built, so the idea of following instructions to the letter was actually quite appealing. 

We did make a few changes, of course. We added top pieces to each support, so that the bins won't topple out when they're half-way open (because with so many little kids, they are bound to be half-open quite a bit! This has proved to be incredibly helpful). We also added a few supports to the top area, giving us the option to use either medium or small bins. The other change was to add a piece of wood to the top; our dimensional lumber wasn't quite nice enough to look good on its own, so we stained a piece for the top.

I can't believe how much of a difference this little unit has made. Not only does it fit more toys than I thought it would, but there was an instant improvement in the clean-up routine. "Time to clean up" is no longer followed by "Don't you see all the stuff that's still on the floor?" The top of the unit serves as a home for Lego creations, which was another source of mess and aggravation.

At last, there's a little peace in the toy department -- and peace of any kind is welcome with four active littles underfoot! Scout has recently added himself to the fray, dragging himself around the house with a grin on his face and a pacifier trailing along behind (which inevitably collects all of the hair that I'm losing postpartum. Grr.). We've made a few other pieces to help with organization, that I might get around to sharing -- unless I'm too preoccupied picking up little bits of who-knows-what before they end up in Scout's mouth...