In all the excitement of the holiday season it is easy to get lost in the hustle and bustle of toy gift shopping. It’s that time of year we indulge in giving and don’t feel guilty for spoiling our little ones with items off their wish lists.
The shopping is done, the kids are in bed, you throw on your winter flannels & cozy up on the living room floor surrounded by rolls of wrapping paper. Your favorite holiday movie begins and you scan around the room at all the bags and boxes full of goodies to wrap. That’s when it hits you…. “Where are we going to put all of this?!”
Every year you talk about how you plan on finishing the basement for that much-needed dedicated kid zone and reclaiming your living space –
Or you find yourself staring at the baskets and toys that pile up in the corner… wouldn’t this be the perfect place for a large built-in to organize and store the kids growing pile of toys and belongings??
It is easy for these ideas to get pushed to the back burner and never make it to the top of the priority list. The lack of storage and organization lingers and the problem only grows! It is always so easy to add to the piles of clutter around the home, and it seems like mission impossible to tackle the task of sorting, purging, and storing!
What if we told you we could help?
Diplomat Closet Design has a very simple answer to your toughest organizational questions… “YES, we can do that!” We put together 5 of our favorite suggestions for keeping the kids organized through the holidays and beyond! It is our goal to find solutions that fit every client’s needs and seamlessly incorporate into their home and daily routines.
Time to Tackle TOYMAGEDDON!
5 Suggestions to Help Tame Toymageddon
1. Step Outside of the Closet
Our first instinct when it comes to de-cluttering our children’s room is to shove everything into the closet, shut the door, wipe our hands, and walk away. Well, you don’t have to do that anymore! Diplomat Closet Design can customize attractive built-in solutions that can visually enhance any room. Some of our favorite enhancements to children rooms include:
- A functioning window bench that doubles as a toy chest.
- A custom bed platform with drawers that leaves no room for those pesky monsters and becomes an easy to reach storage area for the kids. Finally, a place to hide the toys that clutter their bedroom floor!
- Repurposing a reach-in closet and removing the bi-fold doors to create an open nook that offers a new look for toy storage, but still functions as a place to keep their clothes.
2. Do Not Let the Floor or Corner of your Living Room Turn into a Drop Zone
Why cover precious square footage by cluttering the corner with baskets and toy bins when we can build up? Once the floor is clear and the corner is empty that room immediately feels bigger and cleaner! What was once a blank wall is now a floor-to-ceiling built-in that hides the toys and games behind beautiful cabinet doors.
Diplomat Closet Design can incorporate other key features of your room into this new vertical storage design taking your children’s new storage unit to the next level by adding baseboard and crown molding so it appears it was built with the room. What functions as a hide-away now seconds as a showpiece in your home!
3. Create Multi-Function Storage
Forget about toys – what about all the iPads, iPhones, and other electronics that are left charging on the kitchen counter or on the end tables? Or how about the endless pile of papers and take home items from school? All the hand-made crafts and art projects add up and pile up!
Creating a unit that incorporates storage, desk tops, even a charging station provides a dedicated zone for the kids to stay organized and keeps your counters and table clear! This area also provides a great place for completing homework!
4. Think Long Term – Versatile Storage that Can Grow with Your Family
We have two words: Slat Wall! We love this versatile product and when you get creative with the application of it the options are endless!
- Let’s be honest, the kid’s toys and clutter does not end in the home. They spill over into the garage as well! Starting with buckets of sidewalk chalk, balls of every shape and size, Fisher-Price lawn games, to wooden baseball bats, hockey sticks, sleds, bikes, and more! A slat wall, and its array of accessories for every storage need, will not only keep the kids organized, but also functions as everyday storage for your growing family! (Visit www.HandiSolutions.com)
- Did you ever think of turning one of the walls in your children’s room into a slat wall? Genius, right!? Flexible, attractive shelving that can start low for a younger child’s reading corner and can slowly be adjusted with age (and height). Hanging baskets and bins can hold stuffed animals and toys, and then graduate into a home for all their collected mementos and keepsakes that accumulate over the years. Add-ons such as calendars, chalk boards, and jewelry displays make this a must have!
- Are you a craft lover like we are? Slat wall does not have to cover the entire wall. A small section over a desk or craft zone can be the perfect addition! This gives you an easy to reach place for your hand tools and keeps the clutter off your work surface. If you want to get fancy you can even add a frame around it to make functional AND aesthetically pleasing to the eye!
5. Get Creative with DIY Projects – and Let the Kids Help!
If they feel included and proud to have been a part of the creation they maybe more likely to put things away and use it.
Here are some of our favorites:
- Toy Chest That Doubles as a Toy (visit www.shelterness.com for more info!)
- Wood Crate Toy Storage (visit www.smartschoolhouse.com for a complete how-to-guide for this project!)
- Repurposing Planters to Hanging Wall Baskets for Toys (visit www.woohome.com for more ideas!)
We know the holidays are hectic and boy, do they fly by! In January when all the new toys, games, and gadgets are looking for a home, think of us! Diplomat Closet Design is a phone call away and we would love to provide you with a free consultation to help you tame your Toymageddon!
Call us at 610.431.3500 or email sales@diplomatclosetdesign.com
