We are lucky to have a quite large playroom at the back of our house. Being on the ground floor and very close to the living room makes it a lot more practical as my children don’t like to play by themselves upstairs at all – maybe when they are older.
With 3 children, they have accumulated a lot of toys over the years so we need good storage in the playroom to accommodate them and we have mainly got the expedit system from Ikea. Here are the playroom ideas we have done with our room:
We have 2 of the 8×4 units along one wall, as this doesn’t come up too high so this gives a surface to keep the larger toys like the garages and basket of teddies, plus the kids tv (it’s an old one which only works to play dvds).
At the moment as you can see, even with so much storage it’s quite a mess. We need to declutter and clear out a lot of the toys because it’s starting to get a bit over whelming in there now with so many things. The categories we have in this wall of Expedit are:
- 2 sections for books
- Box for thomas take & play tracks
- Box for disney planes & hotwheels
- Imagination box (anything for dressing up or pretend play accessories)
- 2 sections for Little People / HappyLand
- 2 sections for character playsets
- Box for Wow Toys
- Box for any Spaceship and spacemen toys
- Box for constructruction with cogs
- Box for musical instruments
- Box for electronic toys
- 2 sections for baby toys – This totally needs to be cleared out now, Mr R is coming up to 2 and a half and none of them play with it. I just haven’t got round to it!!
We have the coloured fabric boxes for Expedit (Drona). They are great value and do look tidy if everything is hidden inside the boxes (although not so much if you have a couple of unmatching ones in there too like me) – BUT it is annoying at times that the children can’t see what is inside them so I have wondered whether it would be better to go with some more transparent ones so that the younger ones would not feel the need to keep emptying everything out to find what they want!
We have another wall of Expedit on the other side of the room too which is the 5×5 one. This fits an amazing amount of stuff in. We use more Drona in the bottom of this to store:
- Wooden train track, trains and track accessories
- Chuggington tracks and trains
- Big and small vehicles
- Lego and construction toys
The higher levels we have just used as shelves to store board games, puzzles, card games and books. A lot of the wooden puzzles are stacked in baskets. I am thinking of transferring them to a different system like individual plastic boxes or strong ziplock bags.
We have a couple of boxes where we have put section dividers into the Expedit squares. It’s handy to keep smaller boxes and games but I actually wouldn’t recommend too many of these as they can be a bit awkward .
On the wall with the 2 x 2×4 we have yet more expedit because we have a small 4×4 unit wall mounted to make a book shelf.
This is mostly for the paperback books that I don’t want Mr R to rip when I’m not looking, as he’s not yet grown out of that! So it’s better to keep them higher up!
For books that they can all get at any time and are more indestructible, we have a reading corner with a sofa and a book case from Little Devils Direct (see the bookcase review here)
We have a world map wall sticker over here, and have alphabet stickers over on another wall -it’s covered a bit though as they have too many dvds on the shelf!
These shelves are for dvds, plus more books as we ran out of space on the other one! Mr Z and Mr T have their class photos there too. They are Ekby Jarpen / Ekby Bjarnum again from Ikea – I have these in quite a few rooms of the house as they are great shelves for their price. They hold a lot and are strong. We are even considering hiring a London interior decorating company such as KPD Construction https://
We have another photo shelf, also from Ikea. This is the photo ledge from the Ribba series + 3 Ribba frames. I’ve used this to put some decorated 3d photos of all the children, you can see how those were made here. There is also space to display some of their creations like decorated stones, pinecones, clay models or whatever they have proudly made recently!
The last bit of Ikea storage we have in the room is wall mounted Trofast. I decided to break away from Expedit for this one just because the trays are so handy for colouring and craft type things. I’ve also used the top as another shelf for board games and colouring books.
The final section of the room is the magnet board corner. The easel is also from Ikea and the other side has a chalk board but we hardly turn it around. It’s more useful for magnets for us and their do their chalk outside in the summer or on smaller boards.
So, there is our playroom, which the blog is named after, purely because I was sitting here when I registered the blog address, but I think it works well. It is one of the most used rooms in the house. I love it because it’s nice for the children to have their own space, and also because it allows me to keep the living room more tidy because everything is in here!
The Ikea systems are great and I would definitely recommend them for a good balance or price and functionality, although even with this much storage I do really need to organise myself to clear things out and streamline their toys a bit. I must make time to go through and sort everything into either keep, charity or bin.
How do you store the toys in your house? Are you a fan of Ikea too or do you have any other suggestions? And someone please tell me I’m not the only one in such desperate need of decluttering!
Linking up to:
Anna Marikar, mum of four and seasoned blogger, has spent over a decade sharing her parenting journey and passion for kid-friendly crafts and free printables.
Her easy-to-follow craft ideas and practical parenting advice have transformed In The Playroom into a cherished resource for parents.
Your storage is INCREDIBLY tiday. I dread to think what you’d make of ours! 😀
Jenny @ The Brick Castle recently posted…The Lego Collectors Guide 1971
I need some of those shelves! Our playroom is in dire need of some organisation 🙁
Gina Caro recently posted…Superhero Party
Oh my god – I real totally inadequate…I can’t bring myself to even look at the floor in our “playroom” which is actually really the lounge…it is covered in Lego (again!). Ah well, nevermind, at least the kids are having fun. What a great post, with some excellent tips and ideas. Thanks so much for linking up to the Parenting Pin it Party xx
Helen Neale (@KiddyCharts) recently posted…Valentines cards for kids: How to make a love bird card
I love your storage. when we move in June/July I am making sure that we get adequate storage in the kids room as wit 4 under 10 years they just accumulate way too much.
Laura Halls recently posted…A Small Victory
Bookshelves and large cupboards and a taking time to have a good clearout ever so often!!
Hellie’s Corner recently posted…My Blue Floppy Rabbit
We have those units and boxes in Ozzys bedroom – so handy! We also have a ceiling to floor wall to wall bookcase in the lounge which is 10 Billy bookcases screwed together – looks great and costs not much at all! x
Mammasaurus recently posted…Vintage: Nursery Rhymes #1
We have that same wall sticker of the world. I wish we had a playroom, all our toys are in the dining room and under the stairs
Kara recently posted…Win Heroes of the City Movie Pack
This looks amazing! Wish out playroom had been this organised when my 2 were small – but there is so much funky storage available now, and it looks like you’ve put it to good use 🙂
Vicky recently posted…Healthy eating: eating more, eating better – adding colour to my kitchen #motivationalmonday
We don’t have a playroom and really need to come up with better toy storage solutions as our lounge is being taken over slowly but surely!
Mum of One recently posted…Monday Parenting Pin it Party #36
We have a playroom at the back of the house that’s always evolving – yours looks very well set out & lots of fun 🙂
We have a playroom at the back of our house that’s always evolving – yours looks very well set out & lots of fun 🙂
Swazi recently posted…Itinerary of this Mum’s handbag
Love your play room! And wow you have a lot of toys haha! Wish we had a play room as I’d love to be able to keep all the toys hidden in there out the way. I like the way you’ve organised it all. Thanks for linking up x
kerry recently posted…New Books And Lazy Days
I know we have a lot, but they don’t really keep any upstairs in their rooms at all so that’s why it looks like more!
Great ideas thanks! I am OTT when it comes to organisation so have storage boxes/baskets/tins/jars…..for EVERTHING! And all my storage boxes/baskets/tins/jars…..are labelled too so the kids know what is where and where it needs to go back! I think it stems from being a primary school teacher (though now a full time mum) – my classroom was the same – labels everywhere and storage boxes/baskets/tins/jars….lol!
We did have labels but they pulled them off!! It was martha stewart adhesive chalkboard labels, so cool in theory but didn’t work for us in practise so need to find an alternative!
I love how you are ‘In The Playroom’ and have written about your playroom – I’m easily pleased! Very envious of anyone with an actual playroom and love how much storage you have, such a lovely space for the children x
Donna recently posted…Living Arrows – 3/52
wow! so many toys. I really need to sort out my girls rooms, we have limited space so I am looking at something to go under a mid sleeper, will definatly be checking out the stuff in ikea
Thanks for sharing – I’m just about to start my daughters room so I need all the storage ideas i can get!
Cass@frugalfamily recently posted…Money Makeover – Get a better deal on Insurance….
You are so lucky having a playroom! I would be lost without our ikea storage.
mummy of two recently posted…A first holiday #magicmoments #whatsthestory
These are all great ideas. I can’t see the pics but I like your descriptions. I’ll try to pin this post.
Astrid recently posted…Depression in Autistic People
Love your world map sticker and the photo shelf especially! 😀
I wish we had a play room – the kids have to share their space with us in the living room, so it’s a constant battle to keep the clutter to a minimum.
Every new year we have a post-Christmas clear-out and (with their permission), take at least as many toys to Oxfam as they were given for Christmas. We also regularly send a box of books and toys to Nanna & Grumps’ house, so that they have age-appropriate toys to play with when we visit (with the bonus of novelty value).
Good luck with the decluttering – it gets easier the more you do it (I am RUTHLESS now)! 😉
Gude @HodgePodgeCraft recently posted…How to make a baby keepsake shadowbox
I am one of the most unorganised people in the world! I love the idea of the shelves with containers in though 🙂 x
Sarah Bailey recently posted…Bakers Day – Valentines Cake: Review
This looks fab, we just have a overflowing toy box and HUGE pile of toys in our front room ;o)
Kate Williams recently posted…Cloud cushion tutorial
Wow so organised! We have recently converted a bedroom to a playroom, our downstairs room is my Pilates studio, so it does make us all go up and to the playroom…we have a bookcase with storage boxes and a wardrobe that I need to work out a way to get better storage into.
Priya recently posted…Mango and Apricot Raw Nut bars.
You call that a mess?! I think that is super organised. I need to draw some inspiration from you and seriously declutter!
Vai Chin recently posted…Our Perfect Day at Center Parcs
Wow what a lot of organisation Anna – looks so incredibly tidy. I think we need to do some de-cluttering! Great post 🙂
Charly Dove recently posted…Discovering Bookham Commons
Very jealous of the playroom! We need to sort out better storage now the girls have a bigger bedroom. I’m off to check out Ikea!
Shell Louise recently posted…Things to do today – # 1 – PICK UP THE KEYS!!
We’re big Ikea fans in this house, in fact a lot of our furniture is from Ikea. 6yo has Expedit in the dining room for her craft bits and pieces and in her room there is the trofast range.
spicers1976 recently posted…Magic Moments – Ballet Exams
We’ve used the Ikea Expedit too! They’re great for dividing toys up and keeping it simple. Your playroom looks great x
Lori recently posted…WHEN BAD HABITS GO BAD
im moving soon so these ideas will be great x
I cannot begin to tell you how much I love IKEA! I was telling my husband earlier that I will be getting expedit for our little girl’s room once we move as she has lots of toys and books that I want her to at least be able to put away…. whether she will of course is another matter 😉 A mother can dream can’t she!
The Egyptian Mummy recently posted…Weekly meal planner – 20/1/2014
IKEA shelves and boxes are brilliant, we have some in the kitchen too, very inexpensive and a very eye-pleasing solution to clutter!
oana79 recently posted…Books you love
Ikea storage here ! as well
Ninjacat recently posted…Meal Planning Monday January 20th
looks very tidy, and well sorted. we don’t have a play room so all the toys are now in my sons bedroom, I use lots of plastic crates especially for storing all the Lego!
Tina Mansfield recently posted…Baking with One Stop Craft Shop
we don’t have a playroom, but got some great ideas for our son’s room. thanks for sharing. Stopping by from Pincentive Blog Hop, have a great day.
karen recently posted…Our Meal Plan January 12th-18th
love those IKEA boxes in the top pic, we use those too! some great tips! x
Fritha Strickland recently posted…Willow and Hall
Wow! I am so jealous of your storage, so many great ideas! At the moment our toys are just about contained but when our baby twins grow up I suspect we will need more. I’ve been eyeing up the Ikea units for a while – I get most of our storage from there as it’s just so reasonable! We don’t have a playroom so I’m thinking of using one as a tv unit so I can hide all the kiddie toys away when they’ve gone to bed 🙂
Hayley @hayleyfromhome recently posted…Twin Babies – Week Three
I love your playroom, I was so envious when we visited. I wish we had space! We have the Ikea TROFASt system in our living room to contain some of Monkey’s toys. It has made a big difference. I really love Ikea and their storage solutions.
Mary @over40andamumtoone recently posted…A new day
What a lovely playroom! And great title for the blog- very fitting 🙂
Clarissa Hooper recently posted…Painted Toast
Love those shelf units! Right now all our toys are in clear drawer units – in the living room because my husband thought it would be better than giving them their own room. (Yes, that’s what he decided 6 years ago….LOL.)
Stopping in from the pin party!
Theres Just One Mommy recently posted…DIY Seek and Find Bag for Valentine’s Day
That looks very similar indeed to how we organise our home! We even have the same type of storage unit things with the boxes in. Super handy but I do have to empty them all out now and then and reorganise them or they just become mess hiders ;D
Emily @amummytoo recently posted…Free printable Valentine’s Day gift tags in pink and red
Some great storage ideas! I think some of these would be useful in a craft room too 🙂