Creative ways to get some storage in your home
Here's some great storage tips that may help you get organised
Keep your house looking ship shape and clutter free.
Having a little one around the house can sometimes mean your house becomes a giant playroom with mess and clutter everywhere. We know how attached kids can be to their toys, but at the same time how difficult it is to sort and store them effectively. To keep the house tidy in times when you have manic children running around, try our top tips on keeping your house spic and span with an element of cool.
Change up a bookshelf
This may sound mad but bear with us. If you turn a narrow bookshelf on its side you will have yourself a make-shift storage solution. Make sure the spaces between each shelf are wide enough to fit in a wicker basket which your kid can easily pull out to find what they want. To make this idea even more space efficient, top the bookshelf with a foam cushion in an eye-catching fabric as a place where your children can sit and play. You could place two bookshelves at right angles if you have a corner space in your child’s room to create a storage solution that doubles up as a play area!
Spruce up a coffee table
If you have an old coffee table don’t throw it away! If it has a second layer below the top you can craftily use this to store some wicker or see-through boxes filled with your child’s toys, combined with another layer of storage boxes on the floor underneath it. If you don’t have a coffee table lying around you can pick up a really cheap one from somewhere like IKEA as well as the storage boxes to slide in.
Attach crates to the wall
If you can get your hands on some old wooden crates or boxes then you can hang them on your child’s walls to store books, toys and other accessories. For an added design element you can wallpaper the back of the boxes in different papers to make this storage solution double up as a feature wall! Try not to hang these in a straight line either, an ad-hoc placing will make them look much more interesting.
Repurpose a shoe organiser
Are you constantly tripping over action figures and barbie dolls? Buy a transparent shoe storage organiser to hang at the back of a wardrobe or door and use the pockets to store all those figures and dolls which are lying around your child’s room. Transparent ones are better as your child will be able to see the figure they need without hopefully having to get them all out, inevitably ending up all over the floor!
Stash things under the bed
And no, we don’t mean literally shove them under! If you have minimal space in your house and want to keep the majority of your children’s toys stashed away until playtime then invest in an ottoman style bed. These clever beds easily lift up to reveal hidden storage underneath, where you can stash things you want to keep hidden from guests. They are really easy to lift as they have a catch-mechanism and so won’t break your back whilst you’re putting things away. Even better when your child grows up they can use this space to stash other belongings without cluttering up their room. If you don’t want to invest in another bed frame then you can always buy drawers which are designed to pull out from underneath beds as an alternative solution.