Toy Storage Ideas: Declutter their play space

Does your child need more space for activities without toy clutter?  Find out toy storage options to maximize play room right here. Our Journal, from Pea.

Before you have children, or perhaps even when you have your first baby you think you’ll be different, your child will only have beautiful wooden scandi-style toys, arranged neatly on the shelves of their instagrammable bedroom. But then birthdays and Christmases come round, or indeed they just get older and develop a personality of their own and suddenly your home is filled with primary coloured plastic toys, which if you’re lucky come with an array of noisy sounds. To begin with your little ones are so young that they can’t move, or it wouldn’t occur to them to transition these toys from room to room.  So keeping things tidy and organised isn’t too much of a challenge. But they get older, they get more toys and then they get a mind of their own and nothing ever ends up back in its place unless you put it there. Does any of this sound familiar?

My little boy is 8 and he likes to have everything on display so toys that I tidy away in boxes, somehow find their way back to his desk or to the windowsill, as though he needs to be able to see everything to mark his toy territory so his little sister knows to keep her hands off.

No matter how old your children are, toys take over. Particularly at this time of year, when Father Christmas has just delivered a fresh sack load of them and suddenly you have to find room for even more. I’ve developed this system for quietly syphoning toys away that they’ve grown out with, haven’t played with for a long time, or are on their last legs. I hide them away in the loft for a period of time (in case of the dreaded “Muuuuuum, where’s my.. [insert name of long forgotten toy?] question). Then after a safe amount of time has passed, they get donated to friends with younger children or to charity. But this isn’t possible for all their toys. So we all face the same problem: where do you keep them all? And how do you do this in a space saving way?

A child’s playspace might depend on their age. For some it's in the lounge, for some it's their bedroom and for others who are super lucky they might even have a dedicated playroom. Either way it’s all about decluttering their playspace in a way that keeps their toys accessible and your house tidy, whilst still making it easy for them to independently find and play with the toys of their own accord.

So here are our favourite Pea recommended ways of storing children’s toys and books:

Stackable Storage Crates

Storage can take up space you don’t always have, and as toy preferences change you don’t always have the same storage needs. So we love flexible solutions that give you storage when you need it and space when you don’t.

Our children’s storage boxes offer just that. They are stackable so you can start with just one stand alone crate and stack them up as your needs grow.

Their foldable design, means that if you find some empty from time-to-time, they fold down easily to only 20% of their original size and can be tucked away for future use. Plus they’re eco friendly, made from 100% recycled materials. 

Their design allows you to see what’s inside each crate making them perfect for organising and tidying different types of toys in each one. Which also means that little ones can easily find what they’re looking for to play with. And because they’re food safe, they’re completely versatile for storing anything from toys to books to baby bottles. But for me what makes these simple crates so special is the choice of beautiful colours they come in. They can be mixed and matched to coordinate with both our Treetops and Enchanted Forest bedroom collections. Whilst also being stylish enough for use anywhere in the home.

Book Shelves

I’m a firm believer that children can never have too many books. Sharing stories at bedtime is such a precious moment of calm in our busy lives. Storytelling also plays an important part in the development of children’s imaginations. Needless to say we love books at Pea, we love the adventures that unfold on the pages and the beautiful illustrations that bring them to life. But what do you do with so many books and how do you keep them fresh in your little one’s minds?

We love using our picture shelves to display children’s books. It’s a great way to rotate the books you have, to offer a variety of stories at bedtime, or remind them of old favourites long forgotten. They’re also an easy way to entice children to pick up a book independently and enjoy some quiet time alone lost in the pages. The beauty is that these shelves can be hung at heights appropriate to your child so the books remain in their eye line and offer them their own personal library.

We can’t claim credit for the idea of using picture shelves for books, but we wanted to create something unique to Pea and something that offered a little more style and impact than the plain white or black options that are widely available. Like our storage crates, it’s all about the colours. Designed to coordinate with our both our Treetops and Enchanted Forest bedroom collections, but cool enough to be used in grown-up spaces within the home for a pop of colour too. Even if you don’t have children.

Soft Toys

Teddy bears and cuddly toys take up so much room. And yet because children often develop emotional attachment to their various stuffed animals, they seem to be the hardest of all toys to pass on without them noticing or being genuinely upset about the seperation. Each one often has a memory or link to a special person. But there are only so many soft toys you can cuddle up in bed with at night. If you’re anything like me, you’re little ones have got an overflowing basket in the corner of their bedroom, that needs careful stacking to fit them all in. 

We’re always on the lookout for soft toy storage and have recently come across the bean bag option. An empty bean bag cover, available in a variety of sizes and designs, that you stuff full of soft toys and transforms into a bean bag that can sit in the corner of a bedroom. Perfect for cosying up for storytime. We love the idea of creating a Treeling version for Pea. What do you think?

Good Old Ikea

If you’ve got room for a new piece of furniture, who doesn’t love Ikea toy storage. We love their wooden Trofast storage. We’re all about customising spaces to suit your needs, and these storage units do just that. By combining different frame and storage box options, you can create a solution unique to you. Plus they are low enough for children to easily reach, giving them the freedom to play independently. 

Our favourite combination uses their Trofast white stained pine wooden frames, along with their white storage boxes for a clean and simple scandi style. And to customise them to coordinate with your little one’s Pea bedroom, we love The Paper Party Company’s decal stickers specifically designed to tailor Trofast storage boxes. They come in a choice of colours. Mint or Lilac work perfectly for an Enchanted Forest room. And for a Treetops room both Turquoise and Navy Blue would look amazing.

New Bed

Not everyone has a big bedroom with lots of floor space to play. My little boy has a long and narrow room. The most successful space creating solution for him was investing in a High-Sleeper bed. It’s not a cheap option, but the difference it made to the functional space in his bedroom was incredible. By raising the bed up, suddenly there was an entire room worth of floor space beneath for extra storage. These beds make bedtime an exciting adventure for children aged 6 and over. Perfect for a Treetops bedroom, so your little one can climb up the ladder and imagine they really do sleep high in the tree canopy. Or if you have younger children Mid-Sleepers are a good in-between option, that are cosy enough to create a dedicated playspace underneath and make the perfect den.