Photo credit: http://csoppkeblog.hu/category/gyerekes-mindennapok/
Last week I moved the boys furniture about in their room – or should I say I took away furniture, specifically Toby’s bed and the under bed drawers. I’ve written about the boys sleeping together before, and I’ve found that in the last month or so it has become a bit of an issue with one single bed and two boys that like to ‘spread out’. You haven’t seen a sleep time starfish until you’ve seen these two!
Anyway, taking away Toby’s bed meant that I lost a tonne of storage underneath it – it had a pile of books, jigsaws, old toys that no one wants and a bundle of baby bedding that I just haven’t had time to pop on eBay yet. I thought I’d shoot out a few children’s storage ideas of how to store your children’s stuff – including the stuff you don’t want anymore or stuff that you can’t categorise into ‘bedding’, ‘building blocks’ etc.
- Think outside the box
Is the item that you are wanting to store pretty? Cute? I have a beautiful dress that I bought for Edith when she was a first born and it’s now hanging on her wall as part of her decoration… I love it so much that I’m going to give it a go with the boy’s old baby clothes. You know, the ones you ‘just can’t let go of’!
- Utilise wardrobe space
You always have a big open space at the bottom of the wardrobe, so use it! I have a stack of books in the boys wardrobe and I rotate their bookcase and this every so often.
- Toys in the way? Under bed drawers or baskets.
I have lost two under bed drawers with the removal of Toby’s bed, but I still have some left over under Roo’s bed. These ones are built in and they make a great place to shove the boy’s less popular toys – again ready to rotate. Another brilliant place to store toys is in an old wicker basket… it looks super stylish and it’s a big open space to just cram em’ in! Lazy mothers unite!
- Try a tall boy
We have two tall boys in the boys room – it was my plan to throw them out or give them to the charity shop when I first rejigged their room but I have found them to be insanely useful for storing things like sheets, bedding, old clothes and books. I know it’s not the best way to store things with minimal fuss but what the hey. Out of sight, out of mind and all…
- Airing cupboards are friend’s not foes
Hello nice big space! You look friendly! This is one of the best places to store bedding, old baby clothes and blankets that your children just don’t need but that you aren’t ready to say goodbye to. If you have an airing cupboard you can also use it to store old toys, just be careful not to put anything perishable in there as the heat might ruin it.
- Make something new and useful out of something old, useless but precious.
Ok, you have come to terms with the fact that your baby is NEVER going to fit into that old outfit, and your baby making days have come to an end… what to do with those things you can’t let go of?! Have them made into something useful and cute. You can find a tonne of companies that will make your baby’s old clothes, bedding, blankets and other nik-naks into a big quilt, or even a teddy. You can even do it yourself, check out youtube for tutorials galore.
- If all else fails, store it.
If all else fails you, and you have something big or lots of little things to put away, simply go down the storage company option. I know it isn’t ideal but if you have decided that your children have a very special rocking horse that you would love to become a family heirloom, or a bundle of perfect gender neutral clothing that you can’t let go of and you want to pass down the generations, then just bite the bullet and purchase a monthly storage locker. It’s not a costly as you might think and it beats regretting throwing out your stuff.
Harriet x
