A Look at my Playroom

Happy new year!  Congratulations on surviving the most wonderful, yet crazy, time of year.  Odds are the holiday gifts you received, plus your kids being out of school, have left your home a disorganized mess.  Well the new year is the perfect time to get organized!

Today I’m giving you a sneak peek into my playroom.

People always ask if my house is super organized, and the answer is YES, yes it is.  I have more plastic bins from The Container Store than I can count.  Recently I was lucky enough to have the talented Anne Schmidt with Adam Nyholt’s studio take some picture of my kids in our playroom, and I’m so excited to share a few tips with you on what works in our house!

First of all, the playroom needs very little furniture.  We have a couch and a chair with a small side table, but no coffee table, and honestly you don’t even need a couch.  You want plenty of floor space for kids to play.

 

We are fortunate to have built-ins along one wall of the playroom, with a mix of open shelves and cabinets.  My general rule is to put bins in the cabinets and display big trucks and more attractive toys on the shelves.

I love this puzzle rack by Melissa and Doug, which neatly holds up to 12 puzzles.

 

The other wall has our dress-up storage and play kitchen.  The dress-up center was a special joint holiday gift for my girls several years ago, and it was worth every penny!

We store all play food, pots and pans, and anything kitchen-related inside the play kitchen.  I use 3M Command hooks on the both sides of the kitchen to hang brooms and aprons.

We have a small bulletin board for each kid where we rotate special pieces of art, and I mean, only the most special.  The vast majority of stuff they bring home goes in the trash.  It’s sad, but true.  If you just can’t bear to trash it, check out an archive app like Artkive, Art My Kid Made, or Keepy.

 

Two potential problem areas are Legos and American Girl (or other) doll clothes and accessories.  My solution is the same for both: Ziploc bags for individual sets or outfits, labeled, and stored and inside a plastic bin.

 

Make sure to take advantage of floor space in your kids’ closets.  There is usually room for bins or baskets when little clothes do not reach the floor, and this is a great spot for toys that specifically belong to one kid.

Hope you enjoyed this behind the scenes look at my playroom.  Stay tuned for a look at my kitchen and pantry!