toy invasion

Some people worry about zombie invasions, I'm worried about a toy invasion!  Our home is slowly being taken over by toys...and it is only going to get worse.  I'm glad we have lots of toys for our kids to play with, but I would like our home to look like adults actually live here from time to time and kids haven't taken over (although, let's face it, they have).

I wanted a system where 1) toys could all be concealed and stored when not in use 2) we could rotate toys so that some are always "away" and some are available for play 3) toys could be in organized bins 4) kids could get out their own toys and put them away.  I'm going to work on a better system for upstairs eventually, but for now I tackled the basement play room.

I love IKEA, so we bought this Expedit on craigslist and some of the bins from Target (the same type we use in Camden's room).  I'll see how these bins work and maybe buy more or a different type eventually.  I'll also get some chalkboard labels for the bins.

Chris built and attached the unit to the wall in the playroom.  I then organized all the toys into bins with related items.  My idea is to keep some of the toys on the bottom two levels for the kids to get into as they please.  The upper shelves will store toys that are not in the current rotation as well as items requiring adult supervision (markers, scissors, etc).  We'll have to see how the system works after a few weeks.  Now if only Camden would actually pick up his toys and put them away...

I forgot to take a "before" photo.  Just imagine this space covered in unorganized toys.

new storage!  Lots of configuration options.