Where do you keep children's toys if you have no playroom?

[confusedperson]

I have 2 small children (3yo and 8 months old) and a largish 2 bed house. I am trying hard to keep things tidy, however it is amazing how toys get spread everywhere in the house. Our lounge has become a playroom (constant mess and I am not able to find a space to sit there). Our kitchen diner has a corner dedicated for toys, but it gets spread to half of the space instantly. In the children's bedroom, we have IKEA toy storage, but the floor gets covered in toys in like 5 seconds, so it's constant mess there as well. We also have a mini conservatory, where we keep a bike/scooter/ride-on, so I do feel that all house is a mess and want to give up in tidying.
Any advices on how to organise/store toys so they don't cover all house floor in seconds?
Thanks!

[RightUpMyRue]

Get rid of your children and their toys. It is the only way to stop your house being full of toys and mess.

If you're not keen on that suggestion then you could try taking them out to lots of groups/activities/the park etc so they aren't in the house to mess it up so much or you must cultivate imaginary blinkers that don't allow you to see the toys/mess(these are sometimes known as wine).

It gets better as they get older, less big toys and more responsibility on them to pick up after themselves.

[HarrietJones]

Older ones in their room. Dd3(9m) in a basket in the living rooms witha few in other rooms for when I'm trying to tidy them.
I'm determined with dd3 nit to get as many as with the others as however many they have they will get them all out & play with something they shouldn't!

[ZZZenAgain]

it never gets better

THey actually don't need access to all the toys all the time. Is there a possility of them choosing a certain number which then go in the designated toy area and a coupleo f weeks or a month later, they can change? The other stuff pack in boxes in the garage?

[Sidge]

I don't think you can keep it that tidy and toy free when your children are so young.

It's only recently that we've ditched our toybox in the lounge, and the girls can keep their toys in their bedrooms - my youngest is 4.10. Until then we had a big wicker basket to lob everything in at the end of the day. As they get bigger toys get smaller so less to store!

I wouldn't want toys in my kitchen but otherwise I think you have to put up with it.

If you have so many toys that there isn't enough storage then it's time to have a clear out and reduce the numbers of toys!

[Ixia]

In our last house we had rows of bookshelves for toys in the hallway (ikea Ivar, cut to fit). A blanket chest as a coffee table, so we could lift the lid and wang all the junk into it in an evening, also had a window seat with lift up lid.

In this house we do have a playroom, but it doesn't stop the spread. We've just bought DD a midsleeper bed that has a lot of space underneath, it surprising how much stuff fits under there :)

[confusedperson]

Thanks guys. I already got some ideas from you. Need to put some toys away, probably to our conservatory, so at least we tidy up a little bit. We don't have that many toys, but e.g. take a train track set and playing mat and most of the lounge is occupied!

[Rosietheriveter28]

I bought a large trunk coffee table that I hid the majority of the toys in when my DS was small. Now most are in his bedroom but it's still handy for the odds and sods that are about and things like wii controllers / games.

[stanausauruswrecks]

we've got this sits in the bay window and has black ikea storage boxes in it - hold tonnes of toys and can put picture frames/plants on top. Has really improved the look of our front room

[Isthreetoomany]

We've got a playhouse in the garden where they keep things like scooters, ride on, plastic play kitchen.

[LittlePushka]

Also at 3 the eldest could quite enjoy the bribes that tidy up has to offer,...sticker/sweets. We have some baskets on shelves (Argos) and I have stuck little cards on the front with stickers and words like "cars" "trains" "tools" "pens" and that really helps them put things away, but also stops them rooting about in every single basket for e.g the police car with the broken door which they simply must have that second. I pinched that idea from nursery and preschool because there the children do tidy up before lunch and before tea. Could you maybe have a tidy up time before your children a couple of times so as to keep on top of it?