to only have one small toybox in the living room?

[MamaG]

I have a small wooden chest of toys in my living room. If the lid doesn't close due to too many toys, they get hoiked upstairs.

The DC have a room each and the bulk of their toys there. Their books are on low shelves of my bookcases, no problem there.

Am I mean to only let them have a small box downstairs? Iregularly rotate the toys [pleads]

[ComeOVeneer]

So do we Malory, if you count the dining room

[Anna8888]

Caroline - LOL. I'm obviously no the only one with a straight-to-charity-shop policy on unwanted gifts

Fortunately here in Paris you can pretty much always exchange children's stuff - clothes, toys.

[tassisssss]

I have a few baskets of toys in all my downstairs rooms 9except kitchen). I can't bear the "shrine to children" look but actually quite like having their things out and them playing downstairs.

[MrsMarvel]

We've got way too much stuff. we seem to buy too much for us. Me with kitchen bits and pieces, him with hobby stuff, and then dp buys tons of new things for the dcs. DCs don't need it, most of it is hardly played with.

Don't even want to think about it. I'm drowning!

[Caroline1852]

tassisss - What is the "shrine to children" look? I bet it has a changing station for doing nappies. I have to admit that I go off people a bit when I realise they have sent up a changing station in their sitting room.

[TheMadHouse]

Oh I will have a toy free living room soon too. we are building a conservatory for that the boys can use that for their toys. Yippe.

I have leather sofas, great with kids, as you can just wipe them. Mine are 4 years old and apart from the odd cat scratch are looking OK

[Caroline1852]

Those homes magazines and the Sunday colour supplements always have couples with their children - Felix and Ruby - in their open-plan flats. Oak and glass a plenty but not a primary coloured piece of plastic tat in sight, in fact not a toy in sight. The toys cannot be hidden because there is no loft due to the glass sky viewing platform. If they really live like that then I imagine Felix and Toby will be shooting heroin by the time they are 12.

[Caroline1852]

And apparently Ruby has had a sex change op and changed her name to Toby..... not bad at 12.

[tassisssss]

Caroline, I'm sure you know the look when children take over the living room (and indeed whole house) - 3 million toys, often a travel cot set up to house some more toys, def a nappy station in the living room and usually zillions of pictures of the children of the house on the walls (some of them very large).

[Caroline1852]

tassisssss -

[KommandantColditz]

You mean small houses, tassissss? Houses with nowhere else to put all the crap that kids accumulate?

[bozza]

I think the OP is perfectly reasonable. My DD has some happyland that fits under the side table in square baskets from Ikea, the happyland mat and funky footprints are also under the sofa. There is a small cupboard with some books/games/puzzles and that is it. Nothing can be seen once tidied. Also doll's pram behind settee.

But for some reason there is a wacking great princess castle in the dining room - the pop up variety. Every time we have visitors I have to stick it in the garden.

[bozza]

Yes kolditz I did think some of these houses sound to have plenty of rooms. All the other toys are in DS's or DD's bedrooms.

[tassisssss]

no, i don't think it's just to do with size. i know people with very BIG houses that are the same. do appreciate that the less space there is the harder it is to stop LOs stuff taking over.

(and as I said I actually quite like toys in the living room and my LOs always play where i am even the bathroom which can do my head in!)

[Caroline1852]

kolditz - a bit simplistic. I have a large house but we have four children so it is only one wing and 327 acres per child.

[Wisteria]

When my lo's were at the crap accumulation stage and we didn't keep them downstairs (ref earlier post) we were renovating a tiny 2bed 16thc cottage, so definitely not size related!

[lucyellensmum]

MAmaG you are not mean at all, i only wish i could be that organised _

[Caroline1852]

what age do you think is the crap accumulation peaks?

[Wisteria]

It stops IME (with girls) at about 10-11 but I would have thought they're all different. They stop playing downstairs as much from 7 on I think

[Caroline1852]

Wisteria - thanks.

[MellowMa]

Message withdrawn

[Wisteria]

12.15 - you did that yesterday too Mellow ma!!

[MamaG]

tsk, when will you learn to keep off the gin Mellow?

[MellowMa]

Message withdrawn