How do you make space for children to play in a small house?

[elliott]

My house is getting me down and I need help...
At the moment I don't think it is very well designed for the kids to get the most out of their play (I have 2 boys aged nearly 5 and nearly 3) - I feel they are having to squeeze in around our adult requirements. How do you plan and organise shared space so that they have enough room to play? And don't lose their toys all the time? Is it just a question of organisation? (I am a perenially messy type...).

We have 2 rooms downstairs - large living room and a kitchen/diner. Craft play has to be in the kitchen/diner - not ideal as there is nowhere to put their creations as they dry, so its a bit of a disincentive to getting out crayons/paints etc. Most other play is in the living room - I've tried making their (shared) room nicer to play in but they aren't that interested.

Please share your top tips for how you make a small home more compatible with children's play...

plenty of good storage.

for the craft stuiff to dry you would string up a line between 2 hooks and peg the pictures on to dry.

we have toy boxes in the living room from homebase, and toy boxes i nthe hallway from ikea (tall unit with 6boxes?) for larger things like train tacks and lego blocks.

yes lots of toy boxes and lots of throwing stuff out! i am surrounded by duplo, dr who figures, crayons and paper at the moment.

storage definately.

All the ikea trofast stuff (like misdees) is perfect.

The best thing to do to keep them entertained is to divide the toys up and pack half away (in a loft garage etc) then rotate them as you feel necessary - fortnightly, monthly etc. Keeps them entertained with what is out.

yes but SE by the evening it will all be back in the boxes and you get adult space again

yes it's true, but still have to put up with dp's stuff haha

if you have a garden, maybe a wendy house? (glorified shed )

Message withdrawn

ooh, I thought this thread wouldn't get any replies (not half as exciting as np...)
So its all in the storage...I have tried, really I have, but it doesn't ever seem to work. Two problems - 1) If I put things away in boxes the boys forget they are there and don't play with them - I really would like them to know where things are and be able to get them out and put them away themselves 2)storage never seems to be the right dimensions for the toys. What do you do with big things like the garage and farm? And the little things that don't 'go' with anything?
And no, there isn't anywhere to put things away in storage. (that's kind of the point - we just don't have any spare places...)

throw them away (whispers) i throw anything away that hasn't been played with for ages

i am about to tackle my kids overspilling toys. they have piled laods of stuff to sell/get rid of as they want new things for xmas.

I have two solutions as we recently moved into a bungalow and have a similar prob.. (I also have 2 Boys.. one nearly 4 and one nearly 2..please tell me it gets easier)!!!

Well.. I firstly went through all their toys and got rid of about a third.. I sold them at the NCT Nearly New Sale and have also become an Ebay addict! I find with my older one he has "obsessions" eg cars, sharks, hotwheels, thunderbirds, lightning McQueen etc etc so I can keep up with these and get rid of unwanted stuff..

What was left I split between four HUGE boxes from B&Q.. they have wheels and a lid and labelled then with 1 to 4.. I then ( with their "help" sorted a range in to these boxes and now each Saturday morning we have a good tidy & sort out of the old box and install the new one. It's working a treat and we've been doing it for about 9 months now!! I find they actually play with more of their toys more often too!

Regularly (eg after birthdays, Xmas etc) we have another sort and choose what mummy will sell so we can buy MORE!!!! and what will go in the new boxes plus updating for their age etc!

Oh.. we stack these boxes on top of each other in the corner of DS1 bedroom next to his cabin bed so they're safe and out of sight!!

What do you think? Would it work?

Jan
xxx

Why don't people warn you in baby books that the arrival of one small person will result in an OCD interest in storage and you being in and out Ikea like a yoyo. Ikea must love us parents, I bet that is why there are so many storage ranges.

i have lots and lots and lots of toys and am constantly battling against being over run yet if i watch my lo's they dont even play with half of it they just empty boxes out! I found the same idea of rotating boxes works a treat and if you get large boxes and pile them up like an earlier post it doesnt take up to much room? if anyone has any ideas of how to convince me to get rid of my stuff i would appreciate it as i cant bring myself to do ebay - is it easy to do - i dont get how to quote for postage?

I have the trofast storage system too. So that the kids can see what's in it, we have photos on the outside to use as labels. Each child is allowed one box out in the morning, and if they want to swap it, then one box has to go back. At the weekends we swap the top three boxes with the bottom three, so it's used to rotate the toys too. You can also get shelves to slide in instead of the boxes, which I've found works for some of the bigger toys like garages. Then tidy up time is after tea, but before beebies goes on, so they've got an incentive to help. I childmind in a pretty small flat, so if we don't keep on top of it, we'd be snowed under in toys, and I just can't relax in the evenings surrounded with duplo!
(The boxes are sorted into types of toys too, can you tell I have Monica-tendencies?

Same here, never enough space, problem is, if a miracle happens and you get more, you just end up using more of it up anyway! I've just paid £18k for a conservatory just for extra space, mind you i have 4 children and with only a pokey 3 bedroom mid terracce, i need it desperately (if only to go somewhere to get some peace!)

Terrie X