I've recently updated parts of my children's bedroom and the living room as my children really want more to do and I encourage them to be independent and have access to most of their things. As my house isn't huge space is valuable and I have both PAX and Stuva furniture from IKEA which hands down is amazing for families as they grow and your needs change. This isn't a free advertisement for IKEA but I've been helping a lot of fellow parents with their organisation otherwise everything topples out the cupboard.
When my children were under three, the items we had were more bulky so we'd store them in large stuva drawers as it can be shoved in and the room looks tidy at the end of the day.
Now that they're over 3, they love the various activities. In the summer we will head to a park with some light food or, now that we have a garden, we sit for hours in the garden to enjoy, unwind, take in the warmth of the sun and have a lot of fun gardening. Children love making up different soil mixtures with compost, grit and sand and then planting a seed, watering and looking after their plants. It's no wonder there is a lot of attention in the media about gardening as it is now seen as a real alternative to medication, it's that good touching the earth with bare hands, taking care of plants and so on. My children can name long plant names but this is because they understand the plants from a young age, unlike me who has no involvement with this side of the garden as a child.
I purchased a Linnmon table top and added my own foldable table legs to it so that the table can be put away when not in use and the floor space is freed up for the endless amounts of toy cars my children have! Role play / imaginative play is fun for them. We can all remember doing this as children and playing for hours like this.
The table is a quite low so they sit on the floor or on cushions and either paint, draw, colour, practising their writing, read books or get access to a sticker box where they can go crazy without us getting frustrated about all the stickers getting everywhere.
What I struggled with as a parent is organising their various activities and hobbies at home. We had random craft bits and bobs, paper stacks (patterned card and paper), plain card and paper, play-doh, paint and all the accessories that come with it (aprons, paint brushes, paint palettes, sponges, rollers etc etc), a million different stickers, gardening items, books and so on. They fully use everything so it isn't a case of the hoarder next door but how can it all be used whenever they want to (as these things are things that help them unwind and be creative whilst they relax) without it all being dumped or mixed up which then becomes overwhelming?
Also I love the minimal look in the home and seeing everything makes it too busy and messy-looling in our humble home.
Last month I finally cracked the code. I purchased the Kuggis storage boxes in the largest size which are stackable but also the lid can be used as a tray which we've already used many times.
Each box is labelled - one for patterned paper/card, one for plain paper/card in white and various colours, one for stickers (yes they have that many but they journal with them), one for paint and its accessories, one for playdoh and clay (plus tools). One Kuggis box we bought in green so it stands out and that's their random craft bits and bobs which they can use at any time and I won't be worried about creating extra waste in this world.
What I did was remove the drawers from the taller drawer unit and replaced it with shelves and doors. Each box then placed on a shelf or you can put them side by side in a 100cm wide pax wardrobe (IKEA hack: they don't need to be used for wardrobes only). This way the children can reach whatever they need and it's all neat and organised plus the boxes are wide so they can see everything in there easily.
The glues and colouring pencils and other stationery are in the upper drawers of the pax wardrobe in pencil holders. The best part is that this is all behind closed doors so even if a mess is made, you can close the door at the end of the day and whilst they are at school/learning, I can go through and tidy it up although they are good at doing this themselves as everything has its place.
It sounds kind of crazy and I never thought I'd be this organised but during my second pregnancy my nesting did not go away and I feel that it just makes it easier on all of us as we quickly know what we don't need and it creates a minimalistic look despite having everything we need for the year and the children have full access to be creative or just play.
My children love us reading books to them later on in the day to really calm and unwind and so these books are in the wooden storage boxes that IKEA sell and these are kept on the floor in their room but contained within the storage box but everything can be seen. This is because books are valuable and we want them to have as easy access as possible to the world of knowledge. It sounds like IKEA is the only place we go but they do have everything covered. You can easily get a hamper type wicker storage box (without a lid) from Dunelm which we have in the living room to soften the look of the room.
When my children were really small I used to find it difficult keeping the floor space tidy because everything would be out and when the husband comes back from work he forgets that children's play time does not stop at daddy's work ending time but stops at bedtime as they go through their things and choose what helps them unwind more and more as time goes by. Having a dedicated space for everything and keeping organised with the right storage makes a world of a difference. Now they will do one, two or even three different activities/play but then put it away naturally (Montessori approach) and then move onto the next. That way there is no frantic yelling of 'tidy up!' before bed which is the opposite to helping them relax and unwind. Children get overwhelmed by too much stuff too.
I know a lot of parents use Kallax but I personally am not inclined towards it. I love the Stuva range and my children have the smaller drawer unit each too as a bedside table which is like their treasure chest of goodies which I know they love to sift through after a long day of school work.
Although they miss the outdoors as we are not out as often in the autumn and winter, they have plenty to help them unwind indoors but they also love a little visit to the museum, the ones where they have the role play areas (a restaurant, a building site, a boat, a post office, hairdressers, doctors surgery etc.) and play out real life.
