Making a Toy Room More Attractive

This messy situation was submitted by Shandy!

“I need your help organizing my play room. It is actually the front room of my house, so whenever someone comes in through my front door, this is the room they walk into. It is almost always a mess and I need help with organizing. Thank you for your time, I really need help to keep this room organized and welcoming for when people come over.” – Shandy

How can I make the room feel bigger? It feels very crowded and just full of stuff.

Shandy, I mentally braced myself for seeing your photos after I read your e-mail, because I was expecting to see an enormous mess! This room really isn’t as bad as you think it is! If you really want to make the toy room feel bigger, though, I think you should consider painting it a lighter color to make it feel more open.

As far as which color to choose, I can’t tell you because I don’t know your style. But, if you love blue, then a nice blue-gray would look pretty with the white woodwork and tan carpet. I recently painted my dark, rustic red kitchen to Sherwin William’s Copen Blue and I was absolutely amazed at how much larger it makes our kitchen feel!

Maybe you’d like to go with something like a nice, neutral tan instead. Or maybe you’re ready for a bigger change and want to try a different color altogether – that’s great too! For help in choosing a paint color, I recommend reading these two articles from The Nester:

• Nesting Place Paint Colors
• The Only Secret Formula For Choosing the Perfect Paint Color

Painting will only take you a day but will make a huge positive difference that will last for years to come!

“How can I better utilize the storage that I have? The squares are all full, and there is more stuff!”

To solve this problem, it seems that you have two choices – either add more storage or get rid of more stuff! More than likely, the best option is going to be to do a little of both. Keri has a great article about utilizing cubes for maximum storage so take a few minutes to look at what she suggests.

“I like my bookshelves, but they don’t actually hold that many books, how can I store my books better, and hopefully in a way my 2 year old can get to them?”

I like your bookshelves too – what a fun, creative idea! Maybe consider duplicating that idea on the wall next to it, behind the chair. You may also really love Jennifer’s idea for a display shelf – it’s still super cute and doesn’t take up a lot of floor space but has more storage space than what you currently have in your room.

I’m afraid you are going to tell me to get rid of some stuff, but every time I decide to get rid of some unused toys, she starts playing with them again. Should I still get rid of some?

Yes! If you’re storing something for three months so it can be played with for 10 minutes, that’s not a good use of your storage space! Check out this article for more tips about how to know what to keep and what to get rid of.

I have multiples of some toys, but I also have a 3 month old baby girl, so I thought I should keep them so that each girl could have their own toy and play together. Is that a bad idea?

This is a parenting preference. Some parents like their kids to each have one of everything. I personally prefer for kids to share items. And, really, when there’s a green ball and a pink ball, they’re going to both want the same color ball anyways. And if you have two pink balls? They’re likely going to both want that pink ball! So I do recommend getting rid of duplicates. But again, that’s a personal preference 🙂

I hope this helped you, Shandy! Don’t forget to send after photos of your space!

PS Don’t forget that if you submit your own mess by October 30th, you’ll receive a free copy of Chaos to Clutter-Free, plus you’ll be entered into a drawing to win a $50 Amazon Gift Card! Details and submission information are here.