With three children, who are two years apart and both genders, our house has a range of toys. Without an organizational system, we would live among the toys. 😉
In working through each room of my house clearing out clutter, cleaning, and organizing, I decided to try creating a Little People play station for my girls.
Though my son has out-grown most of the Little People items, he does enjoy playing with the toddler. However, my girls will be playing more at this station than my son.
Determining the Functions of the Play Station
Since this space is mostly for my girls, I needed the play station to meet the following criteria:
1. Low enough for the toddler to reach.
2. Large enough to hold the 8-10 Little People play units.
3. Wide enough for both girls to play at the same time.
4. Room enough to move around the station without blocking traffic.
5. Small enough to fit in our living room with the rest of the toys.
Keeping within my limited budget, I surveyed our current options and found that our circular coffee table (which has never been used as a coffee table since my children overtake most of the furniture in the house) fit all these standards. With a $6 fabric bin to hold all the accessories, this play station exceeded my expectations.
Evaluating the Workability of the Play Station
1.
My toddler loves to help clean up all the accessories since she can put the people in the box.
2. The lower level of the table holds other play units when the girls are ready for a change.
3. Both girls can play – one on each side of a play unit without getting in each other’s way.
4. The girls love playing with multiple play units at one time.
5. The circular coffee table solution continues to offer hours of fun without overtaking the space with toys.
This play station for Little People works for us. The one container for all the accessories transformed the Little People population in our living room. With one place for all the items, cleanup is easy and often done without asking. Love that!
As you continue finding organizational solutions for your household, consider creating a play station. This same system might work for legos, Star Wars, or dolls. With a simple construction play station, your children might surprise you with a picked-up area. 🙂 Happy organizing!
Question: What types of toys invade your space? Please add your answer to the comments.