Playroom Organization: Halfway there

I both love and hate our playroom. Mostly I love it. I mean, we have a playroom. The toys live in there and if I want to shut the door, I can. I really, really love that there’s not a train table in our living room anymore. The extra downstairs bedroom was one of the main selling points for this house. However, the furniture in there is a mish mash of leftovers from the last house. I wouldn’t say the rest of the house is finished, but there aren’t really any furniture placeholders except for these old things. I say all of this as a preface, because this room will never feel done to me until we replace the couch, which is on our list for 2013.

Anyway, after Christmas we were left with piles of small toys that didn’t really have homes. We had individual little boxes for most of the stuff, but it was a disaster. So, my post-Christmas gift to myself was an organizer from Target. (It was on sale for a lot less. Well played, Target.)

I don’t have a great before picture, but this was mostly the scene. We had the two bins on the bottom, the shelf, stuff that just ended up on the floor.

And, after.

We kept one of the bins for larger toys, stuffed animals and dress up stuff that doesn’t fit anywhere else. The other bin moved upstairs to house Bubette’s rather extensive stuffed animal collection. It’s usually empty because she sleeps with about 19 of them at any given time.

I hung all of the dress up clothes at an easy to reach height, and Bubette is always bringing me something to help her put on.

I hung two hooks on the back wall of the closet (Command hooks, no screws, no anchors) that I intended to use to hang two of the dress up hats, but they just fall off. So, I hung Bubette’s magnetic paper doll set on one, and I’m sure it’s just a matter of time before the other hook has a job.

Finally, the bins. The glorious bins! These aren’t the cutest or prettiest option, but they’re functional. It’s easy to take any bin off the shelf, and super easy to clean up. (In case anyone is wondering, these bins hold: cars, He-Man figures, smurfs, Super Mario figures, princess figures, princess barbies, Mega Blocks, and dress up accessories (mostly princess wands. I think we ended up with five of them in this year’s haul.)

We also have this entertainment center. We really want to take the top bookshelf half off, and mount the TV on the wall. We’re not even sure that this TV can be mounted as it’s old and heavy as a horse, but I still want the top off. Or at least I want to do something with the contents of the shelves. This isn’t a playroom/library. It’s a full-on playroom, so our books need to move on.

I just realized that with all this talk about the shelves, you can’t even see them in this photo, however the dog makes a cameo.

This room can be destroyed in just minutes, but it really is easy to clean up. I can get everything put away in five minutes, since it’s just a matter of dumping things into bins.

Now for my wish list.

New Rug – That Ikea rug has taken a MAJOR beating in this room, which was its purpose . I’m not even sure it can be cleaned at this point.

New Floors – This is a pipe dream, but I wish we had continued the hardwood into this room as well. With as much time as we spend in this room, the carpet gets dirty fast. (I would hardwood the stairs too, if we’re dreaming.)

Closet door. The closet has a door, but it won’t open/close with the current couch in the room. 

New couch. I think I’ve chosen an inexpensive sectional that will fit well in this room. I’m not choosing the couch of my dreams because kids play and snack and just generally destroy this room. I just need to decide on an upholstery color. What solid color would you choose for a playroom with the carpet seen above?

Do something about the wall above the kitchen. This clock was in a box of stuff from my parents. (A keep it yourself or get rid of it situation.) It doesn’t really work I here, and it really doesn’t work behind the new play kitchen, and it’s old and oaky and not really our style. I think a little photo wall might work well here. (A photo that isn’t crooked would probably also work well.) 

• Remove top half of entertainment center. I think that big, wooden monstrosity makes the room seem smaller, so even if the TV needs to stay on solid ground I think it would open up the room a bit.

Fingers crossed that by the end of 2013 I won’t welcome guests into our home by saying, “And there’s the playroom, but it’s ugly, so don’t look.”