Got Clutter?

Wendy over at The Shabby Nest is having a Taming Kid Clutter party, since clutter is definitely my forte (not necessarily the taming part) I thought it would be fun to play along. I am the lucky mom of 4 very lively offspring. They are messy and they have oodles of kid stuff, so clutter is an all too real part of our life. For me the idea of truly conquering our kid clutter is akin to believing in the tooth fairy, but I have found a few ways to help tame the clutter beast.

FAMILY ROOM: Our main floor family room is right off of our kitchen, so we spend a lot of time in this space. As much as I would like for it to be free of kid stuff, it's not gonna happen. The solution: a coffee and 2 end tables with drawers. Affordable ones, so we don't freak out when the inevitable scratches occur.

Most of the time the contents of these drawers (2 more on the other side) are on the floor. Thanks to my one year old. But it is a quick clean up, and I can keep an eye on her while I am cooking.

Both end table drawers contain books. We read every day so it is important to keep a few handy.

PLAY ROOM: We actually do have a play area downstairs. My favorite storage item in this room is Big Red (originally posted about here). It was a hand-me-down eyesore, but now it is a real work horse.

It can hold all sorts of kid stuff, from games,

to Littlest People.

LAUNDRY/MUDROOM: This room has been a major problem area for clutter. It's the dumping ground where shoes, coats & backpacks are discarded as soon as we walk in the door. There is a coat closet in this space, but most of our kids are too small to reach the hangers so their coats would end up in a pile on the countertop, or on the floor. Our solution was a wall of hooks.

It has made a huge difference, and was a piece of cake to make: wide molding & trim, spray paint & heavy duty iron hooks.

BATHROOM: The downstairs bathroom is equipped with a black armoire to help store beach towels, bath toys, hair things and anything else that you would find in a kids bathroom.

BEDROOMS: My kids are obsessed with all things miniature.

I made my boys denim quilts with pocket borders to store their tiny treasures.

Perfect for rocks, coins and even Mater.

I posted about this changing table not so long ago. It's another piece of old furniture we refinished.

I love keeping all of the diapering gear out of sight.

Now my six year old daughter is the queen of clutter at our house. She's a pack-rat supreme who loves keeping her goods in close proximity. Nesting boxes come in handy for storing some of her loot.

As well as her nightstand (another refurbished piece), which doubles as a toy box.

And I am all over using the under the bed storage space. All of my kids have tubs that slide under their beds. There are tubs everywhere in our house.

There you have it. Are we clutter free? Not even close. But I try. OK, somedays I try. Other days we just look the other way and play.