https://boards.hellobee.com/ Pregnancy, Baby and Parenting blog, by Hellobee en Mon, 25 May 2026 17:49:56 +0000 https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/is-this-real-life-1/page/2#post-2869696 Wed, 30 Jan 2019 13:05:33 +0000 RonjaL7 2869696@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>We have a play room with the majority of the toys, but my living room has one wicker basket bin (with connected top) from Homegoods for items that can be stored. I also have this $30 utility cart from Target that has craft items and toys in it. Then we have a small kids table and chairs (natural brown wood not crazy colored). It helps keep me sane, as I can't stand to have toys everywhere.</p> <p><a href="https://www.target.com/p/3-tier-metal-utility-cart-made-by-design-153/-/A-53314604?preselect=53166285#lnk=sametab" rel="nofollow">https://www.target.com/p/3-tier-metal-utility-cart-made-by-design-153/-/A-53314604?preselect=53166285#lnk=sametab</a> </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/is-this-real-life-1/page/2#post-2869652 Wed, 30 Jan 2019 09:45:03 +0000 2littlepumpkins 2869652@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@wrkbrk: that's nice! We have way more toys than that between the three kids though. (2 story house so it's hard to put things in their rooms.) </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/is-this-real-life-1/page/2#post-2869650 Wed, 30 Jan 2019 09:44:04 +0000 2littlepumpkins 2869650@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>We have toys, but I insist they get cleaned up. Like every single day almost no exceptions whatsoever. I feel like I can't relax or even think straight with a cluttered house! At the moment we have too many toys for the storage space so even put away it doesn't look great, but I require at least that! And I think it's a good habit for the kids anyway. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/is-this-real-life-1/page/2#post-2869641 Wed, 30 Jan 2019 09:31:21 +0000 foodiebee 2869641@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I agree with Anagram.</p> <p>When my DH tells me something that's bothering him (let's say about pets bc we're kidless until June!), if I feel like it isn't a big deal, I still respond that I hear him and ask if he can explain what about it bothers him so that I understand. If it's that the dog doesn't do XYZ, what I really end up learning is he thinks the dog is disobedient and rude through that action and it's a safety risk. While I don't see it that way, I find it helpful to understand what about it pisses him off. We had a long-running disagreement about a pet behavior and argued about it a lot. YEARS later, we finally talked about it in detail using Crucial Conversations skills, and ever since, I've been happy to modify the way I handle it to match DH's request, because while *I* think it isn't a big deal, I now understand why it's important to him. We had the same situation play out in reverse where DH now understands why I handle a behavior the way I do even though he'd harped on me about changing it, and he doesn't do it anymore. It's helped both of us feel like our wishes/concerns/feelings are being heard and respected by the other, rather than ignored/unimportant.</p> <p>I don't think you should have to handle teaching the kids to pick up their toys on your own/clean the room yourself without any help. That's ridiculous and unbalanced!! But if my DH was so upset about something that he wanted counseling, then I'm going to break out the Crucial Conversations skills and take it seriously. I'd try to phrase it in a way that'd show that I hear him, so can he help me brainstorm how we can work together to find a balanced approach to fixing it, instead of framing it as, "I work too and it's utter bs of you to put this all on me and ask me to do everything when they're your kids too step up or step off buddy!" bc while it might feel grand, it's not going to accomplish anything, and these feelings he's having don't end with your upcoming move. They're portable. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/is-this-real-life-1/page/2#post-2869625 Wed, 30 Jan 2019 08:37:35 +0000 Kaohinani 2869625@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@Ajsmommy: Both of my children have their own private play spaces as each bedroom has a split room construct. My son has a 8x8 play niche affixed to his room and my daughter has a separate room behind hers which is used as her "hangout" and Art Studio. With this stated, we STILL have a play space in the corner of our livingroom towards the dining room and entryway. The space means the children can play with favorite toys while I am working or puttering around the house and DH is either watching TV or in his office. We can keep an eye on them and they don't feel "lonley" (* a complaint of DD. DS could care less but I like keeping an eye on him as he creatively "gets into things." 😉😂) I am a neat freak (no shame) so the idea of toys strewn all over our family space makes me cringe (*I am also the main person to pick up toys, although DD is "selectively helpful" as a pre-teen AND DS is stubborn.) I remedied the clean up issue by purchasing easily accessible soft toy bins and setting up rules. The kids know they are able to play in the LR but:<br /> (1) Can not spread toys EVERYWHERE.<br /> (2) Can take out a few toys at once (this sounds mean but DS has a huge cloth bag of cars, a bin of action figures/superheroes, tons of duplos, puzzles, etc ... When he takes out the car bag, superhero bin, AND his duplos, it counts as 3 items but is a HUGE mess. 🤣)<br /> (3) Must put back a toy (or bag of toys) before selecting something new to take out.<br /> Both the rules and the bins have cut down on the clutter, as well as, have allowed DD and DS a better ability in carefully and mindfully choosing what they WANT to play with.</p> <p>[attach=9021/19/pm5cin.600x450.20190130_081219.jpg] </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/is-this-real-life-1/page/2#post-2869614 Wed, 30 Jan 2019 08:15:16 +0000 brownepiano 2869614@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>Growing up we had toys in the living room, and our rooms. Everything had a spot and was expected to be put away. </p> <p>My almost 5 year old has a very small selection of toys in his room. My 2.5 year old is not allowed to have toys in his room because he tends to destroy things during nap time before going to sleep. Everything else is in the living room. However, we have a large cube shelf with baskets on the bottom row for toys and a toy box. Everything has a specific home and the kids know where that home is. Duplos quickly take over the whole floor but my kids can clean up in 10 minutes. I rotate toys so we only have so many sets with lots of tiny pieces out at once. All the big trucks go in the toy box, the four baskets are full of collections (duplos, mini cars, etc) that the kids can easily sort, and puzzles are displayed 1 or 2 to a cube. We clean up every night because I teach out of my home and anyone who comes to my piano studio has to walk through our entire house to get to the studio. </p> <p>I think you should both work on a system that works for you and involves less toys available at once. Then institute a clean up every night rule, regardless of where the toys live.</p> <p>ETA: you don't have to wait to move to have less toys out. Maybe pack some away now and see how your kids do with less. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/is-this-real-life-1/page/2#post-2869609 Wed, 30 Jan 2019 07:58:09 +0000 Ajsmommy 2869609@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@Grace: there are a lot that are just along the wall in our living room... little people castle, rolly and bingo house, push cars, etc.... however this is for now, we move in March and I dont' plan it to be like this. We'll have a whole large area dedicated to the kids which we don't now so I plan on most of these toys going there... and just have a shelf or two with some stuff on them in the new living room... </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/is-this-real-life-1/page/2#post-2869608 Wed, 30 Jan 2019 07:56:01 +0000 Ajsmommy 2869608@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@hellobeeboston: 5 and almost 2 .. and your last few sentences is exactly how I view this.. it's a phase. It won't last forever... they kind of need us now and actually want us to be near them... soon they won't even care about us, then the toys will be gone and then DH can be happy! And i'll be sad.. LOL</p> <p>But Dh can't seem to get past it... </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/is-this-real-life-1/page/2#post-2869598 Wed, 30 Jan 2019 06:14:45 +0000 hellobeeboston 2869598@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@Ajsmommy: I really liked @Anagram: ‘s advice above.....</p> <p>How old are your kids btw? We have a million toys in our living room. Our kids still like to be where we are. We have a separate playroom in our finished basement, but I think they will use it more when my little guy is older. Mine are 6 &amp; 3. </p> <p>The toy clutter gets to me after a while and I do a major cleanup (I’m also having a ton of cabinets installed in our LR to hide the toys away.... but I also just say to myself, this is the stage of life we are in right now. It’s going to be pretty brief. So there are toys in the LR. Who cares. Most of the toys will be gone in a couple years as they get older. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/is-this-real-life-1/page/2#post-2869593 Wed, 30 Jan 2019 05:22:25 +0000 Mama Bird 2869593@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>When I was growing up, we had no toys in the living room. They were all in the kids' room, and if we played in the living room we put them away right after. And we didn't even bring them to the living room, unless it was something that had to go on a big table, like a puzzle.</p> <p>My place now is not like that. There are toys on every surface and IMO it's disgusting. I've tried many times to get the kids to clean but they don't even seem to register what I'm asking of them. If I really get on their case, they just move the mess from one place to another. I guess the problem is too many toys. I've got to get my own cleaning sorted out (it's not going great with a two-montb-old). Once I can set a better example, I'll get rid of this mess for good. I'll toss the toys if that's what it takes, because otherwise it'll look like my parents' house where there are two couches but you can't sit down, and the kitchen has tons of counter space but there's nowhere to cook. Ick.</p> <p>Only, if you have storage in the living room, it figures that's where the toys get played with. The first step to getting clutter out of the living room is probably just not storing toys there.... </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/is-this-real-life-1/page/2#post-2869588 Tue, 29 Jan 2019 23:31:54 +0000 Grace 2869588@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>Do you have storage for these toys? Or arethey all in a row on the floor? Lots of people feel anxious if there’s clutter - and lots don’t even realise it. Another thought if there is a lot of toys, you could purge some (which means you would have less toys to move). Or you could pack some up now and not unpack them until you are in the new house. See if you can find a compromise. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/is-this-real-life-1/page/2#post-2869553 Tue, 29 Jan 2019 20:36:21 +0000 wrkbrk 2869553@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>ETA my son sitting in said toy basket in the middle of our living room here 😂 </p> [attach=5342/19/pm4f4l.450x600.AC273244-5B8B-424B-A4CA-C7C18F59FDF0.jpeg] https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/is-this-real-life-1/page/2#post-2869552 Tue, 29 Jan 2019 20:34:53 +0000 wrkbrk 2869552@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I’ll go back and read everything as I haven’t had time yet but yes we do have toys in the living room. One big basket,’one shelf, and what fills the top of the coffee table! Granted we bought the coffee table for that purpose (it holds the basket). It doesn’t bother us but if it bothers your husband, cleaning at the end of the night should solve it. I wasn’t allowed to play or have toys anywhere but my room growing up ... and it sucked and I see no reason to impose that formality on our son! </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/is-this-real-life-1/page/2#post-2869542 Tue, 29 Jan 2019 19:52:40 +0000 PawPrints 2869542@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>Our living room is toy-free, as is our dining area, but that's only possible because we have like... 6, maybe 7 other areas in the house that are dedicated play areas!! If our living space was limited to the rooms you describe, I don't think it would be possible or reasonable. Our play spaces are DS's room, DD's room, the common area in the basement (where both their bedrooms are), a sunken mini-room that leads to the backyard, a little craft table next to the dining table, and the covered deck that houses DD's painting table and play kitchen. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/is-this-real-life-1/page/2#post-2869540 Tue, 29 Jan 2019 19:48:56 +0000 SweetCaroline 2869540@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@Ajsmommy: We have an open concept kitchen, living room, dining room. That being said, our dining room is tiny and we chose to put kid toys there and eat at the kitchen island for now. The dining room is situated next to the living room, behind the couch (same big room). This dining room turned play room has 4 things in it: play kitchen, kids table, craft cart and toy cubbies. </p> <p>I am not someone who can tolerate toys not being picked up on the regular. Sure, some nights it's a disaster and I leave it. Many weekends it's a hot mess until Sunday night. By and large though, the table is clear, toys are in the cubbies and the toy kitchen is picked up. If I can't motivate DD to do it all, I do it myself and do not ask DH.</p> <p>Personally, i love the happy medium. I've waited my whole life to have this house full of love and the toys in our living areas make my heart happy to see. However, I am a stickler about properly caring for the things we have worked so hard for and threaten to give toys to someone who will take better care of them.</p> <p>ETA: Also, I echo everything said re: getting DH to care about certain things the same way that I do. He won't and it's not important so I either need to let go of those things or do them myself. Further, If it is truly something inconsequential and I chose to do it myself rather than let go of it, I cannot harbor any anger or resentment toward DH for not equally caring. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/is-this-real-life-1/page/2#post-2869524 Tue, 29 Jan 2019 18:39:34 +0000 cake2017 2869524@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@Ajsmommy: We don’t have any toys in our living room but maybe three small things. For the most part no toys and i’m okay with that. DH and I actually said when we moved into our new home that we wanted the home to be where we can all enjoy and relax and not just a kids zone. So LO has a playroom and his bedroom and we have the rest of the house 😜. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/is-this-real-life-1/page/2#post-2869522 Tue, 29 Jan 2019 18:38:28 +0000 Anagram 2869522@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@Ajsmommy: I think that it’s good for both marriage partners to be a little introspective when these arguments crop up. He needs to explore why he’s bothered so much about the toys, beyond “that’s how his parents did it”. Because it’s impossible to have a marriage where either/both spouses are trying to replicate their own upbringing. Well, unless you marry a sibling I guess. 😜 and that’s illegal. </p> <p>And then if he can figure out the root of the inssue and verbalize it, then you two can figure out a solution together that you can both live with. I don’t think there’s anything wrong with not having toys in the living room. I also don’t think there’s anything wrong with having toys in the living room.</p> <p>I agree with you it seems like the issue is general clutter. And you are not solely in charge of clutter in your house—he’s an able bodied adult and you have a 5 year old. My 5 year old is really good at cleaning up after herself when I direct and help. And usually my 3 year old helps.</p> <p>So you two should sit down together, figurenout the whole issue, split the responsibilities to solve the issue among the 4 of you and give it a go for the next month.</p> <p>My husband and I have constant renegotiations about household balance. Constant. But when something is bothering him, even if I think it’s “not important”, I make an effort to work on the problem to his satisfaction anyway and I really appreciate when he does the same for me, even if he thinks something is not important.</p> <p>For instance—he is a bed maker and I never saw the point. Now we both make all the beds in the house each morning. I have a hard rule about no eating on the living room rug for the kids; he thinks it’s nr important. But we talked about it, I asked how often he’s willing to buy a brand new rug (he’s frugal, so that got him); now he enforces the rule too. We’ve had to negotiate all those small rules. We grew up in two different countries, have 2 different first languages and 2 different religions and 3 different cultures and we would be at each there throats if we were both set on reliving our own childhood, you know? </p> <p>Just send him an email or text about this stuff when you aren’t at home so you can both think before responding. Good luck! </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/is-this-real-life-1#post-2869518 Tue, 29 Jan 2019 18:25:00 +0000 Mrs. Lemon-Lime 2869518@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>Growing up there were no toys in the formal areas: living room or dining room. My brother and I shared a toy box that was kept behind the couch in the family room. Our rooms were filled to the gills with toys. </p> <p>In this house LO has toys in a play area that I can see from the kitchen, his room and inside built-in closed storage in the great room LO has his dress up clothes and the coffee table contains a tray of action figures. He also has access to a lower kitchen cabinet that houses his art supplies. We don’t have a formal living room. LO does a great job picking up after himself. If he drags something from the play area into the great room it’s easy to return it. We clean up as we play meaning before taking out something new we put toys back. Everything has a designated place so if I have to clean up solo it’s still a breeze. </p> <p>In our new home we won’t have the square footage or built in cabinets to have toys neatly placed throughout the house. I am planning to have the majority of his toys in the play area. Right now his play area doesn’t have a TV, but the new one will and that will ensure we aren’t going up and down the steps just to watch a show. For the main living floor that also has the kitchen I plan to have one basket of toys/ books, his action figure tray and a bin for dress up clothes. I want there to be enough things to occupy him while I cook in the kitchen. </p> <p>@jape14: totally agree. From infancy LO picked up that we put away before moving on to something new. I’m naturally a very messy person and even though LO is my child I cannot stand other people’s mess. Avert your eyes from my kitchen most days LOL.</p> <p>@gotkimchi: yes, I read the same thing about if it matters to you more then just do it yourself. I push in all the chairs in the house because it’s not worth the hassle! </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/is-this-real-life-1#post-2869510 Tue, 29 Jan 2019 17:56:31 +0000 BlueWolverine 2869510@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@Ajsmommy: Is he willing to move all of the bins you have in the living room? Until he does that, he needs to zip it. </p> <p>Aside from that, I SO get you. Taking one thing and going nuts about it all of the sudden is so frustrating. Has he done anything about the toys? Or does he think he can make a royal proclamation and thus it will be done (by the invisible minions and children who magically listen to proclamations)? My DH pulls crap like that all the time and it drives me insane. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/is-this-real-life-1#post-2869509 Tue, 29 Jan 2019 17:46:10 +0000 mrbee 2869509@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>&lt;&lt; I mean I am tired after working 8 hrs, commuting 2 hrs, getting the kids, feeding them, cleaning up from dinner and then putting them to bed... &gt;&gt;</p> <p>Wow, that's a lot of hard work! Totally understand why you are tired.</p> <p>What does your DH do during that time? </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/is-this-real-life-1#post-2869504 Tue, 29 Jan 2019 17:23:58 +0000 Rocker2014 2869504@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I've totally taken the advice that @gotkimchi: mentioned. I CANNOT STAND toys in the living room but we don't have any other options for play spaces in our home, so I went out and bought tons of storage that I can stand looking at (ikea style) and I pick up throughout the day and put things away. I never ask DH to do it, and I always invite LO (age 4) into the process. Sometimes she helps, sometimes not - almost always during the day, never the pre-bedtime cleanup ha ha! Ultimately, I am very aware that this is my issue and it is up to me to resolve the situation to my liking. </p> <p>DH thinks I'm nuts, but I'm happy! </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/is-this-real-life-1#post-2869498 Tue, 29 Jan 2019 16:54:34 +0000 Madison43 2869498@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@Ajsmommy: we have a main playroom on our third floor but still have toys everywhere else bc to me, it’s not feasible to expect young kids to play in one area only. Clutter and messes make me very anxious though, so two things have helped enormously - ample storage and a bedtime cleanup. There are toys for days in our living room and our house is old so the closets are teeny tiny, so most furniture does double duty; for example we have large tv cabinet/console thing in the living room that all the “downstairs toys” get put in so that I don’t see them. And upstairs, our ottomans open for storage so some stuff can go in there. And at night, everything gets put away. It just makes my soul feel better :silly: The one area we really need work on, and that drives me crazy, it art projects and art supplies. I haven’t figured out a great solution for that yet and it makes me crazy. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/is-this-real-life-1#post-2869496 Tue, 29 Jan 2019 16:47:03 +0000 periwinklebee 2869496@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>We have nowhere else to put the toys besides the living room, since we're in a small condo. Trust me, you are not the only one. Where we live, everyone is in the same situation, and most people with kids I know have living rooms that look like a daycare center that was hit by a tornado. Before kids I thought it would drive me crazy, now I don't really care. And I'm the neat one in our house. I usually clean up end of day, but sometimes it doesn't happen. I will be excited when I can start teaching LO to clean up - at 1 all he knows is how to make giant messes. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/is-this-real-life-1#post-2869495 Tue, 29 Jan 2019 16:45:16 +0000 juli7 2869495@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>We have two preschoolers in a small two bedroom apartment, and the layout sounds similar to yours. We have toys in the dining room and living room - there is nowhere else to put them! But we do make an effort to pick up with the kids before dinner, and my husband and I will finish putting toys away while the other puts the kids to bed. The clutter stresses me out, so I get where your husband is coming from, but there is no alternative! I also think it's unrealistic to expect an almost 3 and 5 year old (my kids' ages) to always pick up after themselves. I just try to model good behavior ("oh look, mommy is picking up these magnatiles so no one trips on them") and cross my fingers that it will rub off on them! </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/is-this-real-life-1#post-2869490 Tue, 29 Jan 2019 16:15:15 +0000 nana87 2869490@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>We have an apt with an open concept living room/kitchen and bedrooms, and the girls share a room and only one of them naps. If we didn’t have toys in the living room we’d have a riot every time lo2 Naps and lo1 was bored! We have a designated toy area and try to keep it contained— the girls both help clean up. But it’s a mess most the time 🤷‍♀️Even if they had a playroom though the toys would spill over; my girls like for us to play with them or at least be near by. They’ll be more independent as they grow! </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/is-this-real-life-1#post-2869487 Tue, 29 Jan 2019 15:43:48 +0000 nwm 2869487@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@Ajsmommy: LOL--the counselor will tell you to just clean up more? Uh, unless this counselor has time traveled from 1950, I don't think so. OTOH I was just telling my husband I think we need a neutral observer to come to our house to figure out how our disagreements wind up escalating, of course because I'm so confident he is the one who starts out grouchy and raises the temperature unnecessarily. Basically, I want a referee to come to my house and tell DH that he started it, because I'm five years old. Sounds like your husband's maturity level on this may be somewhere near mine. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/is-this-real-life-1#post-2869486 Tue, 29 Jan 2019 15:37:30 +0000 superkate 2869486@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>Despite having a "playroom" (half playroom half office) upstairs, about half of DS's toys are stored in the living room. It's where we spend 80 percent of our time, so I can't imagine not keeping toys in there. If we have company we'll move stuff upstairs but no one ever comes over so we don't care. </p> <p>I used to get overwhelmed with the clutter but we got storage, which has really helped. After we got different containers for his toys we're really good about putting everything away before bed. As long as it's picked up I can deal with the mess during the day. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/is-this-real-life-1#post-2869485 Tue, 29 Jan 2019 15:27:24 +0000 jape14 2869485@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>We don't have a toy-free living room but the living room is where toys must be picked up and put away before bed each night (or if we have guests, or whatever). We have a dedicated playroom and we let the kids leave toys out in there if they'd like. I don't care about bringing toys in the living room or kitchen but we all clean them up together (18mo, 4yo, me &amp; DH) before we go up for bedtime. In our living room, we have built-ins with cabinets so the toys that belong there go there. We also have a basket for library books that tucks away and those must be put away at the end of the night too. &amp; anything that "lives" in the playroom goes back there. DH and I are both pretty neat by nature, so it's important to us that our kids learn those habits. They don't clean up everything every night, but more times than not. </p> <p>I think the thing is -- your husband says he wants a toy-free living room, but it seems like the more useful lesson would be to teach the kids to pick up after themselves. It will take more work than a blanket "ban" but it pays dividends. I think you're fooling yourself a little if you think a 4 year old who thinks it's okay to leave pj masks toys on the couch won't turn into a 13 year old who leaves his shoes/backpack/etc underfoot. </p> <p>One other strategy I find useful -- toys that have little parts (e.g., matchbox cars, batman figures, etc) are all stored in baskets with handles in our playroom. When those are taken out of the playroom, the basket comes with them so they are lot easier to clean up for little kids. Even my 18mo can pick up the basket of batman toys and drag them into the living room, so she can take them back when we are finished (yes, with prompting). </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/is-this-real-life-1#post-2869484 Tue, 29 Jan 2019 15:26:24 +0000 muffinsmuffins 2869484@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>We have a 3 bedroom bungalow and before DS2 we used the spare room as a play room on the main floor. It was great! Friends of ours have a custom built house with a playroom beside the dining room which I will be forever jealous of. When DS2 was on the way we had to make that his room so we created a lovely play space in our 1970’s-style decor basement. I thought DS1 would take to it and play there with and without us for hours. That’s a big fat NOPE. So the toys have migrated back to the upstairs living room. I have an ikea Kallax and a million bins so that stuff can go away if needed. No play structures upstairs, that’s all downstairs due to space. </p> <p>I think it’s a fact of having kids. We have plenty of years where there won’t be any toys and we can pretend kids and their plastic crap never lived in our house when they are grown up and moved away. For now, I try to tidy it as best I can but I just can’t give it energy some days. Everyone we know has crap everywhere so it’s another phase of life.</p> <p>ETA: maybe a good compromise would be that the kids can each have one bin that can stay in the living room but has to be put away before bed? </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/is-this-real-life-1#post-2869483 Tue, 29 Jan 2019 15:25:14 +0000 Mrs. Pajamas 2869483@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@Ajsmommy: @gotkimchi: haha love the back and forth between you two! We do not have a play room--I do not understand how people can have that much space but alas I live in the SF Bay Area. We have a giant ottoman in our living room that serves as foot rest/coffee table/ toy storage and it is awesome. The kids throw everything in there before bath/bedtime and it's super easy because no order is needed in there, and then it's out of sight/out of mind. My husband suggested doing some crazy container store fancy organizational system for toys and I was like huh? why? that just sounds like more work for me! Good luck and keep us updated... </p>