One of the most surprising things about having kids is just how much stuff they accumulate in such a short period of time. Quite frankly, I find all this stuff really overwhelming. Granted there is a great deal of things that kids need, such as nappies, clothes, and safety equipment etc. But then there are all the things that they don’t really need but you have anyway, like 172 cuddly toys, 15 different puzzles, 24 different colours of Play-doh, a rocking cow, three dolls houses…you get the idea. Before I had kids I was determined not to buy into the consumerist culture where kids are concerned. I’d seen parents carting so much stuff around with them and I didn’t want that for my children. But you know what, I’ve come to the conclusion that it is unavoidable. Even if you try not to buy too many toys for them, other people will. Matylda comes home from her grandparents’ house with a new gift almost every time she visits (which is at least 3 times a week if not more). Friends you haven’t seen for a while also tend to bring small gifts when you do meet up. And before you know it you’re drowning in a sea of superfluous items that children may or may not be interested in playing with. This causes somewhat of a dilemma…where on earth do you store all this stuff? And how do you prevent your home looking like an exploded toy shop?
There are plenty of wonderful toy storage options on the market and they undeniably look fantastic in the kids’ bright and colourful bedrooms. But what if you want (or in our case have to) keep toys in the livingroom? Obviously in this case a bright red and blue storage unit may not quite fit in with the existing decor in your living space. In our small flat, the livingroom is the only reception room we have so it’s important that it can be kept reasonably tidy and can retain the illusion that it is an adult space, at least of an evening when the kids are finally in bed. So I wanted to find a storage solution that really fit in with the theme and aesthetics of our livingroom decor. I therefore wanted to find something that was grown up, whilst still being child friendly. I needed something that allowed easy access so Matylda could get to her toys without my help and preferably that was really portable so we could move it around the flat if necessary. So when I discovered these gorgeous vintage style crates from Also Home I knew that they were the perfect solution for my toy storage dilemma.
I have always loved vintage style crates but since they became trendy a while back I have found them to be a tad expensive for what they are. These ones from Also Home though are really reasonable at only £25 each. I thought that is a real bargain. They are also really quite sizeable at 54x37x28cm which makes them perfect for storing all manner of things. We tried out quite a few options from cuddly toys to craft supplies but eventually settled on storing books in ours. I really love this storage option and I’m really happy with the way it compliments our existing decor and allows us to keep the space reasonably coherent. In fact I’m already planning to buy a few more. They can be stacked but as they don’t really slot together completely securely I’d be a bit worried about stacking them more than two high with little children around.
So what do you guys think about these vintage style crates as stylish toy storage? I’d love to hear how you manage to contain the masses of stuff that your kids have acquired and how you stop your communal living spaces from looking like a toy store. Any tips you can give me would be greatly appreciated.
Disclosure: This post has been written in collaboration with Also Home who provided the product for us to review. However, all the opinions in this review are our own and we stress that we only collaborate with brands and companies that we genuinely like and believe that our readers will like too.
