This post is sponsored by Pottery Barn Kids. All opinions are 100% my own. Thank you so much for supporting my blog.

I’m often asked how our home stays clutter free (or at least appears that way) but I promise you we have plenty of clutter- it’s just knowing how to hide organize it 😉 When my daughter Olivia plays, she is all over the place and so are her toys. Maximizing storage and keeping clutter away is not just limited to her bedroom and playroom either. Toys, games and activities tend to end up getting spread out throughout our home as she plays. So I’ve made it simple to keep things organized and added a few must-have items throughout our home to make clean up easier and to keep things organized!

1. DECLUTTER : This seems obvious, but it’s something easier said than done. Once you take the time to do it, it feels GREAT! Less is more. I’ve managed to de-clutter quite a few rooms in our house, but still have a ways to go. I did manage to de-clutter our playroom though and our daughters’ rooms. Once you do this, you’ll realize there are many toys that you’ve never even seen your child play with. These toys make for great donations.

Something else I found helpful is to group toys by category and find the corresponding storage that works best for each type of toy. Use book cases, and shelves for books, smaller boxes or bins for building blocks and puzzles, and larger baskets for stuffed animals and balls. Also, rotating toys allows you to get the best use out of them constantly keeping them “new.” The easiest way I found to do this is to swap out baskets each month that are filled with different toys.

2. USE PRODUCTS THAT GROW WITH YOUR CHILDREN:  Beautiful wicker baskets can be used anywhere in your home, and not just for kids items. The things we fill them with will change over the years, but for now, they serve great purpose in our daughter Olivia’s room. I put wicker baskets on top of her armoire to store items that aren’t regularly used, such as winter hats, gloves, scarves, and other items. Her large round basket is currently used to store stuffed animals and other toys she decides to put in there and eventually, it will be used as a hamper.

3. DESIGNATE PLAY AREAS: Create identifiable toy zones so cleanup is easier and faster. An arts and craft area, a playroom, an area in the living room to color and read, a reading nook; all of these places will help your child know that this is their own little area and that they are responsible for making sure it is clean when they are finished playing. It sounds a lot better to them when you tell them to put the puzzle back in the basket two feet away from them, rather than all the way upstairs in their bedroom.

You can never have enough stackable storage options for arts and crafts, drawings, photos, etc. Other items pictured  above: Sherpa blanket (Olivia has had hers since she was born) – Stuffed Bunny – Cotton Rope Pink Storage basket – Gray Canvas Changing Table Storage

   

Baby Doll Cradle – White Wicker Baskets– Pink Lamp– Pink Cotton Rope Storage – Book Case

This book case was so easy to assemble and the quality is amazing. I love that it has open shelves so I can arrange the baskets and use different sizes too. This is a piece of furniture that will be with us for the long run.

 

4. CHOOSE DECOR THAT FUNCTIONS AS STORAGE: I wanted this wicker giraffe shaped basket for Emmy’s nursery the second I saw it! Besides the fact that it is ridiculously adorable, it offers a nice amount of storage as well. I also chose a wire rack for the wall that I can store books and other items on it. I chose to store all of Emmy’s baby blankets in the wicker giraffe, but it could be used for anything… clothes, books, dolls, cars, puzzles, blocks, etc. One of my favorite things about wicker baskets and storage baskets in general are their e n d l e s s  storage options.

This gold moon & star storage is perfect for the theme of Emmy’s nursery. I filled it with blankets, books and a stuffed animal for inside of her tee pee (currently used by big sis). Crib can be found here and pink tulle bed skirt here.

 

5. UTILIZE WALL SPACE FOR STORAGE: Wall-hung storage helps maximize space by keeping things off of the floor. My OCD mind is at ease when I see Olivia carrying a handful of toys downstairs knowing that they have a place to go and I won’t have to carry them all back upstairs. You can find this easy to assemble and beautiful and reasonably priced wall rack here. We have one in the corner of our living room with a little reading chair and kids table and I can’t even begin to tell you how useful this area is. Often, I will find Olivia sitting at her table coloring by herself (or with Daddy)!

Book Rack – Comfy Chair – Kids Table (and see similar here).

If you made it this far, thanks so much for reading!! I hope you enjoyed this post! And as always, your support means the world to me!!

In case you missed it, you can purchase the adorable giraffe shaped wicker basket that I am obsessed with here!

And they also have an elephant!!  So stinking cute!!

xo, Nicole