Bookshelves with glass doors and storage and invisible child proof locks - ikea has some

https://ikea.co.il/catalogue/Store_and_organise_furniture/Bookcases/79281790

How old are the kids? A common traditional arrangement is a family room for kids and living room for adults, both with doors.

Shelves and baskets will go a long way …a place for everything and everything in its place kind of thing. My grands and many kids learned “clean up” songs at preschool and childcare. A daily routine where they sing while they put things away makes it more fun. I’m sure if you Google it, lots of song options will pop up. I’m not a fan of denying kids options to books until they are older. We have a heartwarming photo of our one year old grandson surrounded by books on the floor. He worked his way thru all the books on his shelves in the family room, looking at each one, then moving on to the next. He’s a tween now, and a huge reader. Small price to pay IMO. Reality is some kids and adults make messes. But they can learn to clean them up.

Storage is great and there's all kinds. I think having an area they can play in relatively unreservedly helps; that said -- it IS a blink and so designing it in a way that converts back to livable space is also helpful -- once they get a bit older sometimes the play is more organized (legos, forts); and then it shifts again. By the time they are teens it might need to be a lounging/tv/video area...

Did you see the old post about someone complaining about what a slob her grown daughter is? I always want to point out that kids learn to pick up their toys early on. As toddlers. Good luck!

Having a system in your house is the best thing. A daily schedule that includes putting things away before going on to the next thing. This means Mom, too. Keeping them engaged so that there is no reason to be pulling books off the shelves. And if they do pull theirs off putting them back is part of the deal.

Even toddlers clean up at preschools and drop-ins. Once I learned this, life was better with my second!

I agree @bpath! We incorporate some Montesorri concepts at home with our two year old - putting out multiple options for her to play with, but rotating her toys, books and games periodically so that she’s not overwhelmed with choices and the mess is managable. We actually incorporate cleaning up as part of the process of playing, and explain the purpose (so that the next time we want to play, we know where it is, etc.). It might not last forever, but at this age, she’s actually really into helping out with cleaning up, so we try to take advantage.

When we were little, we were taught to clean up our toys ... we would be asked once, maybe twice ... if mom cleaned up for you, it might get cleaned up to somewhere you couldn't get to it for a while.

If we were taking things off shelves, it was expected that we were doing so because we wanted to use them. If we needed help putting the books or whatever back, that was fine, but leaving a disaster behind was not.

Our rooms were allowed to have more left out, but the room had to be walkable, the area around the bed better be clear if you want help getting your sheets back on after washing, and everything had to be cleaned up eventually unless you had a good reason for whatever staying out (I don't want to put it away, yet, was generally not a good reason).

Here is a link to a whole bunch of clean up songs. I didn’t play them, but there’s bound to be something here that might be helpful.

https://www.fatherly.com/play/best-clean-up-songs-for-kids/

We were lucky enough to have a separate out of the way play space when my kids were older around 3rd grade and up. While I’m a big fan of being neat, I did allow them to leave their Lego creations “in progress” for a while in that room. Sometimes they and their friends turned them into entire cities, incorporating other toys as well. I’m not sure that would have happened if I’d made them put them away the minute they left them for the day. I totally recognize that would not work in a family space

We raised 8 kids; clean up was a timer set for 15 minutes and we would play beat the clock. As I was a SAHM I would help them when they were really small, modeling correct cleaning. Only rule for bedroom was bed had to be made every morning before family breakfast. When they were in third grade they began doing dinner dishes on a one week rotation. At age 13 allowances stopped and they could find jobs around the house that we would pay them for like mowing the lawn, etc. and no more watching younger kids for mom when needed, and they began doing their own laundry with their own laundry day.

I rotated toys once a week in toy bags.....the reality is that kids love to get into everything, so go with the flow.....neat or messy. If you are a SAHM you have the best opportunity to spend wonderful, chaotic, funny times with your kiddos. All my kids are now parents, some are messy and some are neat and some are in between.....what ever works and makes them happy. LOL

When my kids were little there was a show called The Big Comfy Couch.

The"star" was a live ragdoll who did, you know, stuff during the show. At the end she'd suddenly stop, look around at the toy-strewn couch, and announce "wait a minute! Who made this big mess?!? Oh, me? Well then it's time for a 10-second tidy" and she'd stuff everything under the cushions.

We kind of took that on, but actually putting things away, not stuffing under the cushions. Honestly, it's amazing what you can do in 10 seconds! We didn't use a timer, we aren't competitive in that way, we just kind of counted. Some of the counts were pretty well spaced, so more than 10 seconds elapsed, but who cares. It got done. To tell you the truth, my youngest is 22 and I still do a 10-second tidy myself!

Multifunctional furniture items, like an ottoman with hidden storage and lightweight pieces to change things up :0 . You might enjoy this article with examples: https://www.architecturaldigest.com/story/6-kids-spaces-that-are-all-about-high-design

Thanks everyone. I have a friend who has no kids and has a ton of decor, fragile furniture, statues, nicknacks and the like. I can't even socialize because I'm blocking my 3 under 3 girls from grabbing at fragile things or tearing up her books. My hubby and I are building our own home and we are trying to think about future design and storage to prevent a high stress environment like that (being at my friends house, not kid safe at all). I do teach my kids to clean up after themselves and it's not the toys that are a problem but just grabbing things not meant for kids to play with. Some things they shouldn't grab in the first place. But we would like some beauty to the place. I prefer spacious, uncluttered, minimalist living room with only a few toys that can be quickly and easily cleaned up.

As far as getting into things they shouldn't- or easily destroyed by a baby/toddler who doesnt know better yet, it's hard to when I'm doing chores, in another room, cooking etc. A separate playroom with a baby gate, perhaps?

It’s entirely possible your curious, tactile kids are just bigger energy burners than more self-contained kids. Kids truly differ that way, by inborn nature. I’m watching a pair of very young girls in my extended family, and one could sit forever entertaining herself with small crafts and puzzles and doing drawings, while the other would ride a motorcycle through the living room if no one was watching, dragging all the pots and pans from the kitchen cabinets behind her. I recently bought both of them these carts (in a different color). The detail-oriented girl is organizing all her craft tools into the various tiers, while the other is racing around with hers indoors and out — but at least she’s not leaving a tornado alley of her stuff behind. She’s taking everything with her.

Pemberly Row 3 Tier Mobile Storage Caddy in Hot Pink · More Info

Are you building modern? It’s a great style with kids. Flat surfaces, finger-slots under the cabinet doors instead of knobs, spring-loaded ”hidden” closets. I had one toddler who was a climber, and could find a toe-hold in the trim of the buffet and knock over a chair. the other one tripped on a chair rocker and had a black eye for a week. So low, stable, upholstered furniture.

My best handling of toys was a long reach-in closet in the family room that I put those plastic drawer carts in. The drawers were labeled with what goes in them, and it was fast and easy to put stuff. As their and our needs and toys and crafts needs changed, the drawers were easily re-purposed. Shelves above the carts were for additional miscellaneous storage and board games. Oh, and I found a plastic ’treasure chest’ style box with wheels, clear plastic but with the domed lid, that we used for dress-up stuff.

When I was a kid, our neighbor’s family room had a wall of reach-in closet/cabinets in the family room, one for each kid. I always thought that was a good idea.

I have been thinking about this, for me, it was important to have a 1-story home when the children were young. If that is not possible, then have no low windows, no low window sills, and if all else cannot be done, childproof windows in your house.

"... it's not the toys that are a problem but just grabbing things not meant for kids to play with. Some things they shouldn't grab in the first place. But we would like some beauty to the place."

I can relate. Honestly, our approach has been to pack away some of our more precious items (family heirloom type stuff) for now, until we reach a point where our daughter understands the difference somewhat (I just don't think it's realistic that a two year old completely understand what she's allowed to touch or not all of the time - she's still learning). Other things (replaceable but expensive, etc.) are kept out of her reach.

I grew up in a house where there were entire rooms that we weren't allowed to play in or touch things, and as much as I totally understand where my Mom was coming from now, I still don't want that so much for my family - this is our daughter's house, too. And we've had playdates with folks who have houses that look like daycare centers inside - that's not for us, either. Finding a balance is a constant challenge.

We are in the design stage of the biggest renovation we've ever done (for our personal home - hopefully our last one!), and it's really clear that timing is important to our decision making. While we want to maximize function and the overall condition of our current space, we aren't eager to make significant investments in things like fabrics or furniture until we don't have young children living with us (we'll still buy furniture, of course - I'm just speaking to the appetite to invest in expensive non-performance fabrics on custom furniture pieces that aren't kid-friendly). I figure I'll deal with my impending empty nest syndrome eventually with a huge decor refresh where I get all of the beautiful stuff someday. We'll still have art on the walls and other beautiful things, but it's all about finding that balance.

Also, I used to be firmly in the camp of "investment" furniture pieces - in other words, if I was going to buy it and put it in my home, it had to be solid and built to last. Now, with child-proofing and living with a toddler, I've become more accepting of "interim" furniture. I have my china in two Ikea library units right now with child-proof locks on the sliding doors. When we finish our renovation, I'll put them on Craigslist and someone like Beth H with more skills than I have will scoop them up, paint them and give them a new life.

When my son was smaller, we got him this with the rollout bins and a storage bench. https://www.nilotoys.com/product/nilo-multi-activity-childrens-play-table/ It took him just a few minutes to throw everything in and out of sight.

Someone recommended glass door cabinetry upthread. Please keep any glass enclosed storage units far, far away from children. Like the wall cabinets in a kitchen. Thank you.

I think I'm going along with the crowd here:

- Reduce the number of toys and books available to the kids. You can do this in a couple ways: get rid of things she's outgrown, buy fewer new toys, put some toys away /rotate your toys in your house. More isn't better.

- Teach clean-up, which is MUCH more work than just doing the clean-up yourself but will pay off in the long run.

- Give a time limit on clean-up, but don't back yourself into a corner; for example, don't allow bedtime to be put off by failure to clean -- that could turn into a reward. Instead, make the deadline something the kids want; for example, If you can pick up all these toys in the next 15 minutes, we'll have time to watch a cartoon together.

- If toys or books are left out, they go into "Jail" and must be "ransomed" with an extra chore. Or they are taken away for a week.

- Be sure the clean-up is done every day. Small kids may not be capable of cleaning up a multi-day mess.

I have three boys and we are home a lot (we homeschool). Here is what works for us:

-Limited toy selection (lego, playmobil, toy food and stuffed animals are out all of the time in the largest kid's bedroom). Other toys (muscial instruments box, toy cars, dress up, puzzles, games) are in storage and brought out occasionally and then put away again. I do not like clutter, and this makes it fun for the kids to see new toys!

- We have a huge selection of books. I would never restrict access to books, even for toddlers. I just cleaned up after them when they were babies (board books), and then by the time they were two taught them to clean up with my help. It is not perfect, but a love of reading brings a lifetime of joy!

- We keep no toys downstairs except puzzles and games. Our youngest is five, so he still brings things down but he is supposed to bring them back up when he is finished (we are still working on this :)) I do not like seeing toys when I am trying to relax!

- I am ruthless about getting rid of toys. Those big ugly plastic toys.... out! I make suggestions to the grandparents about what types of toys the boys would like that would fit into our organizational system (big bins on the floor). Playmobil and lego are both great, since they are small, offer tons of different games and also fit together so all different sets can be stored together.

-On Sunday morning we all clean the house from top to bottom for two hours. The boys each clean their room and the living room and library. This keeps them motivated to keep things clean during the week since they know they will be cleaning up the mess themselves! It takes several years to train a child to properly clean a room (dusting, wiping, vacuuming, tidying, mopping), but it is a worthwhile investment!

I hope you find solutions that work for your family. It is much easier as the kids grow up since they are able to help out more.

I love all the advice about toys and kids, it's great! We actually do most of it already. We have a ton of toys from grandparents. All of it is in the storage shed except one woven basket full. Every month we switch the toys out with fresh one's so the kids feel like they are "new" haha. Our bookshelf in our present temporary home is at adult height and we keep the board books and fabric books in the kids shelf. They clean up whenever they are done with their toys and cannot do anything else until they've cleaned what they have gotten out first.

Growing up, we had an open shelf style and everything was subject to kids getting into bowls and silverware. We never had anything childproofed. If cookies were high up, the little kids would make a tower out of chairs and books and stuffed animals, climb on the counter and make another tower to reach the cookies in the top shelf.

That's another thing- my kids are showing signs of being natural climbers like my brothers and I were (crazy daredevils). My eldest not so much but the other 2... I'm thinking a climbing wall to provide them an outlet for their engrained climbing instincts. A safe place to climb that is meant to be climbed on.

Right now we have an open shelf style in our temporary house. The girls climb on the counter using chairs and then get into our onions, cooking spoons etc. I dont understand why they love real things more than toys! They are not even colorful! I'm working on training them out of this, but it's like the forbidden fruit appeal for them I think D: