If you’ve got kids, you’ve got clutter. Feel me parents? I recently went on a massive de-cluttering binge of our entire loft, (nothing like having your mother-in-law live in your house for a week to motivate that move). It took a whole week, which is slightly embarrassing to admit, but damn, when it was done it felt SO good! 

I thought I’d share some visuals on how I keep my own kid’s toy chaos under control. And guys, I upcycled, bargain shopped on kijiji and, ok, I spent way too much time at Homesense. My point is, nothing here cost much.

First of all, here’s her room, as you can see it’s not huge so functional storage is key. I painted my old bedside table from dark brown to white and moved it into her space. She loves having her own ‘secret drawers’:

Oh yes that is an ikea bed with FOUR drawers underneath. The only drawback is the drawers are a bit shallow so not all toys will be able to party in there:

This trunk was also an upcycle that I painted white. A little aside here, trunk with heavy lid + small hands = potential trapped finger OWIE, so, this holds the seasonal stuff we don’t need access to on the regular. 

I love storage bins of any kind and these work really well for books. Plus, hunting for cute storage bins is a personal addiction. Especially at Homesense. 

Storage bins for stuffies is a must for my stuffy-hoarding little. This one is from Homsense. Surprise, I know. 

Tchotchkes make me crazy! Those annoying little knick-knacks that your kid guards like Gollum and that make dusting a major PIA! But at least I figured out how to make them look pretty. The ‘Lack’ ikea shelf is a godsend (still a major dusting problem though) and the little shelves you see bottom right, are actually to hold pictures. Close-up next….

The picture shelves are great for storing and displaying ‘treasure’. These are trinkets we bought for her from all over the world and her beloved crystals.

Lastly, a note about the artwork here. I painted the peace sign and used wall stickers from ikea to create the bird picture. My hubbie painted the unicorn for her and my Mum knitted the Hare, adorable right?! The Hare also doubles to hold her necklaces sometimes.

I hope this inspired you to get spring cleaning. If not, invite your MIL down for the week 🙂

Rachel xo

P.S. I love when you leave me comments, (then I don’t feel so lonesome).

Words and pictures by Rachel Matthews Burton