Playroom area?

[Arimeh]

This is one of those threads that could have been put in a number of spots, but thought it belonged here the most.

Do you have a separate playroom for the kids to play in? Does it work to keep the toy clutter out of your other rooms, ie, lounge, kitchen etc?

I'm sick of tripping over toys in my dining/lounge/kitchen area - its all open plan so there are always toys from one end to the other. And I'm over it!! I hate looking around and just seeing toys everywhere, makes the house seem so messy since that is the main part of the house - and its not a huge area either.

I'm considering turning my garage (which is off the dining room through an internal door) into a play room for the kids and putting all their toys in there, to try and keep it to the one area, making it easier to clean up for inspections, or one of our many open house things (got one on saturday).

It means that my car would have to go outside and DH's car will probably go on the road instead of in the driveway, but we're ok with that now that the weather is getting warmer and we don't live in an area that is high in crime. Plus we are planning on selling DH's car anyway soon.

So does it work? Or am I just dreaming and will never get rid of the toy mess?

[catherinemoses]

We don't have the space for a playroom, but I try and keep the toys contained to the bedroom and it mostly works. I'd give it a go and see if it works. If the toys are continuing to be a tripping hazard, ask once for them to be put away or confiscate them! Anything I have asked my kids to put away which they haven't done, I take for a good day or so. Good luck.

[Miss E]

We've got a playroom, but we've also only got one child... So not sure how relevant my advice will be...

I find that it works out about 50/50. DS will happily play in the playroom if I'm in there with him and sometimes by himself, but at other times he likes to bring toys out to the living area to be close to me. But he is an only child at this stage. I imagine with siblings to play with you might be a bit more inclined to hang out in the playroom.

I do however love that none of the toys are kept in the living area. At the end of the day it's so nice to be able to relax with DH without toys taking over the space.

[Erin_25]

From soneone who had a play room and now does not, they sure do work........I miss the play room soooooo much more than the kids do

It kept the toys out of the main living space, we are now in a small rental & it feels like my house is never clean as I am always tripping on toys or re-picking them up & losing them under the couch etc. We are looking to buy a house & a play area is a must.

Forgive me if this sounds really harsh, but it keeps the kids there also I am able to get things done as they didn't seem to fuss over needing me as much, we also had a telly in there & I foud the kids played more as they had toys & tv in the one spot they would play all arvo and forget tv was on. Now if it's on they tend to just stop & watch as most toys are in DS1 room. Oh yeah & we have to share the TV with them now also & I always miss the morning news LOL.

[~Hestia~]

I recently turned our spare room into a playroom for Moo and so far it's worked like a dream! His toys were from one end of the house to the other and it was driving me bonkers, the place was never tidy and I was forever tripping over something. He still has a shelf of toys and books in his room as well as a few toys out in the loungeroom, but it's so much easier to tidy up. He hasn't figured out that the toys can actually come out of the playroom yet so it's all contained to one room!

If you've got a space for it I'd definitley do it! I'm quite sad at having to give up the playroom once this baby needs the space!

[Just Me]

I converted our double garage into a playroom and it does work to a large degree but they do still bring toys into the house. They also still have toys in their rooms so there are often toys somewhere between the lounge and their bedrooms. But it is only a handful of toys - not a whole box of duplo or anything like that.

I got some cheap clearance lino to put down on the floor and some clearance backed fabric from spotlight to hang across the garage door to keep the heat out. I also had an air conditioner put in but we live in NQ so we wouldn't be able to use it six months a year without the air conditioning.

Because it is just the garage, we installed brackets and planks of wood as shelving - we didn't need to worry about expensive shelving. It's all sanded so no splinters but we didn't even paint it. We also have an old lounge suite out there so I can sit out there while they play and when we have visitors with kids, we sit out there too. I have my playroom set up in areas ... actually, I blogged about it not long ago ... Adventures in the Ville: Our playroom

[Jakabella]

YEP!! We have a useless little sun room area down the end of our house that we used to use as the dinning room but we never ate down there as we like to watch TV. So I turned it into a toy room and it rocks!! Bella loves it and it keeps all her toys down there neat and tidy! She also has a TV and DVD player set up to watch her dvd's if she likes. She still brings some toys down to the lounge but not as much and its not as clutterd with toys - now just baby stuff!
We are building a new house when we sell this one and I am purpose building a toy room / rumpas room into that house!

HTH

[Arimeh]

A TV?!?!!?!? OMG OMG OMG OMG.

What a rockin' idea!! LOL!!!!!

[~Kim~]

We have a large office space directly off our living room. It's only a big archway door so def not able to be shut away, but yes I find it does all that you ask.
I find it much neater if all toys have their own space/bin. I have some of those plastic drawer sets and each different type of toy has one. Easier for the kids to get one out and then put away.

[Jakabella]

yep! Some days whenI just want to watch "normal adult tv" I put a few dvd's one and she happily plays for a few hrs.... the room ends up a mess but we dont have to look at it!!

Im my next house I will be getting an arial in the rumpas room so the kids can have ABC4 as well... but for now dvd's for the same shows are all good!

[meow]

Sounds like a great idea. Those garages with internal access to the house are super toxic too so it'll be good not be using it for your car anyway. We have a spare room off the kitchen and the kids have some toys in there and they both like playing in there but then I dumped a heap of unpacked boxes in there... I need to clean it out to get the toys out the lounge room. I'm tripping over all the time!

[Amity]

I converted my garage into a playroom.
I have no toys in the house

And I hardly see the kids lol.

Oh and the door locks from the house side

[Just Me]

I converted my garage into a playroom.
I have no toys in the house

And I hardly see the kids lol.

Oh and the door locks from the house side

Actually, I have to keep a spare house key hidden on the bookshelf in the playroom because it does lock from the house side and if the kids close the door and lock it, there is a danger that I would be stuck out there. It is not so bad now DD1 can unlock the door as well as locking it but the others can still only lock the door but can't unlock it.

[shellbell3]

We have a small room downstairs that was a dining room/ study til we made it a toy room and I can say best thing ever. I don't have to look at crap everywhere and keeps the lounge and bedrooms sorta clear (til they bring it out)

[westy]

Yes we have a playroom too, it does work well as the kids are able to watch TV out there and play the wii so there is enough out there to keep them there iykwim. Although they are at school through the week they really dont spend hours upon hours in there now, they like to play outside with their mates after school now.

Our 16mth old will bring toys out on the odd occassion but thats to be expected he is still only little. We have always had a playroom, i dont know where we would put everything if we didnt have one.

[Lisa]

Yes. We have a flat downstairs which at present is used as a toy room and a place for guests to stay - it also have a TV with Foxtel on it to keep them amused when I am ironing or whatever. We had everything down there for the kids, but a lot of it has slowly made its way upstairs. DS1 is moving into the flat in the coming weeks and his old room will then become the kids play room.

[skybie]

Do you have a separate playroom for the kids to play in?
yes we do, an oversized study

Does it work to keep the toy clutter out of your other rooms, ie, lounge, kitchen etc?
No it doesnt! lmao

[Jennifer13]

Yes, we have a playroom and have since DD was about 16 mths. I looooove it. Definitely keeps the toys out of the living space. If something strays, I tell DD to take it back. She is also responsible for keeping the playroom tidy now that she's five. If there are toys left lying around for the once a week mop and clean, then she knows they'll disappear. It's easier to set up bins and shelves for toys and books when there's plenty of space too.

We also have a TV and video player (the old fashioned kind - she can't break videos!) set up with a couch. Surprisingly, it doesn't get turned on that much. But it's there if she wants it.

Our playroom is in the open plan area off the kitchen, so it's not able to be shut away as such, but on the other hand, I can still keep an eye if kids are playing in there. (It can't be seen from the lounge room of an evening though, which makes me feel better!).