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kitkat 06:38 AM 11-14-2012
Right now the toys are on shelves and I am so tired of seeing them I was thinking of getting a 9 or 12 cube storage unit w/canvas totes so I don't have to see the toys. For those of you who have that type of unit...does it work well? Any problems with the canvas totes getting smushed? Do you find you have enough storage? My kids are: 8, 4, 4, 3, and 20 mths.

Any other suggestions?
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itlw8 06:47 AM 11-14-2012
problem is you really need to have toys for them to SEE on the shelves to make a choice but ALL choices do not need to be seen. I have some of those cavans totes that have a strong wire frame and they hold up great. the soft ones do not.

my favorite containers and the IKEA TROFAST storage totes.. plastic but mine are 10 years old and none have broken.
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MarinaVanessa 07:35 AM 11-14-2012
Originally Posted by itlw8:
problem is you really need to have toys for them to SEE on the shelves to make a choice but ALL choices do not need to be seen. I have some of those cavans totes that have a strong wire frame and they hold up great. the soft ones do not.

my favorite containers and the IKEA TROFAST storage totes.. plastic but mine are 10 years old and none have broken.
I agree, the kids should be able to see the toys in order to be able to make a choice. Kids are very visual and need to be able to see their choices. If you are really set on using the canvas totes for toys can I suggest taking photos of what will be in the bin, laminating the photos and then attaching them to the front of the totes. This way they can see the photo of the item on the tote so they immediately know what is in it.

I personally don't have too many choices out for the kids and I use Sterilite clear bins. Right now I have four 66 qt bins (mega blocks, large wooden blocks, wooden train set, lincoln logs), four 27 qt bins (fish builders, large plastic screws and nuts, Duplos and wooden city accessories like trees, cars, buildings and road signs) three 15 qt bins (plastic animals, small metal cars, and big chunky cars) and I have two square semi-transparent bins from IKEA with the infant toys. Even though my bins are transparent I still take photos of what goes inside to make it easier for the kids to sort the toys during clean up. That way even the 1 year olds know where the toys go.
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DaisyMamma 07:49 AM 11-14-2012
I know what you mean.
I've looked into this and tried a couple of options but always come up with the same problem. Not everything fits in those nice square cubes or boxes. Examples are big cars or trucks, little people house, little people farm, things like that....
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kitkat 08:34 AM 11-14-2012
Yes, I was thinking/planning on taking pics and attaching them to the front of the bin. Sorry...I left that part out. I already have a small 3 bin thing and the kids know exactly what goes in which bin, so I don't think it'll be a big leap for them to get rid of the bookshelves w/baskets and plastic bins and go to the cube storage. I don't have a dedicated daycare area and we play mostly in the living room, so I'm looking for something functional that will hide the toys, but also blend into the living room.
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Meeko 09:17 AM 11-14-2012
Hope this pastes.....

I used to have cloth cubes in this shelf unit, but over a few years, they got dirty from little fingers and very hard to clean. Started to look very shabby. In the end, I got rid of them and replaced with clear plastic containers. Much happier now. Easy to clean and the kids can see the contents better.


https://www.daycare.com/forum/attach...5&d=1346301073
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sharlan 10:05 AM 11-14-2012
The cloth baskets are expensive $7 to $9 a piece and the kids can destroy them rather quickly.
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daycare 10:12 AM 11-14-2012
the cloth ones actually cost more than the plastic ones.... they end up folding in and don't last that long.

I have the ikea shelves and then have 30qt plastic storage buckets in them. fit like a glove.

each box is labeled.
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littlemissmuffet 11:04 AM 11-14-2012
We have several 6 cube, 9 cube and 12 cube cubbies in our daycare for various purposes - diaper/spare clothing cubbies; book shelves and toy shelving.

We use the canvas totes in the private areas of our home on these cube cubbies - but not for daycare because: a) the children cannot see what's inside (I find attatched pictures get ripped off easily), and b) overall, they are not strong enough for long-term use.

Instead, I buy different sized, shaped and colored buckets and baskets (all heavy plastic) with slots/holes in them to store the toys in, which fit nicely in each cube. They are sturdy, and the kiddos can see what's inside each of them.

For larger toys (Little People sets, large tractors, Peek-a-Block sets, etc) I just store them on top of the shelving units.
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kitkat 11:18 AM 11-14-2012
Originally Posted by Meeko:
Hope this pastes.....

I used to have cloth cubes in this shelf unit, but over a few years, they got dirty from little fingers and very hard to clean. Started to look very shabby. In the end, I got rid of them and replaced with clear plastic containers. Much happier now. Easy to clean and the kids can see the contents better.


https://www.daycare.com/forum/attach...5&d=1346301073
Thanks for posting the picture! I'm starting to think it's not necessarily seeing the toys that's driving me crazy, it's a lack of uniformity of bins for the toys. I felt so calm looking at your toys! I need symmetry and balance Your picture was soooo helpful! Thank you!
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daycare 11:23 AM 11-14-2012
Originally Posted by kitkat:
Thanks for posting the picture! I'm starting to think it's not necessarily seeing the toys that's driving me crazy, it's a lack of uniformity of bins for the toys. I felt so calm looking at your toys! I need symmetry and balance Your picture was soooo helpful! Thank you!
1 toy bin out at a time per group...

I have three rugs.... each rug can have one bin out on it and it does not leave that rug. when you are done with it you put it away before another can come out

3 kids to each rug total.

It works very well otherwise the bins many different toys and then they don't want to play with them because they can't find the rest of the set.
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Meeko 11:58 AM 11-14-2012
Originally Posted by kitkat:
Thanks for posting the picture! I'm starting to think it's not necessarily seeing the toys that's driving me crazy, it's a lack of uniformity of bins for the toys. I felt so calm looking at your toys! I need symmetry and balance Your picture was soooo helpful! Thank you!
A big plus I never really thought of was at inspection time.

My inspector used to pull out the cloth cubes and look through them to see if they and the toys were clean/organized etc.

When we got the clear plastic boxes, he was a happy camper. He could see at a glance, which made his life easier too!
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kitkat 12:19 PM 11-14-2012
Originally Posted by daycare:
1 toy bin out at a time per group...

I have three rugs.... each rug can have one bin out on it and it does not leave that rug. when you are done with it you put it away before another can come out

3 kids to each rug total.

It works very well otherwise the bins many different toys and then they don't want to play with them because they can't find the rest of the set.
Yup, that's pretty much what I do...1 toy bin at a time, put away when you are done before another comes out. The kids are really good about cleaning up and putting things away nicely. It's the mish-mash of bins that I have that is my problem...a couple of these, a couple of those. I love looking at Ikea's website b/c everything matches. It just makes me go ahhhhhh Which shelves from Ikea do you have?
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Mommy2One 12:45 PM 11-14-2012
I'm just a mommy but a neat freak. I initially wanted the Ikea Expedit for my daughter's room. I ended up with a 12 cube modular system (the boxes are separate so they can be arrange in any configuration) that has the same 15"x15" openings. I bought the Drona boxes from Ikea. I like the boxes in general - they're cheap ($4.99) they've held up great, hold a ton of stuff and extras fold up flat.

The system is out in the garage now. Some of my daughter's toys filled just 1/4 of the bin, which wasted a lot of space. Others, like her Little People farm/bus would only fit if put in the box a certain way (which meant I had to do it every time). I don't know if it would work well for a daycare, but what worked for us was getting a large cabinet with doors (a gorgeous white armor that we found on Craigslist) and filling it with bins of various sizes. I use the Sterlite bins because the different sizes are all the same width so they stack easily. When open, it looks a bit "messy" but I just close the doors and all the toys disappear.

Meeko - I love your system! I wish I had the space for something like that - maybe someday!
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earlystart 02:09 PM 11-15-2012
I use the storage cubeicals from Target with the canvas totes, with picture labels attached (using clear badge holders and zip-ties). It works fine for me so far (only been a month). My toddlers can pull out the bins themselves w/out assistance. I also use them for cubbies for personal belongings (sheet, blanket, extra clothes). It's not a perfect solution, but it looks nice as part of my dining/living room. I got neutral colors for the canvas totes and the shelves are espresso. You can also put bulkier items in the shelves w/out a tote, or as someone else mentioned, on top of the shelves.

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Lyss 07:09 PM 11-15-2012
Originally Posted by itlw8:
problem is you really need to have toys for them to SEE on the shelves to make a choice but ALL choices do not need to be seen. I have some of those cavans totes that have a strong wire frame and they hold up great. the soft ones do not.

my favorite containers and the IKEA TROFAST storage totes.. plastic but mine are 10 years old and none have broken.
I also have the Trofast containers and love them!! I have 6 totes in one that are out all the time but I bought 4 additional ones (with lids) that I keep in the garage so i can rotate the toys in and out. I just take one tote out, put the lid on, and pop in the other one. presto chango new toys! lol! My kids hang all over them but I've yet to have one break (shelves or totes)


this is what I have (except they have labels on them with photo pictures of the toys now) and the red/whit/pink totes are what I switch out

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itlw8 03:02 PM 11-16-2012
Originally Posted by daycare:
1 toy bin out at a time per group...

I have three rugs.... each rug can have one bin out on it and it does not leave that rug. when you are done with it you put it away before another can come out

3 kids to each rug total.

It works very well otherwise the bins many different toys and then they don't want to play with them because they can't find the rest of the set.
That would drive me crazy And my group is far to creative for that. Funny do you think we attract families that think as we do ? There is no way my kids could stay in groups of 3 and only on a rug.

heck one when sh paints uses two brushes and once tried laying down to paint. ( did not work)

As long as they put it away I am happy. LOL
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