apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

I went through this a few months ago for my 21 month old son.

I ended up purchasing the Closetmaid stacking cubes (very similiar to the Expedit but cheaper) (http://www.closetmaid.com/look/product_catalog/product.cfm?product_id=1637) from Target. I turned them on their side, so they are 2 cubes up, and 4 cubes across. They are just the right height for my son... he loves to roll his trucks back and forth across the top of the shelves. (I think the Expedit would have been too tall to do this). I also purchased the fabric bins (also very cheap at Target), and my son loves organizing his toys in them. I'm thinking about buying another set for his bedroom in the near future.

I also enjoy arranging and rearranging his toys in pleasing vignettes... it's fun for us all!

We use Billy bookcases with doors. They aren't as deep as the Expedit but almost all of my two year old's toys fit. I love the ability to close the doors. Also, shelving is so much nicer than bins. It helps to keep everything organized and available. No searching for pieces.

We did the Closetmaid Cubicals in the 3-2-1 configuration (http://www.closetmaid.com/Look/Product_Catalog/product.cfm?product_id=1626). I found the piece at Target for under $50. The Strapping cube bins from Land of Nod (http://www.landofnod.com/family.aspx?c=86&f=854) fit and make for a nice pop of color at a reasonable price.

We have three girls under four. I went to Ikea and got the long 12 cubby expedit and BOLTED IT TO THE WALL with a furring strip. I love my kids but they climb on everything. To fill it, we put in the mesh collapsable squares from the container store in black- they fit perfectly. From the side or from far away it all looks very neat and clean, but the kids can still see in the cubbies and pull them out. Best of all, when they fall on or throw the cubbies, they spin down and fall flat. No ouchies. Best of luck!

Mod Mom Furniture makes great, fun, and hip storage solutions! http://www.modmomfurniture.com/

i'm a big fan of the expedit on its side. that's what we use in our boys' room with bins, for their clothes. i'd love to get another one for their playroom, but we don't live near an IKEA, so it's a pain to get anything.

I should add that Container Storage has several different storage options that fit within Billy, including one size that allows four to fit perfectly on a shelf. Great for things like duplo pieces or puzzles.

we use the expedit to house toys in our family room for our toddler with the large size fabric bins from targets itso storage line that fit like a glove.

http://www.target.com/Fabric-Storage-Bin-Green-Large/dp/B0015E5XUC/sr=1-11/qid=1246912256/ref=sr_1_11/184-7904589-7067226?ie=UTF8&search-alias=tgt-index&frombrowse=0&index=target&rh=k%3Aitso%20large&page=1.

its been working out pretty well, they hold quite a bit of toys and you dont have to see all the stuff all the time so it looks nice in the family room! the bins come in green, red, brown, white, and blue.

Have you seen the Trofast series at Ikea?

http://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/S99847410

They are quite popular in children's bedrooms over here in Germany.

Last night I was at Target and I saw their version of the ViaBox. It is slightly smaller I believe than the real thing but still cute.
http://www.target.com/Circo-Boys-Modular-Storage-Cube/dp/B001GRTMR8/sr=1-1/qid=1246974871/ref=sr_1_1/189-4040157-6237465?ie=UTF8&search-alias=tgt-index&frombrowse=0&index=target&rh=k%3Astorage%20box%20octagon&page=1

We have VIA toy boxes in an odd space under our eaves and love them. See them here:

http://icewerks.blogspot.com/2009/05/friday.html

My husband doesn't like the faux wood laminate on the Expedite so we went with VIA and real wood. Without the colored doors, we'll be using these boxes later for bookshelves and we appreciate the freedom to configure it any way we need to to fit the space.

We did the bins on the floor for over 2 years with 2 boys: total nightmare. Expedit changed our lives. Practical, inexpensive, easy to organize, easy to put away toys, easy for kids to access bins in shelves, sturdy, looks decent and can grow with kids since it's not small or babyish. Went from holding baby toys & blocks to housing tons and tons of cars, star wars guys, books, etc.

In my daughter's room, I installed two long shelves across one wall of her room. Easy to clean up, just put the toys on the shelf. I can then vacuum the floor. We have several of the Land of Nod strap bins to hold Polly Pockets, Littlest Pet Shop, Barbies. She also has one of those bin organizer that we put things like the marble run, potato heads, wedgits, musical instruments and "do-dads". My younger son's room is smaller and I put up one of those 4x4 Closet Maid systems--bolted to the wall--similar to the Expedit. The smaller divided shelves in my son's room always seem to look neater--perhaps he just has fewer toys. We have one bin for "do-dads" in his room and it fits into one of the squares. I would lean towards the Expedit or the something similar because I think it can look less cluttered. You can often find Expedits second hand on craigslist. We use them for my husbands LP collection. They have door and drawer inserts that could be nice in a older child's room.

That said, the VIA toy boxes very cute and stylish.