Well, nothing saves from the mess ))) But closed boxes are bringing more clean looking. When kids doesn't open them and toys are inside!

A choice of BOTH would be my vote. It depends where the storage is. If it is within sight of guests, then definately the mess should be concealed. If it is in the child's room, basement, or some other area used primarily by the family, then it can be open storage.

Neither - open shelves, please! Kids are like us, out of sight out of mind

I had a mix for my kids.....boxes for blocks, Legos, dolls, train tracks, special train storage boxes. Some on display are nice, but become "wallpaper" to kids after awhile to where even they lose interest. Rotating toys on display is important. Putting some away and bringing them out again renews interest. Having playmates over who who look forward to playing with a toy they don't have or enjoy playing together helps too.

My son attended a Montessori school as a toddler where the students learned to take an activity or toy out, perform the activity, and put the item away. We moved and our daughter didn't learn that way. Now teenagers, there is a marked difference in how they approach their activities. I attribute much to the Montessori method that was reinforced at an early age.

This was our "playroom"--now a family room, which we still call "The Playroom". An this little guy is now 16. Enjoy the mess and the chaos of toys--they grow up fast, but it doesn't feel like it till you get there.

I never wanted to see the jumble of toys. A closed box worked for me. My husband built a toy box, incorporating it in the bottom of their closet, running the whole width. Loved it! As the children grew up, I used it for storing guest bedding.

A mix. What do you do with toys that don't fit the dimensions of a closed container. Either the top is "popped" or there is wasted space. One size and style fits none.

I agree! The bingo ball has actually become a decorative piece on the cabinet where we store all of our board games!

I only have a dachshund. He loves only this one ball, so I have stopped buying him other toys. If he had many toys, I would always have a closed toy box because he is messy enough with his bones and ball. Good thing he doesn't want any other toys!

A little bit of both and these belly baskets would be cute. Www.brunna.co

make interior a room

Dad built my brother and myself a toy box on wheels. It became a boat, a train, a plane...whatever our imagination dreamed up that day. So I made sure my son had an open toy box when he was a child. As long as it is in the child's room who cares if it contains "a mess".

We each had a wonderful wooden toy box in our rooms. The lid was always falling on our heads. And, as another said about toys in covered boxes, "out of sight, out of mind".

Neither and both, all at the same time. A large toy box, open or closed, isn't helpful at all. Kids will pull everything out before deciding on what they want to play with. We used shelves for our kids' toys, with clearly labeled plastic boxes holding sets, such as blocks or kitchen toys. The key is to be consistent. My daughter has struggled with toy storage for her kids. She's tried to do it the way that worked for us when she was a child but her husband grew up with a mother who just throws everything into a box to get the room cleaned quickly. (MiL would probably also find that she owns a couple dozen pairs of reading glasses if she'd just think about where she's putting them when she takes them off. My daughter actually found a pair in one of the boxes her MiL had filled up with random toys.) So when he is steering the kids to clean up while she's in the kitchen getting dinner on the table, puzzle boards can end up on a shelf while its pieces end up in multiple boxes, which were probably meant for the Lego sets. The next day the kids are dumping out everything to get to just a few toys, Dad gets involved in cleaning again because of the huge mess and the cycle continues.

I don't have kids so I'll answer as the kid I was...I voted toy box because there was nothing better than taking out all the toys and hidn' inside - I mean come on you can't properly hide without a lid

The best method for my sons was to label covered boxes (write their name on their boxes) and let them choose which toys they want to stick in their own boxes. I agree 100% with Kristina that the "throw it all in one box" method is a recipe for disaster. When throwing, my sons didn't care if they damaged the toys at all. They did not consider that some stuff would break, crack or chip. The "all in one box" method does not teach kids to have respect for their belongings.

Today the toy boxes are designed so kids can't close themselves in.....

My little sister had a huge plastic frog as a toy box. The mouth would open and she would sit inside and I would do her hair! Those young innocent days!

I like the storage cubes (open cloth boxes) that fit into the cube storage system.

IKEA trofast system: open bins that pull in and out of closed side shelves, best of both worlds. Bins need to be big enough to hold a few things, small enough that stuff doesn't get crushed or broken. I think of the most important thing I got out of Marie Kondo: it doesn't need to be easy to get out, it needs to be easy to put away.

We used stackable white plastic drawers for the majority of the toy storage which allowed the toys to be organized by category -- Barbie drawer, Lincoln Log drawer, etc. My kids were pretty good at cleaning up and keeping things categorized, but maybe it is in the DNA, too. :) Now they are both in college, and those drawers are still in use -- over the years they have held magazines, desk supplies, extra clothes, and more. My son is using some of these drawers in his college apartment for clothes since there wasn't room for a full dresser.

I love the IKEA expidit cube storage. With the matching bins or with container store rolling bins. But still, we only use 1 eight-cube piece, and a bookcase for books.... because the best way to reduce clutter is just to have less toys.

I was just liking the blinds.

When the kids were small, I liked large toy boxes with lids that stay open while the kids are getting toys in and out. It's easier to toss them in (the toys, not the kids) without the extra step of making it look neat in a bin, etc. Although, now that I think about it, I think the kids played in the toy box more than with the toys. It's a personal preference that changes because, as the bins got cooler and the toys got smaller, I kind of moved in that direction (with lids). We didn't have a ton of toys and if there was a toy not being used, it was donated. We also did a purge of sorts before Christmas.

Ease is the key (thank you wteam and Marie Kondo)! You don't keep your tools in one big box, so why treat children's tools that way? As many individuals have written above, a large box is great for tucking yourself into, and also an effective way to lose interest in toys--while losing and breaking them. Can you imagine having to go through a big box of tossed-in things to find your silverware? Children use their toys to explore and understand the world and themselves in it, building their intelligence and character in the process. As a (now retired) Montessori guide, I was annually amazed and delighted at how quickly young children learn to put their materials away when they were finished using them, in dedicated spaces on open shelves--and delight in the process.

An open box encourages playing with the toys. Like an open mind. Enjoy seeing some toys and books while you can. since it won't be long when technology makes them vanish! Let's make happy homes! yellowbarninteriors.com

help!!! living room