Instantly Declutter Kids' Toys With This IKEA Storage Hack

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Tired of tripping over building blocks, colored pencils, and plastic figures whenever you cross your living room? If the answer is yes, it's probably time to create a better organizational solution for your children's toys. However, this is certainly easier said than done. The bins and baskets you designate for toy storage need to be easy to reach and durable enough to handle all sorts of everyday wear and tear. And of course, the drawers and bins need to be spacious enough to hold just about anything and everything. Many parents opt for IKEA's TROFAST storage combination cabinets for toy storage since they sit low to the ground, come in different sizes, and have plenty of plastic containers.

Although TROFAST cabinets work just fine on their own, you can give them a neater and more sophisticated look by installing cabinet doors along the front, repainting the sides, and adding wooden boards to the surfaces along the top. The idea for this cabinet overhaul comes from do.it.yourself.mum on Instagram. The project shouldn't take more than an afternoon to finish. You'll need a can of paint in the color of your choice, a couple of sturdy MDF and regular wood boards, and a container of brown furniture wax. You'll also need some thin trim molding, wood glue, a matte top coat for furniture, a set of magnetic catches, and a handful of edge pulls. The end result of this DIY IKEA upgrade is a stylish piece of furniture that's sure to help prevent your home from getting overrun by kids toys.

To get started, take out all the drawers, set them aside, and remove their railings from the inside of the cabinet with a drill or screwdriver. Then, prepare the furnishing for painting by washing out everything and gently sanding down the primary surfaces. Cover the cabinet with your preferred shade of paint and wait for it to dry. Not sure which color to work with? A neutral white or gray, such as Rust-Oleum Aged Gray Chalked Matte Paint, will mesh nicely with just about any interior design style. Next, use a saw to cut down a couple of wood boards so that they match the size of the cabinet's top surfaces. Attach these blocks to the tops of the furnishing with wood screws. Then, coat them with your brown furniture wax.

Next up, it's time to turn your attention toward making the cabinet doors. The first step is to cut down your MDF boards so that they fit neatly over the cabinet's face frames. Make sure there's a gap between the adjoining doors, and between the doors and the floor, of approximately 1/8th of an inch. Now you can attach your trim molding along the outside edges of your doors with your wood glue. Paint the doors the same color as the cabinets, and then round off their surfaces with your matte top coat. Finish the project by installing edge pulls along the tops of the doors, and then attaching the doors to the TROFAST with your magnetic latches.

There are plenty of unique ways to alter your child's toy cabinet during and after the assembly process. For starters, you could install traditional drawer handles instead of edge pulls along the tops of the doors to make them easier to open. While these fixtures might not look quite as neat, they'll probably be a bit easier for young kids to reach, especially on the taller sections of the furnishing. Another option is to attach the doors to the TROFAST with hinges along the bottom of the cabinet. That way, when you undo the magnetic latches, the doors won't just fall out of place; they'll swing forward instead. If you're going to try this out, make sure to familiarize yourself with different types of hinges and when to use them in your home.

To increase the amount of toy storage space that your TROFAST cabinet offers, just put a few tubs or baskets on the top shelves. Maxuni Small Woven Storage Baskets, for example, should work perfectly, and will look aesthetically pleasing in just about any home. To make the area around the cabinets a more kid-friendly space, try hanging up a fun chalkboard sign or a Comix Mini Size Sticky Easel Pad on the side of the furnishing. Looking for an alternate way to utilize your newly-rebuilt TROFAST unit? You might want to try using it to declutter shoes from a crowded entryway.