Baby furniture tip: will toys roll underneath?

Elizabeth thought to write down a piece of advice that every parent should hear about nursery and kid's furniture:

I just have to warn parents to be if they are going furniture shopping before the baby is born to look seriously at any and all furniture that sits directly on the floor. I swear I spent most of my time on my knees with my head on the floor peering under the couch, chairs, entertainment center, bar, dresser, toy box, etc. looking for missing toys.

So true!

Comments

[CJ]

Related: If there is space for something to get underneath, make sure there is also space for your hand/arm to retrieve it. Our couches have about 1 inch between the base and the floor: just enough for books, puzzle pieces, link-a-doos, etc, to get underneath, but too small to easily get those things back.

[Jennifer]

A stuffed draft sock or piece of hardware cloth can remedy that...

[shelli]

hee - having a cat prepares you for that - we've spent the last 15 years doing just that!

But insert "mousie, ball of foil, rabbit's foot, etc." into the "child toy" part of the sentence.

I've found a flashlight and wooden spoon to be my best ally in the "search for lost mousies" (which Malka ALSO likes to play with)

[Jennifer]

A spaghetti fork works well for object retrieval, too. (It can also get things off high shelves)

[Eric S.]

Extra space under your furniture? Use it for storage! We save all those clear plastic zip-closure bags that come with sheets, drapes and other linens when you buy them. Got a sleeper sofa? Put some sheets and a comforter in those bags, and stuff them under the sofa. Keeping the bags near the outer edge of the sofa's footprint keeps toys from rolling underneath (a lesson we also learned from cats first).

You can also use bed lifts ($10 at Bed Bath and Beyond) to raise some furniture up just enough to slide a bin underneath, and take up the whole space more efficiently.

[Lisa]

Yeah I like the spaghetti fork idea.... I don't remember what I used but I do know I was not fussy enough at the yard sales to worry about the furniture being flat on the floor so i had to do a little stretching for a toy.

[adrienne]

If you're of the "fill the gap" theory, this could be another great use of the ubiquitous foam swim noodle.

But maybe I'm just obsessed with finding new uses for swim noodles.

[Elizabeth]

I took the legs off of my couch for just this purpose.

[cheer bows]

Those are great ideas! Hubby and I are scheduled to go buy furnitures tomorrow. I'll keep this in mind. =)