Much disillusionment has resulted from abortive attempts to persuade youthful charges to return their toys and games to some designated spot or repository when play is over. Yet a consensus sturdily maintains that considerable success will result when the chest, box, or storage cabinet possesses sufficient imaginative appeal.

Fig. 2.15. Creepers, crawlers, and toddlers at work.

In small living quarters the storage problem often becomes crucial. A favorite device is to utilize the otherwise waste space under the bed by obtaining or constructing wide, shallow containers equipped with casters to make them readily accessible. The mobility conferred by pivoted furniture casters can also be applied to the lowest drawer from an unused chest of drawers, once the bottom rails have been sawed off and replaced by angle irons.

Fig. 2.16. Toy storage.

For pre-schoolers and others, a simple container constructed like an oversized building block is suggested in Figure 2.16. Assembled with butt joints from available 1/2-in. or 3/4-in. stock, it will withstand considerable abuse, and with its lid closed, will serve as a stool in the nursery. The dimensions indicated should of course be modified to fit the size of the child and the number of playthings it is designed to hold; casters may be added if mobility is desirable.

After painting each outside surface a different primary color, white painted lattice strips can be glued and bradded onto the edges, and cut into suitable letters. Obviously, curved letters should be shunned.