When a popular website posted on its social media about the difficulties of raising children, one mother responded with a photo she said she had taken from her living room couch. The image captured a chaotic scene of abandoned blocks, games, and other toys.

Another mother replied, tongue-in-cheek, that she should stop posting boastful images of her immaculate home.

When you have children, your home can very quickly go from looking like the cover of a design magazine to bearing a resemblance to a tornado's aftermath. Your son or daughter may not only have a messy room, but also allow their toys to spill over into other parts of the home.

Keeping this clutter under control can be a daunting task, but it's not insurmountable. Some improved storage strategies can help you maintain order, along with setting some firm rules regarding your child's belongings.

One way to keep a child's toy collection from getting out of control is to limit the occasions on which they receive new items. Steve Asbell, writing for the real estate site Zillow, says these might include birthdays and special holidays; parents might also give a child a toy as a special reward.

Grandparents often love to buy things for their grandson or granddaughter, and as such can be a prime source of clutter. If you are trying to keep your child's toy collection at a more modest level, ask your parents to limit their gifts. They might also only give them on certain occasions, or shift to more manageable presents such as books.

Develop a plan for managing your child's toys. Christine Lu, writing for the home design site Apartment Therapy, says you might consider how many toys is too many, and whether there are certain toys you don't want your child to have. You might want to consider whether a toy is likely to entertain a child as they get older or whether they will quickly outgrow it.

One option is to coordinate with other parents to set up a toy exchange, giving children a chance to play with a new toy before returning it. Caylin Harris and Laura Fenton, writing for Parents Magazine, suggest a similar tactic: running a "lending library" in the home, with children checking out toys they want to play with and then returning them.

This plan can include a strategy for when it is time to pare down a toy collection. Some parents might set a rule that a child needs to donate an old toy whenever they receive a new one. Others will include children in spring cleaning by saying any toys that haven't been played with in a year should be donated.

The prospect of parting with toys might be unthinkable for some children, but you can cut down on the drama by letting them take an active part in this process. Asbell says it is helpful to encourage children to get rid of "baby toys" they have outgrown and no longer play with.

Set some ground rules for where children's toys are allowed. You might say a child can bring toys into the living room, but that they must be put away before bedtime. Some rooms might be declared completely off-limits, such as your own bedroom or the kitchen.

Involve your children in cleaning up. You might be able to make a game out of it, or show them how it can be fun and rewarding to organize their belongings.

Improving the storage areas around your home can also help to vastly reduce toy clutter. Harris and Fenton say it is always helpful to find furniture with built-in storage, such as hollow ottomans or beds with drawers. Shelves and hooks added to the wall can also keep the floor from getting too messy, while over-the-door shoe organizers can be a good place for dolls and action figures.

Labeled storage containers, or transparent bins that let you see what's inside, can help your child arrange their belongings and keep toys from being lost. H. Camille Smith, writing for HGTV, says some boxes and bins can be carried around the home, making it easier to clean up after a child has played in another room.

Toy chests can help you keep things off the floor, but can also be problematic. Harris and Fenton say items can easily be jumbled together and forgotten instead of neatly organized when kept in a chest. You should also choose containers that are age appropriate; boxes with lids can be more challenging for younger children.