Ikea reveals the household items we hoard in our homes – and you won’t believe what’s number one…

You may not want to admit it, but many households are guilty of having at least one ‘junk drawer’ – the space you throw the bits and bobs you’re sure you’ll have use for in the future, but in reality you never look at them again.

Related: The 5 things we’ve learnt this week from IKEA about clever storage

In fact, according to new research by Ikea, a staggering 92 per cent of Brits have unused items stashed away in their homes – totalling more than 15 billion 'things'. And 25 per cent of people even admitted they would view themselves as an ‘everyday hoarder’.

But instead of lightbulbs or old photos taking up all the space, it’s actually children’s toys that are the most kept items in 2019.

Research conducted by the Swedish retailer found that soft toys, dolls and board games are the most held onto items. In fact, British kids own an astonishing 114 toys each, despite only playing with just 10 per cent of them. This has left 81 per cent of parents struggling to find space or suitable storage solutions to keep all their kids unused toys.

But it’s not just as simple as donating an old stuffed teddy to your local charity shop or children’s hospital. 42 per cent of parents admitted they keep many items due to the sentimental value they hold.

Related: Storage solutions for small spaces – 10 brilliant ideas to store more

Coming in at a close second are CDs, with 78 per cent of Brits revealing they can’t bear to chuck out their old records. That's despite the huge popularity of music streaming services like Spotify and Apple Music.

Other items in the top 10 that Brits can’t bear to part with include DVDs (73 per cent), receipts (71 per cent), cards (69 per cent), letters (65 per cent), cassette tapes (65 per cent), school work (64 per cent), university work (62 per cent) and VHS tapes (60 per cent).

But with the hope of getting the nation on the road to a more organised life at home, Ikea has announced it will be launching ‘Toy Stor-age Points’ in eight stores across the UK from March 29 – March 31.

Related: Ikea Bromley now has an official opening date – will you be there?

Visitors to the stores have the opportunity to gift their preloved toys to the UK’s largest children’s charity, Barnardo’s. The charity will then sell on donations in its shops to raise money for its vital services. These help more than 301,000 vulnerable children, young people, parents and carers across the UK.

And what’s more, customers who donate their unused toys will be given a £10 discount when they spend £70 on any of Ikea’s toy storage solutions. To find out how to donate your toys, click here.

Marcos Tejedor, Storage Sales Leader for Ikea UK and Ireland, said, ‘We’re thrilled to be partnering with Barnardo’s to launch Toy Stor-age donation points across the UK.

‘Finding the space and suitable storage for your family’s belongings can be overwhelming. Especially if your child has copious amounts of toys. We at Ikea want to help the nation create a more organised life at home. By allowing our customers to re-gift their preloved toys in exchange for discount on our storage collections, we’ll ensure families can keep track of their belongings so they don’t go unused again.’