I did a quick Google search for cheap/creative babyproofing when my baby started moving around more. I didn't find as much as I would have liked, so I had to come up with ideas on my own. I don't like baby gates (I don't like how they look, I mean), so I did as much as I could without them. Here's what I came up with - let me know if it helps you by commenting!!
This is our living room. We live in a one-bedroom apartment, so we really had to downsize when we had our little man. We turned our dining room into a nursery, which connects to the living room. It was hard at first, but now we've adjusted.
Next to the couch (which he hasn't learned to climb yet, thankfully!) I made a little corner for our cat. Blocking it with a piece of furniture works well. I didn't take a picture of what's underneath the printer, but that's where I keep all our "office" supplies. You'd think the little man would push that printer, but he doesn't. He likes the buttons, so he'll come over and press them for a bit then he's on to another thing! And the dishes/vase/photo book on the shelf? Yeah, he can't reach those... yet. (But he does try!)
I ran out of the little stoppers for our outlets, so I just used tape. Ghetto? Yes. Effective? Yes. Come to think of it, I could probably have used packaging tape and you wouldn't be able to see it.
This is the kitty corner. Whenever the kitty girl needs to get away from the little man, she can scat right to her little corner. The shelf blocks Little Man from getting back there at all.
Sorry it's a little blurry - - This is our entertainment center. I can't wait to get a nice big pretty one, but our budget doesn't allow for it (nor does our space). This is better for us now, anyways, since Little Man is all over the place! Now, he can reach up to the buttons on the TV, but he doesn't usually push them hard enough. The Wii Fit board, a case for our CDs, and Hubby's Perfect Push Up things are out. The only things he has been able to pull out so far are the Perfect Push Up things. I don't mind that.
This is what's behind the doors under the TV. I put the DVD player, the Wii Console, and our controlers/DVDs down there. I had to downsize our DVD collection, but that's probably best. There are some in our bedroom in one of my dresser drawers and the rest are in storage.
It's a little annoying to have to open those doors in order to turn any of that stuff on, but it's a lot less annoying than telling Little Man "no" every ten seconds and having him turn off what we're watching.
This is still in the testing stage for us. Our TV tables serve as our dining room table right now, so we really need them out. They block Little Man from getting to some cords leading to the TV corner, but they're more unsteady than I'd like. Little Man has climbed up them once or twice and they wobble, but I don't think they will fall over. For now, I just watch him very carefully when he's over there.
Sometimes we like to actually eat at a table, so we have a card table that is actually also doubling to help us babyproof! It blocks some cords.
Our ottoman is blocking cords, too.
It doesn't come up quite enough to block the outlet, but Little Man hasn't discovered that yet. My plan for if/when he does is to put another blanket inside the ottoman to overflow it and move the top up to block the outlet.
Our rocking chair and high chair have their own spots. Little Man doesn't crawl under the rocking chair, but he does use it to help him stand.
Okay, on to the nursery. It's connected to the living room, and that door you see is the front door. On this shelf Little Man has two bins of toys on the bottom that he usually needs help getting out. The second shelf has supplies which, while I don't want him to get into, wouldn't hurt him if he did. He can't pull them down because they are too heavy. His fingertips can reach up to that third shelf, but everything is pushed back enough for now. That fish tank provides the weight we need to keep the shelf stable (it's one of those cheap ones with a cardboard backing).
This is Little Man's other shelf. It houses most of his toys and his books on the first two shelves. The third shelf only has blankets - not interesting enough for him to get into, but safe if he does. The top two shelves are for mom and dad. Usually his hamper is up there on the top shelf, but I'm doing laundry.
On the second shelf down I have a basket of all his medicine (teething tablets, Gas X, Gripe Water, Saline drops, etc.), the paper-paged books that I read to him, and his bibs and mealtime washcloths.
On the top shelf I keep extra diapers, his sweatshirts, and (usually) his luandry basket.
Well, here's an ugly baby gate. We borrowed this one, so it didn't cost us a cent. I keep the diaper genie behind it because Little Man likes to use everything to climb - even if it falls over every time he tries.
His dresser doubles as our changing table. I just keep wipes right there on the table. His diapers and cream are in the top drawer, and his clothes are in the rest of the dresser.
And another baby gate. I have considered letting him into the hallway and just blocking him from the kitchen and keeping the bedroom door closed. For now, though, he has enough room.
Under the crib I have storage bins for all his clothes from different ages. This keeps Little Man from getting under the crib.
The ExerSaucer (mostly) blocks the heater and an outlet. He does like to climb underneath, though.
Oh! And under the dresser I keep his diaper bag and Boppy pillow. When he was little and starting to crawl, he got tangled up in the starps of the diaper bag - - needless to say, I keep that tucked away now.
Well, that's our apartment, all babyproofed! Little Man rarely goes into the bedroom, and when he does he's watched very carefully. And obviously he never, ever goes in the kitchen.
