Hi so i have a 8 month old son who us really liking crawling right now and is trying to get into everything and anything like usual. But my issue is that I'm staying at my parents while i save up and buy us our house. My parents aren't the cleanest.. I keep the main living area and kitchen as clean as possible but they are careless to also help keep it clean so im reporting to other tactics before my son accidentally gets hurt or worse. They have a fairly large living room and it's the safest area side from a cat tower for all our cats. Would it be easier to just put up 2-3 baby gates to keep him in the living room or spend 55ish dollars to get a portable/adjustable play yard? I've come to my own conclusion but before buying i want to hear other opinions as everyone always has great ideas and tricks to try out.

Thanks!