Our Top 5 Products for Toy Storage
Just after the holidays I was texting with a friend and asked her what type of blog she would be interested in as it relates to organizing. She immediately responded kids toys and papers as she was drowning in her daughters room. I feel like these are always the sore spots with parents. And the most frustrating. And they never end! I suffer with the same dilemmas. The thing is the paper never stops coming in and the toys and clutter change drastically from toddlers to teens. So organizing these items is definitely not a one and done. You can’t purge all the things, buy the perfect storage solutions and wipe your hands clean. You need to have a system in place that works for you, is adaptable to the inevitable change and keep up with it daily or it will bury you all over again. So, starting with toys, here are our top 5 storage solutions when it comes to kids and their toys.
CUBE STORAGE:
The biggest thing is to ask yourself “Who is putting this away?” If your auto response is “oh for sure the kids need to clean up after themselves” then you need to make it so simple for them. Putting a lid back on a container has caused many a meltdown in my day. This is why I love cube storage. I have had the same storage system in our playroom for almost 5 years. It has been revamped multiple times but works absolutely perfect. Organize into big categories like cars, magna tiles, or blocks. This will make it easy to know where everything is so they can just pull out a bin and dump it ( they will ALWAYS dump it ) and when it’s time to pick up they can scoop it all back in.
Other items to use a cube system for:
larger toys like trucks, a lego head, or small doll house.
puzzles, games, books
art supplies, play doh
dolls and their accessories
The bins come in all sorts of colors and materials so they are easy to blend into a playful kids room or work with your living room decor. And once your kid has grown out of a certain category you can reuse the bin for the next phase. Just switch the label and you are good to go.
CLEAR SHOE BOXES:
Did someone mention Legos? This is always a huge organizational issue. They are so little and they seem to multiply like Gremlins. I found that clear shoe boxes are great to store sets as well as separate them by color. I know I said make storage as simple as possible but stay with me. My kids for instance have gone back and forth with storing as sets and by color. We are in a color phase right now. It makes it very easy to clean up by tossing the pieces into the correct boxes but it also makes it easier to take the direction booklet and find the pieces by color. They’ve also played by making all blue creations or a red and green Christmas design. And if they want them sorted by color except for one or two sets, its easy to switch a couple of boxes out or combine a couple of colors together to free up a box if needed.
Other things you can store in clear shoe boxes:
American Girl doll accessories
Barbie clothes
Mini Brands and other ridiculously small toys
art supplies
beads and jewelry making supplies
SHOE RACKS:
I’ve also had success repurposing shoe racks as well in the playroom. Think of them as mini shelves and the possibilities are endless. You can make a mini parking garage for your trucks by lining them up side by side. Puzzles and games can be stored on top of each other using vertical space, but making it easier to pull one out. They can be stacked so you can utilize vertical space in a corner or put on a shelf to maximize the storage space turning one big shelf into 3 mini ones.
You can also store these items on shoe racks:
books
coloring books
Lego boxes
small baby toys
OVER THE DOOR ORGANIZERS:
Don’t underestimate the back of the door!. You can find so many types of door organizers to fit your needs but I’ve found the regular clear plastic shoe organizers work perfect. I would stick to one category to make it simple for finding and clean up but so many things can go inside them.
Barbie dolls
Action figures,
Small stuffed animals
Small baby toys
Individual American Girl doll outfits (although this would take a little more effort to keep up)
Art supplies
ZIPPERED POUCHES:
Zippered pouches are another great option for maximizing storage. One of the most popular and controversial methods is storing board games in pouches instead of the box. This is a personal choice but you can save so much room by using these pouches for board games. I am so close to utilizing this method as we have acquired several more games and my kids haven’t learned how to open up a box without ripping it yet. Simply take the instructions and pieces out of the box and transfer to the pouch. Label each bag appropriately. I’ve seen laminated pictures of each game box attached to the zipper for ease in finding them as well as a simple written label on the front. This won’t work for all games but if you have a ton and don’t mind getting rid of the box this is a perfect space saving solution. They are available in many different sizes so you are sure to find one that fits your needs. You can even store the pouches in the cube storage system!
Other things to store in zippered pouches:
puzzles
playing cards
Lego sets
doll clothes
art supplies
These are the products I have found the most useful while organizing for myself and clients. They are also not so specific to one type of toy or toys at all so they can be reused as needs change. Do you have a tried and true product you use? Let us know in the comments. And stay tuned for part 2…Organizing Kids Paper Clutter.