Spring is right around the corner, and now is the perfect time to declutter your home and get organized. If you have kids in the home like me, toys are the biggest obstacle to maintaining a clean and organized home because they are everywhere. Therefore, finding good toy storage solutions will make your home much more manageable and greatly reduce your stress and cleaning time.
Today I’m excited to partner with The Container Store to bring you these toy storage ideas and tips to make your home less cluttered, more organized and fun for your kids.
Toy Organization Tips and Ideas
1. Go through the toys and donate/ sell/ or toss what you no longer want and need
Kids outgrow toys really fast so go through all the toys and donate, sell or toss what they no longer play with. Be mindful of not holding onto too many toys “just in case.”
2. Choose a dedicated area and plan out the space
My younger kids don’t have their own playroom. So I dedicated a corner of our loft for their toys and desk. I’m so glad I decided to do this because an unused, messy space became a functional place where my kids play, learn, and grow!
3. Order storage containers and bins
After going through all the toys, I was left with the following types of toys: books, legos, kitchen toys, blocks, art supplies, stuffed animals and random toys like cars & dinosaurs. I ordered the following bins from The Container Store for storage solutions for different sizes and shapes. Keep an eye out for sales to save big on containers, storage units, professional organizers, and more.
- Picking bin with dual open lid
- White 4 cube cubby shelving
- 3 Sprouts owl toy storage cube
- The Home Edit toy & craft storage solution
- Connecting storage bin
- Document-sized latch box
- 2 tier lazy susan
4. Organize by categories then color
You can organize the toys, books and crafts by categories then color. For me, organizing by color was a natural choice. Because it not only creates a fun and colorful space for the kids, but it makes it easy for the kids to organize the space themselves. It also teaches them how to sort by color and shapes so it doubles as a fun learning opportunity.
5. Use large bins for miscellaneous & larger items
No matter how creative you get, there will be miscellaneous larger items that doesn’t look colorful and cute in clear bins. Use these stackable dual open bins and storage cubes to store larger miscellaneous toys and stuffed animals to keep them organized. This is a great way to hide these otherwise distracting items when they’re not being played with.
6. Help your kids to feel excited about their new space
8. Use a shoe organizer for small toys
If you’re desperate for ways to store toys in small spaces, the key is to maximize storage space and opportunities. One of the easiest ways to do this is to hang a shoe organizer on the back of a door to organize small toys.
9. Downsize bulky storage
One of the best space-saving hacks I’ve come across is to use zipper pouches to store board games and sets of smaller toys. I didn’t realize just how much space our board games were taking up until I removed all the parts and pieces and stored them in pouches instead of the box they came in. This is a game-changer!
10. Choose storage solutions that double as decor
This is a great idea for when you don’t want a bunch of plain bins and baskets lying around. The Container Store has a bunch of great storage solutions to match different kid bedroom designs and home aesthetics (i.e. Lego Storage Head, Braided Storage Cube, etc.).
11. Take advantage of wall space
You’re bound to come across a number of toys that don’t seem to have a home anywhere. In this case, I like to take advantage of wall space using the right storage solution, like this wall-mounted mesh storage bag.
The hardest part about keeping a space organized is maintenance, especially when it comes to kids’ toys. Now that your space is complete, it’s time to get your kids excited about their new space.
You can do this by explaining to them that you’ve carefully selected these special items for their toys (explain to them that these toys “belong” in these bins like their house!) and ask them questions like “isn’t it so pretty and nice when everything is back in its place?”
You can even keep a reward chart and give them a sticker every time they pick up their toys and put them back in its place. Help them to feel a sense of ownership and accomplishment by reminding them that this is “their special place” that’s dedicated for fun, play and learning.
What do you think about these tips for storage solutions? I hope it inspired you to create a functional and organized space for your own kids’ toys & crafts. Please comment below if you have any questions!
You can find more storage ideas on www.containerstore.com and be sure to take advantage of the toy storage sale up to 20% off through March 7.
