Toy Organization

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Toys!  Have they taken over your home?  They have definitely taken over mine a time or ten and it never ends well. ;)  It’s toy organization week of our Get Organized Challenge so today I am sharing all of my toy organization tips!   If you are currently in the “toy stage” with your kids and can’t walk 3 feet without tripping over one.. it’s time for an intervention. :)  Follow the steps below and breathe a sigh of relief!

1 – Decide what rooms toys should be located in.  Of course little ones will drag them everywhere, but there should be 1-3 spots in your home that toys live when it’s time to put them away at the end of each day.  (Bedroom, playroom, basket in the living room, etc.)

2 – Once you have those spots nailed down decide on the best organizing solutions for the toys you want to keep.  (I have LOTS of fun options at the end of this post!)

3 – Before you start organizing the toys, get rid of half of them.  Seriously!  Donate the toys your kids don’t love to play with.  If your kids are ok letting go of toys, choose which toys to donate with them.  Most moms will need to do this without their kids because if you involve them that toy that has been ignored for a year suddenly becomes an ALL TIME FAVORITE when it’s time to say good-bye.  Sound familiar?  If you’re worried about tears once your kids realize certain toys are gone try this.. choose the toys you are ready to donate and put them in a sack or box and tuck them a way for a while.  If months pass and your kids don’t even notice (9 times out of 10 they won’t because you are saying good-bye to toys they don’t really love to play with anyway) donate the toys and don’t look back!  Kids usually play better with toys when there are fewer options.  If you don’t want to pare down your kids’ toys collection consider rotating them!  Put some away in a closet for a while and pull them out on a rainy day.

4 – Round up all of the toys you are keeping and put them in one big pile.

5 – Pick up each toy and put it in a pile with similar toys.  I love to categorize. :)  Stuffed animals in one pile.

Vehicles in one pile.

Dinosaurs, swords, action figures, barbies, dolls, dress-ups.. categorize them all!

6 – The last step is my favorite.. put the categorized toys in their home!  Below are a few ways we’ve organized toys at our house.  This bin organizer is a long time favorite!  I love it because it’s so easy for kids to see their toys and clean them up after they play.   (I linked this exact organizer and LOTS of additional similar options at the end of this post!)  This grey bin organizer is currently sitting in Kole’s bedroom.

I found this pic from the playroom in our last house.  I used the same toy organizer with my girls.  That little pink vacuum brings back so many memories! :)

This was another pic I found digging through the toy organization archives.  Can you see El peeking behind the toy bins at her baby brother?  The sweetest.  Pics like this make me want to transport back in time to this exact moment!  But then I want to be back in the present day for bedtime because I’ve grown rather fond of sleeping through the night.

Parenting teenagers does have some perks. :)

{multi-bin storage cubby}

Storage cubbies are another great option for organizing random toys!

So are bins in kids’ closets if you have space for them.

If you have little kids who like to play with toys in the same room mom is in, a large bin or basket is a great solution.  When my girls were little I kept most toys in their bedroom and our playroom, but I also always had a large basket of toys next to the couch in our family room.  (Lots of bin/basket options that are perfect for toy organization are at the end of this post!)

When we built our current home I designed a play room with a closet just for toys.

I definitely went to my happy place with this one!  Any closet with shelves could work the same way.  This was such a great solution for years while my kids were still playing with their toys.  I need to share what this closet currently looks like!

We still love these rugby stripe storage bins for toy organization!

This playroom has inspired many smiles over the years.

Mine included because messes like the one above was a cinch to clean up after. ;)

{cabinet/shimmer stripe baskets}

Now that my girls have outgrown toys and Kole is phasing out of many of them too (tear) our toy solutions are changing.  I bought this triple drawer storage cabinet for our playroom when I started turning it into a hang out space for teens.  It works so nicely under the TV for extra storage!

It holds a few toys Kole still plays with and some I want to save along with the Xbox accessories.

If you are building or remodeling, a built-in bench with drawers is a great solution for toy storage!

I have loved having these pull out drawers in Kole’s bedroom to hold larger toys.

For years I used these drawers just for toys and then I recently started using them to hold Kole’s blankets too.

I also added these large pull out drawers in our playroom that blend in with the wall molding.  I was so excited during the framing stage of building when I realized that we had all of this extra space in the wall under our window because of our steep roofline!

I can always come up with a way to use extra storage space. :)

I hope the solutions I’ve found helpful through the years give you a few ideas for toy organization too!  Toys that entertain and bring out kids’ imagination and creativity are such a blessing!  Right up until they are taking over your house.  No mom loves that!  If you feel like there are toys everywhere take some time this week to follow the steps above and gain control over your home once again.  You will gain control of your sanity too!

Major bonus. ;)

I took some time to round up my favorite solutions for toy organization and storage and honestly the collages below make me giddy!  There are just so many fun and stylish ways to organize kids’ toys.  Most items below come in multiple color options.  The last collage especially makes me want to start all over with my babies just to use some of those adorable baskets!  I’m thinking I need to pick up one of them (the ice cream or pineapple!) for a clothes hamper.  Too cute!  Or maybe my girls would be ok using a turtle basket to hold their make-up?  (sigh)  I want that turtle but I’m just going to have to live vicariously through some of you on that one.

And patiently wait for grandkids. :)

1- 9-bin plastic toy organizer   2- grey/white toy bin organizer   3- ava regency storage box.

4- sterilite storage rack   5- cameron wall base set  6- multi-bin storage cubby 

7- wide storage cabinet   8- crew kids toy organizer    9- 3-drawers cabinet 

1- bins & things organizer   2-  savannah seagrass storage   3- large storage bin 

4- 2pc folding storage bin   5- white washed toy chest   6- sutton woven storage  

7- rectangular storage box   8-  large fabric organizer bins  9- stackable plastic storage bins 

10- 4-large stacking drawers  11- tassel basket 12- silver rope storage

  1- shaped owl storage  2- seagrass turtle basket    3- pineapple catchall 

4- ice cream cone hamper   5- shaped fox storage   6- shaped acorn storage