Tips for Toy Storage
When you have kids, there will come moments in your life when you feel as if your home has been taken over by toys. While I can’t promise you’ll never be pulling your hair out about the number of toys in your home, I can give you some tips on how to keep them from taking over.
Bookcases For Toys
When it comes to toy storage, you need to find easy options for your kids to access. If they can’t quickly put things away, they just won’t bother. This means you want storage solutions that are at kid level. It turns out that bookshelves can be an excellent option for storing toys. If you have some low bookshelves, you can easily pop toys on the shelves. As your kids get older, you can start to swap the toys for books so they’ll be useful for the long run.
Open Storage Bins
To go along with the bookshelves, I recommend some open-top storage bins. If you get ones that fit the shelves, you can store all the smaller toys on the shelves as well.
The reason for choosing open top storage bins is simply that they are easier for kids. If they have to take a lid off the storage bin before putting the toys away, they just won’t. I know it looks neater when there are lids on, but if you want to train your kids to do the tidying, then you might have to make this little sacrifice.
Sort By Type
It can be tempting to just have one big toy pile/bin. It seems like it’s the easiest option. After all, you just throw everything in one box, and you’re done. However, the downside to this is that toys get lost. Plus, your kids will empty everything out every time they play.
I suggest sorting toys by type. For instance, keep all the wheeled vehicles in one box and all the baby dolls and stuffed toys together (toy hammocks are an excellent option for this). Depending on your kids, you might just want to mix up all the construction toys together. Or if you’re going to keep some things, like the legos, separate, you can get some great storage options especially designed for them.
The other benefit of sorting toys in this manner is that it teaches your kids organizational skills. Being able to sort and organize is a skill that they will need to be ready for school.
Add Picture Labels
There’s no point in having an organizational system if you’re the only one who knows how it works. You’ll just end up doing all the tidying. So, make it easy by using labels. Your kids will quickly understand where to put their toys if there are pictures to follow.
For boxes that need to be packed in a certain way, take a photo. With the picture on the front, it’s clear what should go in the box and how.
Ditch The Packaging
Many toys come in some very nice boxes, and it’s tempting to just keep those toys and puzzles in the container because it looks nice. However, they take up a lot of room. They’ll get battered, and pieces will go missing. Instead, why not transfer them to other storage options.
For puzzles, you could put all the pieces into a plastic sandwich bag or a plastic wallet. Then cut out the picture and stick it on the front. Suddenly they take up a lot less space, and it’s much easier to put them away.
Use The Space Under Beds
The space under beds is a great place for storing toys. There are two ways to make the most of this space. You can get under bed storage boxes. These just roll out and have flip-top lids.
The other option is to get raised beds. These can be great for giving kids space for their toys and a place to play as well. If your kid likes forts, then this is perfect. You can sneak some storage in, along with some cushions and blankets. Now they have a contained play space that they’ll want to keep their toys in.
Periodically Edit
Once you have a system in place, it’s essential to revisit it every now and then. I recommend every 6 months. Alternatively, just wait until you notice the toys beginning to escape your storage system. When this happens, it’s time to curate and edit.
It’s a great idea to get your kids involved in this process. Get them to decide which toys they don’t play with anymore. Then you can throw out the broken ones and donate the one with life left in them. It’s not only a chance to clear out your home; it’s also a chance to teach your little ones the value of giving.
-This article was written by Rebecca Calbert.
Rebecca is a licensed architect with over 30 years of experience. She owns and operates an architectural firm, Calbert Design Group, and educates her clients through the commercial real estate development process with online content at SaveOnBuilding.com. Rebecca’s “purpose” is to educate small business owners and protect them from what they don’t know.
The Secret Art of Toy Storage: A Parental Survival Guide
Every parent has that moment. You walk into your living room, and it feels like a bomb made of Legos, action figures, and stuffed animals has gone off. You step on a plastic dinosaur, narrowly avoid a Hot Wheels car, and wonder if you’re living in a toy store rather than a home. This is life with kids—a world where toys seem to multiply like rabbits. And while I can’t guarantee you won’t still find yourself stepping on a stray Lego, I can offer some tricks to keep those toys from taking over your life.
Let me tell you about my friend Claire. She has two kids, and when I visited her home for the first time, I expected the usual toy chaos. Instead, I was greeted by something I can only describe as miraculous—tidy, organized spaces where toys had a place. Claire hadn’t just won the battle against toy clutter, she had mastered the art of it. What was her secret? It wasn’t some fancy storage system or a hidden vault for toys. No, Claire had a few simple strategies that made her house look less like a toy war zone and more like a home. And lucky for you, I’m going to share them.
Bookshelves: Not Just for Books
Claire’s first trick? Bookshelves. But here’s the twist—they weren’t just lined with books. Instead, they were filled with toy bins and organized displays of the kids’ favorite action figures and dolls. “If they can’t reach it, they won’t put it away,” Claire explained, grinning. The genius of low bookshelves is that they’re kid-level, making it easy for little ones to pull out (and more importantly, put back) their toys. As your kids grow, these shelves can transition back to holding books, but in the meantime, they serve as perfect, accessible storage for all the toys that threaten to overtake your living room.
It’s kind of like giving your kids their own little library, except instead of quiet reading time, you get the sounds of race cars zooming and dolls having tea parties. But hey, at least they’re putting things away, right?
Open Bins: A Lesson in Simplicity
Now, let’s talk about bins. I’m not talking about those fancy, lidded storage containers that Pinterest tells you will “declutter your life.” Claire knows better. She swears by open-top bins. Why? Because lids are the enemy of kid-friendly tidying. If a toy bin has a lid, your child will see it as an obstacle—a mission too complex for their little hands. Instead, with open bins, there’s no extra step. Just dump the toys in and go. Simple. Effective. It’s like putting the toys on easy mode for them. And for you? It means less time chasing after rogue toy trucks because, for once, they actually went back to their home.
Sorting Toys: A Tiny Lesson in Organization
Let me tell you another story. My friend Ben has two boys who seem to believe that dumping out every toy they own is the best way to play. So, after hours of cleanup frustration, Ben adopted Claire’s next tip: sorting toys by type. “Why would I separate the fire trucks from the race cars? Aren’t they all vehicles?” Ben had thought. But Claire had a point. If kids know where their toys go, they’re more likely to put them back. Trucks in one bin, dolls in another—it’s the difference between manageable chaos and complete pandemonium.
Not only does this help keep things under control, but it also teaches your kids something valuable: organization. If they can learn to group things by type now, it’s going to come in handy when they’re older and (hopefully) organizing their school work instead of their Legos.
Picture Labels: For Those Who Don’t Read Yet
Of course, Claire had one more trick up her sleeve: picture labels. Because let’s be real, your four-year-old probably can’t read “doll bin” or “puzzle pieces.” But slap a picture of a fire truck on the bin, and even the youngest child will know where it belongs. This turns cleanup into a game—”Can you match the toy to the picture?”—and suddenly, tidying isn’t just your job anymore.
And here’s where it gets clever. If you have a storage box that requires things to be packed in a certain way—like a puzzle or train set—take a photo of how it should look when it’s neatly packed. Stick that photo on the front of the bin, and now your kids have no excuse. It’s visual, it’s fun, and most importantly, it works.
Bonus Tips: Ditch the Packaging and Use Under-Bed Space
Lastly, Claire shared a couple of advanced-level tips that might just revolutionize your storage game. First, ditch the original toy packaging. Those shiny boxes that toys come in? They look great for about five minutes, and then they fall apart, taking up way too much space in the process. Claire’s hack? Transfer the pieces into resealable bags, and cut out the picture of the toy to stick on the front. It’s amazing how much space you can free up by simply getting rid of the bulky packaging.
And finally, the space under beds—it’s a goldmine for toy storage. Claire got creative with under-bed storage boxes that roll out easily and are perfect for stashing toys that aren’t in daily rotation. For her oldest, who loves building forts, they even got a raised bed, turning the space underneath into a play area complete with storage for all the fort-building essentials. The best part? Her kids actually wanted to keep that space tidy because it doubled as their play zone.
The 6-Month Declutter
Now, none of this is set-it-and-forget-it. Every few months, Claire goes through what she calls “the great toy cull.” It’s an exercise in both tidying and life lessons. She gathers her kids and asks them to pick out toys they no longer play with. Some get donated, others tossed if they’re broken beyond repair. It’s a chance to clear out the clutter and teach her kids about giving—how a toy that doesn’t thrill them anymore might bring joy to another child.
In the end, Claire’s house isn’t a toy-free zone, but it’s not drowning in plastic dinosaurs and stuffed animals either. The secret? It’s not about having fewer toys—it’s about having smart storage. And the funny thing is, once you crack the code, it’s like discovering a whole new superpower.
So if you’re ever stepping on a stray Lego in your own home, just remember—there’s hope. You just need a few bookshelves, some bins, and a little inspiration from parents like Claire, who’ve been there and lived to tell the tale.
