Toy clutter is always a welcome sight in our home. But it is nice when the kids’ toys are properly put away. From small toys to board games, here are a few tips for organizing the toys in your home.
Now that my kiddos are toddlers, toy clutter is a bigger issue in our home. My children can access multiple toys at a time, their interests are shifting, and of course, their grandparents love to get them new things!
As my children grow and play, it’s become more important to me to make sure they can always find the toys they need. Of course, that means doing the not-so-fun task of organizing!
Luckily, our current system is working great! However, it’s taken us several different methods to get to where we are today.
While our system may not work for you, I hope the other toy storage ideas in this blog post will help you! Let’s dive into the 20 ways you can organize the children’s toys in your home!
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Our Current Toy Organization System
A friend of mine is a librarian for a local school system. She found that over summer break, her children would use every toy in their home, but it was causing them to be overwhelmed. To remedy this, she organized every toy into a spare closet and requested her children “check out” the toys they wanted to play with.
The system sounded so unique that I had to try it myself!
After scouring my home and retrieving every toy from under every chair, out of every closet, and from every hiding spot my children had, I organized the toys in my spare closet. My children have been thoroughly enjoying this system!
The Best Toy Storage Ideas
If our toy organization doesn’t sound like a system that could work for your children, here are a few other ideas you could try.
Be Specific in Your Toy Organization
Toy organization can be broad – keep the toys in storage bins. Or toy organization can be specific – each type of toy, like action figures, puzzle pieces, or craft supplies, can be in a dedicated bin.
As you read through this blog post and see that you can create your toy organization like your own little library, a specific toy organization may be an option for you!
Store Toys on a Bookshelf or Entertainment Center
If you have dedicated organization spaces like we do, you can use clear bins or fabric bins to organize toys. I love using fabric bins to organize toys on our bookshelves.
This system also works great for my children. As they mature, I see myself keeping toys on the bookshelves in their rooms using the same system.
Use a Tension Rod to Hide Toys Behind a Curtain
While I haven’t used this hack, it applies to all small spaces in your home!
If you don’t want toys exposed on a bookshelf for the sake of keeping things looking even more organized, hide them behind a curtain! A small tension rod can do the trick.
This can also work if you store toys under an open-style coffee table!
This also will match the fabric perfectly to your home’s decor.
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Separate Toys and Art Supplies
When organizing your toys, be sure to separate toys and art supplies! This can impact your clutter and streamline your organization.
Art supplies can easily be relocated to a common area and toys can remain in cloth bins.
Keep One Basket of Toys Per Room
If you have an infant or a toddler, this is an incredible system!
In each room of your home, find a small basket or container you can easily access. Obviously, if you’re catering this to young children, you want this container close to the ground.
In each basket, you can house a myriad of toys. Sensory toys that make noise or are made with specialty fabric, books, light and sound toys, etc.
As your child travels through the home, they have a variety of toys to play with no matter where they go! As a mom trying to get dinner on the table, this is a great alternative to a kitchen floor littered with pots and pans. For a nursing mom, this is a great distraction for older children while the baby gets fed.
For even more organization, involve your little one in clean-up before leaving the room. When all the toys go back in the basket, it makes it that much easier to stay on top of the organization!
Consult a Professional Organizer
If creating a system is a struggle, a professional organizer may be a good option for you!
While this isn’t as budget-friendly as picking up some organization bins from a home-goods store, it’s an option nonetheless.
Create a Toy Rotation
Children may not want to play with available toys because they’re looking for something new. After all, they are humans with growing interests!
A toy rotation system keeps a percentage of toys readily available to children and a percentage of toys stashed away for some time. The percentage of available toys and the time you rotate between them are up to the parent.
Some toy rotations are weekly. Some toy rotations include books. This organization model is truly customizable to the family! Consider the interests and needs of your kids.
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Designate a Specific Area for Toys
Do you have an additional room in your home? Or an enclosed sunroom? Consider housing your toys there!
Do you have a spacious living room perfect for sipping coffee with a fellow mom friend while the children play? Keep your toys there!
Toys don’t have to be scattered throughout your home. Consider housing them in one area of your home. This makes both organization and cleanup a breeze.
Keep Toys in Kids’ Rooms
Toy organization doesn’t have to be kept in a common area of your home.
Utilize Storage Ottomans for Toy Storage
If you’re limited on space or want to keep a certain aesthetic to your home, storage ottomans are a great way to store and organize children’s toys.
Storage ottomans are also functional for every room of your home. So if you want to extend storage to your children’s bedrooms, you can!
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Keep a Toy Chest at the Foot of Children’s Beds
A small trunk or toy chest at the foot of a bed can serve the same purpose as a storage ottoman.
Store Toys Under Beds
Underneath a bed can be a convenient way to lose toys. But it doesn’t have to be.
You can use a long, narrow, plastic gift wrap storage container to store toys underneath your children’s beds. For even more organization, you can section off the inside of the container with flexible, cloth containers!
Discard the Original Toy Packaging
I’ve talked a lot about plastic containers and cloth containers for toy storage. That’s because original toy packaging can be a pain to store long term!
Instead of trying to figure out how to Tetris toys in and out of their packaging, simply say goodbye to the packaging and store them in a way that works best for your children.
Group Similar Toys Together
Grouping similar toys is a great option for dealing with overwhelm.
This is also a great way to monitor what your children play with. If the cars or puzzles never see the light of day, you know what your next donation trip needs to include!
Label Toy Storage Bins
This is a method that can be adapted to suit children who can and cannot read.
For children who can read, use large text. For children who can’t read, use pictures!
You can adhere the labels with double-sided tape or velcro.
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Store Toys in an Open Coffee Table
Create a functional, common area system with a few cute baskets stowed away under your coffee table!
This is another great way to catch up with a mom friend while your kiddos play in a common area.
Create a Toy Library
This is our current toy system, and we love it!
If you want to make this even more like a traditional library, you can create a sign-out sheet where your kids sign their name and the toy they’re “checking out.” If the toy accidentally gets lost, you have a better idea of where to start your search!
This system can also give you an insight into how often certain toys are used. If a toy is spending the majority of its time in the toy closet, consider donating it and purchasing a toy your children will use!
Keep a Spare Basket for Missing Pieces
When a toy becomes damaged and needs repaired, store it apart from properly working toys. Books, dress-up clothes, and “injured” stuffed animals can also await repair in this container.
If the toy is damaged beyond repair, you can discard it easily without having to sift through every toy you have.
Institute a Dedicated Clean-Up Time
The number of toys in your home may be overwhelming. But many hands make light work!
Implement a clean-up routine to daily manage the toys in your home. Get your children involved! This is one of the easiest ways to stay on top of toy organization.
Rotate New and Old Toys
There’s a rule for keeping a clothing closet to a functional capacity – when you purchase a new piece of clothing, a piece of clothing already in your closet needs to be donated.
You can apply this system to the toys in your home.
When new toys come into your home, old toys can be donated.
Keep Fewer Toys
Arguably my favorite way to organize toys in my home is to simply keep fewer toys. This gives me more opportunity and budget to purchase things like books, art supplies, and experiences for my children.
I’m also not dealing with overwhelmed children! A lot of toys aren’t the answer to boredom in our home.
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Other Great Storage Solutions
I am a huge fan of plastic tubs for organizing my children’s toys. I use 12-inch by 12-inch by 2-inch containers for puzzles, paper, and other craft supplies.
I use shoe-box-size plastic containers for smaller toys, like dolls and toy cards.
Both of my children have a toy box in their room where they can put toys like stuffed animals.
Finally, you could invest in a short and narrow gift-wrapping storage container and keep children’s toys under a bed. A large plastic bin like this can be a great solution for Lego storage or toy cars!
An Organized Home is a Happy Home
My home is organized for the sake of my sanity, but I can’t deny that my family benefits from the organization, too.
Expectations are clear, everything has its place, and we all work together to keep things tidy. As we work toward a common goal of keeping the home put together, we all benefit from cleanliness, order, and peace.
If you’re looking for other ways to organize your home, you can start by creating a home management system. This isn’t a free download that will organize your home based on someone else’s preferences. In that blog post, I talk about how to create a home management system based on the natural flow of your life.
A home can be a lot to tackle, so maybe you’d like to start with car organization.
Organization is just one part of homemaking. For more effective homemaking habits, like limiting social media and cleaning as you go, check out this blog post!
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