Toy Storage - Lotsofkids.com

Toys, toys, everywhere!
With all the commercials for Barbies, Hot Wheels, Legos, and a plethora of other products, its no wonder that toy storage is one of the greatest organizational challenges of parents today. That goes double (okay, triple and quadruple) for the large family. More kids equal more toys. On a typical holiday, where a single child may get 3-4 toys, even if the large family children get 2 toys apiece, the simple fact there are 6 children mean you have 12 toys/games to deal with. That is not an easy task. While some parents tackle this issue by rotating toys (meaning some toys are taken away from the children and stored in the basement or other location, and then swapped out with the current toys every few months), sometimes that is just not practical, or still does not resolve the problem of where do all the darn toys go. In this feature, we will be showcasing creative toy storage ideas. Check back periodically, as we will be adding more ideas in the future.

Toy Closet

Shari (username halfdozen), a visitor to our message boards, came up with a great solution for toy storage in her home. She created a toy closet. Not truly a closet, but a cubby, her husband sectioned off the area. Shelving was built and toys were placed in plastic containers to keep them organized and off the floor. The flooring of the room was done in a fun and unique manner. Foam puzzle pieces were laid as carpeting, offering a soft and colorful play area. A curtain was installed so that clutter could be quickly hidden away at a moment's notice. The key to this project is that all toys are contained in one area. This allows for easier cleanup. Click on the photos to view a larger picture.

Compact Storage

Sometimes the problem is not having space, but simply having too much stuff. Shelves are packed full and there's just no way to cram another in. A famous culprit for this are boxes (Figure 1). Games and puzzles often take up large amounts of area on shelves, and because of their awkward size, make organizing the play area difficult.

If you are strapped for space and don't mind "losing" the boxes, there is a great way to reclaim space and actually make it easier for your child to play with those items. In my house, boxes were always getting crushed and torn anyway, so I would resort to storing the pieces in a plastic zipper-type sandwich bag. Then it occurred to me, if I have the bag inside the box, why do I need the box. Invest in bags of different sizes. The three sizes that serve our family best are gallon, quart, and snack size (you can get sandwich size, but I feel the quart work well for items in that size range). You'll be amazed at the space you save (Figure 2). Sometimes a games is not easily spotted by it's various pieces. The key to making this work is to cut out a portion of the box so that your children can identify the contents. This is particularly crucial for puzzles, since your children will need to picture to help guide them in completeing it. For extra measure, I label the package in pen as well (Figure 3).

Figure 1

Figure 2

Figure 3

Now you have a handful of bags. Where do you put them? We implemented white wire storage baskets. I used a paint program to make colorful labels identifying the contents. I printed the labels on regular paper, then glued them to poster board and trimmed. I then covered the label with clear contact paper. The last step was to punch a hole in the top and secure the tag with a cable tie to the bin (Figures 4 and 5). My personal preference is to create labels with both words and pictures so that the older and younger children alike can identify the contents. You can do this with plastic storage containers as well, instead of making a card with the poster board, attach the paper label with contact paper directly to the end of the container. (We'll be covering labelling and storage in another upcoming article.)

Game boards pose another problem. Invest in a long plastic storage box. Place all game board in the box. The pieces and instructions can be stored in a plastic bag held in another box nearby. If you're afraid of not knowing which bag of pieces goes with which board, place a sticker on the bottom of the game board with a number. Write that same number on the corresponding "pieces" bag, and you'll be able to find the right package with little effort.

Figure 4

Figure 5