The Best Toy Storage Ideas for Playroom Clutter

The Best Toy Storage ideas for Playroom Clutter

• Does yours child’s playroom keep getting messier than ever even after you have spent countless minutes cleaning it?
• Are there more products being added and you just don’t have any space to put them in?
• Do you desire a system that will help keep all ‘Toy Clutter’ organized and in place?
• Have you stepped on one too many toys?
  • You might be looking for some playroom storage ideas or storage organization tips and tricks. You’re definitely in the right place!
  • What works for me may not work for you. We all have different toys, storage equipment and strategy systems in our home.
  • Ours definitely gets out of control everyday, but with a simple toy storage system all the toys can go back in their place easily – dismissing toy clutter! I will share with you some things we have done to fix the mess.

Playroom Organizing Tips and Tricks

• 1. Perfection is not the answer
  • Perfection won’t happen.
  • Don’t expect it.
  • Our playroom is just that – a room for playing.
  • I want it to be a place where my kids explore, have fun, and learn through play. It is not ever going to be a perfect toy room all of the time, and thats okay!
  • I used to take the approach of hovering over them and picking up each time there was a toy left out. I am definitely at peace knowing that perfection is not the answer. Cleanup can wait until the very end while teaching them the importance of it!
• 2. Storage, Baskets and Bins oh my!
  •  I cannot stress enough how this has saved our toy clutter situation, in an organized method.
    • Storage bins with lids are excellent for storing away smaller items that don’t get used all of the time. Its also helpful to keep those stored away especially when you have a baby who may be putting toys in their mouth.
    • Baskets and bins are beyond great! These are excellent for shelf rotation, blocks, legos, categorized toys… This is great for open ended play and allows toys to be made easily accessible for play while being organized at the same time. This has made it much easier for them to put their toys away easily when they are done.
• 3. Kid Friendly Shelving Units are awesome!
  • You may want to consider investing in a kid-friendly shelving unit. There are tons out there!
  • These are the ones we use, and we love them!
  • These are deep and store toys very well. They are great for larger toys such as baby toys, construction toys… They definitely help in having a place/space for each toy. Its also great for toy rotation (talked about more in point number 5).
• 4. Labeling Strategies
  • I keep it simple when it comes to labeling. I label for myself but not for my kids.
  • Any storage container with a lid stored for me to pull out, has a label.
  • This helps me differentiate what is where and what Id like to take out.
  • On the other hand, any storage baskets or bins my kids may use Do Not have labels on them. Why? You may be asking. Well, two reasons. Reason#1 Our kids toys may simply change. An old toy may not work anymore or a new one may come in.
  • Labels may change and that may confuse your little one. Reason#2 Its a system that works for adults but not smaller children. Smaller children may not know how to read, or they may forget. The peace is kept without the labels in our home for little ones and its definitely easier that way!
• 5. Toy Rotation 
  • Consider Rotating toys.
  • We have several toys which are stored away in ‘these bins’. I will bring them out and organize them within our storage shelves, bins and baskets. These become brand new toys for my kids!
  • Its wonderful because they are entertained and consumed with these ‘brand new toys’. Ill then put away most of the ones already out. If my kids are no longer interested in some of the toys that have come out of storage, I know to get rid of them.
  • Keep in mind: Reuse toys in different scenarios with a different approach. It will be just as new as when you purchased it the first time. Easy Peasy storage system tips and tricks for you mama!
• 6. Floating Book Shelves
  • We use the ones from Ikea ‘these here’.
  • We love these because they can be used for so many toy storage ideas. We have rotated books, paint tubes, small toys… These are excellent for keeping your toy room less cluttered and it looks nice and organized!
• 7. Desk and Ottoman Storage
  • We use ‘desk with storage’ to store our educational items.
  • Paper, crayons and markers, workbooks go in here and we absolutely love that it is stored and in its place.
  • Ottoman storage is also great for storing many toys that are in different categories. It is also great for bigger toys. Your kids can then use the ottoman to sit and read a book or use as a table for a tea party…
• 8. Built in Bins and Cubbies
  • We use the extra storage in our closet systems to insert storage bins.
  • There are a couple of storage systems within the house. You can look in your kitchen, closets, or even the rack within your closet at the top.
  • Storage bins ‘like these’ can definitely be utilized to store items within these areas!
  • Cubbies ‘like this one’ is great as well! We use ‘cubbie’ like this one from ikea! It is perfect for storing those smaller items and is great when it comes to toy rotation.
• 9. Declutter ‘extra’ toys
  • These are just those extra toys which happen to cause clutter all around the play room and do not seem to get played with as much. Keep your eye on these, rescue them, place them in a storage bin or box stored away. If the kids ask about them, you know they still want them. If they don’t after some time, it may be time to get rid of them.
• 10. Picking up at the end of the day
  • This is just what works for us. You may find it easier to clean up once one toy is done being played with, and thats okay! What works for you, may not work for another.
  • We happen to do a big clean up at the end of the day. It just keeps the peace in this household and its much easier for me so I don’t feel like i have to clean up throughout the day. Once your little ones get older, they know to clean up after themselves and learn the importance of it. They may put a toy away right after they are done and that is great!
  • So, this is how we have kept our toy room organized and it is what works for us now! It may change and if it does I will always update and add it to this post to better help you achieve your toy storage organizational needs!

Why does Toy Clutter happen so often?

• There are tons of articles and blog posts on how to combat and get rid of toy clutter. While this is awesome, it isn’t very realistic. In order to feel whole about toy clutter, it won’t always be on the perfect side, there has to be a messy side to complete that wholeness.
  • I think its time to stop worrying so much about toy clutter and how to achieve the perfect toy room all of the time. I am totally for decluttering, but the pressure placed on ourselves to just get rid of it all is downright silly to me. There will be days where it is messy and there are days where it will look perfect!
  • To be a good parent, you don’t have to have a minimalist approach. Three or four toys for one child is not going to solve all of your problems.
  • Having many, many toys does not make you a bad parent! Extra toys is not something you should feel down about, there are definitely bigger problems.

But, you may be here because toy clutter is negatively impacting you and you need some helpful advice. I have some ideas for you so you don’t feel guilty or overwhelmed while you handle your decluttering needs:

Affiliate disclosure: “This post contains affiliate links, which means I receive a small commission, at no extra cost to you, if you make a purchase using these links.”

Best Storage Products I use for Storage Ideas and Playroom Clutter (More to be added)

Best Storage Boxes with Lids

These storage bins are amazing for storing items by category. I use these to store items for each month of the year.

Best Open Shelving Unit Bookcase Storage

I absolutely love the Kallax line from Ikea. These shelving units are great for categorizing/organizing toys within storage boxes, lids, bins… or as is. I use these to store different toys and it is so organized. These are also great for shelf rotation! They come in different sizes which is awesome!

Best Storage Bins for Books, Magazines, Coloring Pages

These Colored Storage Cases are great for storing books, kids activities books, coloring books, educational books… you name it! We love these! I use them to store my daughters drawings and educational books from the dollar store.

These Shelving Units from Ikea are great as Book storage in your children’s playroom! I also own the one that is grounded and both are amazing shelving units for storing books.

Best Storage Bins for Open Shelving Units – Great Bang for your Buck

These Storage Bins are a life saver! They keep everything organized and I love them also because the playroom ends up looking really arranged!

Best Storage Organizers Container Bins for Organizing Kids Supplies

These Container Bins are just plain awesome! They are stackable and save you so much space! We use these for storing pens + pencils, crayons, markers..

Common Questions/FAQ About Toy Storage

How to organize a toy room on a budget?

• The dollar tree/ dollar store has so many items in all different colors you can use for toy organization for $1 each! Thats awesome! Im in!
• This tip is gold: When cleaning and organizing toys make sure to grab a bin or large bucket. Place all of the misplaced toys in them. This way it will be easier to place them back where the toys belong and organize them accordingly. This will also help you locate which toys are and aren’t being used, so you are able to figure out which toy storage you may be looking for.
• Chalk Paint is awesome! If you’d like to save space paint a wall in your child’s playroom with chalk paint!
• Ikea has great storage at a considerable price. They have single wall shelves for under $20!
• Replace the replaceable carpet with a foam pad. It may cost a little extra but quality always wins over quantity. They are also very comfy and easy to clean and they don’t collect dust or have a little smell after a while.

How do I store big toys?

• Rotation systems are great! Rotating toys will help your children look at old toys as new again! Go through all the small toys and organize those into bins, storage baskets, storage boxes… This makes space for the big ones to take their spot.
• If you have too many big toys and not enough space, a garage can help with half of the big toys. This way you can rotate them. You will see which ones your child doesn’t play with anymore and you can get rid of it. This way, you will eliminate what you don’t use and store less.
• If you don’t have a garage, you may want to figure out which toys aren’t played with as much and which toys may need to go.
• If he/she plays with all of them and you just don’t have any space, lay them all out and see which ones aren’t played with as much.
• Toy chests are great for bigger toys such as this one ” “.

Where can I find stylish toy storage?

• Ikea
• Pottery Barn kids
• Wayfair.com
• Crate and Barrel
• Target
• Pinterest
• Etsy
• Thrift Shop

How do I store new toys when I have no more space?

• Cube Sytem Storage such as this one ” ” is perfect for small or no spaces
• Storage Bins, baskets and boxes are perfect for smaller craft item storage
• Having a Rotation Toy System
• Getting rid or donating toys your littles don’t use anymore
• Out with the old and in with the new. Making space for new toys may sometimes mean bye bye to old ones.

The Last Thing You Need to Know about Toy Storage

• I hope you enjoyed all of my ‘Playroom organizing Tips and Tricks’, all of the best products such as (storage bins, storage units, storage boxes…) that we have found work for us, the why, how and what of toy storage… the big bang boom, Hah!
• Is there any toy storage ideas you may want to add that have worked for you?
  • Any tips/tricks/ideas on playroom organizing and clutter?
  • Do you own any storage that is perfect for big toys? Please leave me a comment down below. Id love to hear your thoughts and what you have tried!