If your kids are anything like mine, toy storage is a never ending problem. You want to keep things organized, the kids don’t really care. You want them to put away their own toys, they just want to play and have fun.
I needed a toy storage system that would work for all three of my children. It had to hold dolls and cars and an abundance of Legos. My very anal son and I like for everything to be labeled. My oldest son just needs direct orders as where to put things. And my daughter….well, she’s determined to ruin any system I try.
I decided on a combination of baskets and buckets to utilize space but also sort the toys. As usual, the hardest part was picking out exactly what I wanted at a price I could afford.
Next I needed medium-sized storage bins for toy categories. Dress up, baby dolls and accessories, and play kitchen items went in these white stackable containers. They are sturdy enough when stacked that they are not likely to get tipped over or fall apart, and the kids can easily pull stuff out and shove stuff back in without knocking them down.
With three different ages, the toy selection can vary greatly. I need smaller containers to hold the numerous sets of smaller items. Matchbox cars, army men, Little People, bey blades, and action figures fit perfectly in these stackable bins. Because the front piece and small and the back is hard to see, these bins were labeled on the bottom inside each one.
And finally, the Lego collection. We have our collection split up in several ways. We have boxes downstairs housing completed display sets, generally the 500-1,000 piece sets of buildings, vehicles, or other special projects. We have a display case to sort all the Lego people, and all the Duplo blocks go in the big tub with the other blocks. I needed a place to store the everyday building Legos, mainly bricks and basic building elements. I wanted it to be short and wide, so the kids could easily see inside without dumping the whole tub. This large snapping tote was just the right fit!
All of them fit in the closet nicely, with ample room to move around and clean up. Please ignore the wall art, my little graffiti demon has left hardly a space untouched by her creativity.
This project was a bit more expensive than most of my others, but each bin can also be rearranged or repurposed later as our needs change.
Large Black Tubs: $4 each…..$12
Medium Stacking Bins: $5…..$15
Small Stacking Bins: 3/$5……$10
Labels I Already Had: $0……..$0
Total Cost…………………………..$37
Now the kids have no excuse for a dirty room- they know where everything goes and everything has a specific place!