Our Inexpensive Toy Storage Game Changer

Toys are more overwhelming than toddlers. There I said it.

It’s no secret that I run a tight ship, but if I’m being honest — our playroom is the one room where I give myself some major grace. And by grace, I mean borderline laziness. I don’t pick this room up every single evening. The horror — I know.

Here’s my theory on playrooms: let them play.

I believe if you implement solid systems for organizing and the structure is there when it is time to clean up — that’s enough. I don’t make my kids put a toy away before getting another one out. I’m not a playroom helicopter parent and I do my best to let them be creative and playful in that space.

A couple times a week it’s all hands on deck. We put our systems into place to reset the space so they can reset their little imaginations.

I also believe you don’t have to spend a ridiculous amount of money to organize. If you’re spending more to organize than the value of what you are organizing…stop.

We implemented a toy storage system that changed our playroom game…for less than $50.

Here’s our approach…

Small systems make a big impact.
When we first moved into this house I picked up several large baskets for the playroom thinking they would hide a multitude of sins. And they did…until they didn’t. I quickly realized I wasn’t narrowing our toy categories down enough. I had several “Cal” baskets and “Liv” baskets…but the contents of those baskets was terrifying. The kids weren’t able to enjoy their toys because everything was tossed into one massive basket of chaos. That’s when I started our game changing system…

Clear is the new black.
This was the ultimate playroom game changer for us. I was getting overwhelmed by baskets with too many loose parts. I wanted the kids to be able to see and sort their sets and kits (i.e. doctor, makeup, tea sets, super heroes, crafts). I found a large set of VERY inexpensive clear bins and lined them up in the playroom. I sorted every last toy until I had nearly 20 boxes, each containing a specific category. If a toy was too large for a clear bin, it went into a larger basket. Clear is key with small kids. They can still see their options without having to read a label.

Label makers are worth it.
While clear storage is key for kids, sometimes the old spouse needs a friendly reminder of where to toss the play dough. An inexpensive label maker is the way to go. Why it took me so long to pick one up I will never know. We have family and friends visit often and we wanted a system that allowed anyone and everyone to find what the kids needed — even if mom and dad weren’t in the room.

Buy more containers than you need.
I’m convinced this is where systems fail. If I run out of a certain container and buy the next best option — things go south fast. If you find a system that works (and it’s affordable), go ahead and buy backup.

Some things are best unreached.
A big reason our clear bin storage system has been such a win is because it is totally out of reach by tiny hands. They have to ask to receive. It helps hide crafts or messier items as well as toys that are being played with too often. They have to make a decision about what toys they want to play with next, and this makes it more exciting when the box comes down.

Sort(a) helpful.
I think my favorite part about the individual bins is that it has really helped my kids learn to sort. It turns cleaning into more of a fun scavenger hunt and less of a chore. They know exactly what goes in each box and have a pretty good time searching and sorting accordingly.

Our inexpensive <$50 system is linked below…