Toy Storage Products

There is a huge variety of toy storage options on the market today. I’d like to look at a few to help spark some ideas and help with your task to organize toys.

Toy Boxes

These basic large boxes can certainly hold a lot of toys, but there is one issue. Have you ever watched children take their toys out of these boxes? They don’t rummage around gently looking for what they want. No. More typically, they grab an item and toss it over their shoulder if it isn’t the one they want! Repeat until the box is empty or they find what they’re looking for. Either way, it leaves a pile of toys that need to be put away. However, some of the toy boxes on the market right now are terribly cute and would look great in any kids room. Some of can also double as a bench or a table top to play on. Be sure to look for something that has safety in mind that closes gently, has a gap for fingers so they don’t get smashed and has holes for air in case someone decides to hide in the toy box. (My sister glued our toy box closed as a kid, but no one was inside.)

Toy Bins

Bins are great for holding a good number of smaller toys and being able to separate them into various bins. You can match similar items together in one bin (ex. a bin for balls) or you can put all components of a toy together in one bin (ex. a Little People toy and all it’s people and accessories). I like the three tiered toy bin racks that are currently on the market. They come in lots of colors and designs to compliment any type of room. A child can also remove the bin of toys and carry it to where he’s playing (or cleaning up).

Toy Baskets

Similar to bins are the idea of using baskets or canvas storage cubes for toy storage. I’m sure you’ve seen the very attractive baskets lined with fabric just about everywhere. They are an attractive choice to store toys anywhere in the house. Also available are canvas tote baskets in just about any color or print you could imagine. They are lightweight and attractive as well for storing small to medium sized toys. You can purchase a set of matching baskets and use them on shelves to help organize toys, or you can use them individually.

Book Shelves

I find small bookshelves great for storing medium to large toy items. Think big trucks (the shelf is like a parking garage) and other toys that sit best on a flat surface but you don’t want them on the floor. Shelves are a great way to store things vertically and make the best use of your space. Just don't go too high that it becomes dangerous. Always attach large furniture items to the wall so they can't fall forward. These shelves are, of course, great for storing books as well.

Book Displays

Another great way to store books that might be a bit easier for kids to keep organized and actually get the books in and out on their own is a book display. These are canvas or wooden displays like you would see in a library. There is a small “gutter” that the books rest in and the front of the books face out at you so the child can more easily find what they’re looking for. They may not hold as many books as a traditional book shelf in the same amount of wall space. 

Drawers

Using drawers for toy storage is a great way to store small to medium toys out of sight. You might obtain a toy organizing system that includes shelves and drawers or you might go for a smaller unit with just a couple drawers (Ikea always has great ideas). Your needs will help determine what to buy. You should keep similar items in the same drawer and label what goes in each drawer to help your child keep it organized. This is especially necessary if the drawers are not clear.

Hanging Shelves

An attractive accent to a kids room might be a mesh hanging shelf unit. It would be great for storing smaller toys, perhaps small stuffed animals. Since it’s hung from the ceiling, you will have to remember to keep it useful to your child or it will simply hang there empty. Another hanging option you might consider for toys is your typical hanging closet organizer that provides shelving space in the closet. There’s no reason you can’t use it to store toys out of sight!

Toy Hammock

A potential way to store light toys, particularly stuffed animals and dolls is in a toy hammock. Tack it up in the corner of a room and stash the toys there. It’s easy to store a nice pile of items on it. Again, be sure to keep it within reach of your child so they can actually reach the toys to get them down and more importantly, put them away.

Tub Toy Storage

Bath toys can sometimes be a problem to store. I try to minimize the toys we keep in the bathroom and keep them to smaller sized toys. At the moment, ours happily rest on a couple of the shelves on our corner shower tower we have in our tub area. Other options include mesh bags, hammocks or even wired baskets that suction to the wall to store toys. They’re certainly affordable, but sometimes those suctions just don’t want to stay stuck! I would recommend shopping around and checking out reviews first. Consider a toy bag that can hang from the shower head if necessary.

These categories of toy storage products should get you started in planning out what would work best to store the toys you have in your home. Remember to make your children part of the process where you can so they’ll be more inclined to use the toy storage systems you put in place. 

For additional tips about how to organize toys, click here.