Keeping kids’ toys organized can be a full-time job. Use these playroom storage ideas to create a fun, stylish and clutter-free playroom.
1. Take inventory of the toys you have before designing playroom storage
As you go through them, sort the toys into four piles: Keep, Donate, Sell, Trash. Take this opportunity to really consider if the toy should stay. Think about if your child or children ever play with the toy. Have they grown out of it? Do they have duplicate toys?
For those that you don’t keep, ask your child to help you decide if you should try to sell it for some extra spending money or donate it to someone in need. Helping them list the item on your local online marketplace, setting the price and helping communicate with the potential buyer (with your help of course!) is a great opportunity to teach a business lesson. Deciding on a charity to donate toys to helps teach a generous spirit. Take them with you when you donate the items for this lesson to resonate even more.
If a toy is broken or missing parts, send it straight to the trash. Avoid the temptation to set it aside with the idea to fix it later. Will that really happen? Keep that decluttering momentum going and send it on its way.
2. Take inventory of what you already have to store the toys
Do you have existing shelves, cubbies or drawers you can repurpose for the playroom? Are you planning to build something that is custom-designed? Or perhaps you will purchase storage.
You can take a dresser and turn it into a bookshelf.
Turn an old desk into a cute bench with storage.
Pottery Barn has a modular wall system where you select the components to fit the dimensions of your space and your storage needs.
3. Create zones
Now that you know how many and what type of toys you have, a key to organized playroom storage is to divide the toys into categories such as:
- Books
- Games
- Learning toys
- Building toys
- Vehicle toys
- Dolls and doll accessories
- Make believe
- TV/gaming
4. Sketch out the layout of the playroom storage
Get your child involved to help decide where things should go using the zones you have identified. When you ask their opinion and let them make some decisions, kids are more likely to get on board with the idea.
Later when the space is up and running, pull out the sketch and talk about it with them. How close did you get to the original design? Why did you make the changes you did from the original plan? How else could you incorporate more playroom storage?
5. Keep toys at eye-level according to age
Design your playroom storage to fit multiple ages. If you have kids of multiple ages using the playroom, store the toy where they can reach it. That will enable them to choose the toy they want to play with and provide no excuses for being able to put it back when it is time to clean up!
6. Use labels to designate a space for each type of toy
A well-organized playroom won’t stay organized very long if items don’t get put back where they belong. Make that easy for your kids by clearly labeling each zone. Include drawings to help the younger kids who aren’t reading yet.
7. Keep a policy of for every new toy in, one must go out
Kids have a lot of toys. They get them for birthdays and other holidays, perhaps as a reward or because you found them for a great deal at a local garage sale. Because toys are routinely coming into the home, it is easy to get overwhelmed with too many. When there are so many things to play with, kids may not appreciate what they have because they just don’t know what they have. It is very difficult to store and organize large volumes of anything.
The way to avoid that is simple. When new toys come in, an equal number of toys must go out. Use the same Donate, Sell, or Trash system we talked about earlier. Just make sure they leave!
8. Use bright, cheery colors
What better way to ensure a fun playroom than using bright colors! Bright colors have been scientifically proven to affect children’s mood. You might consider more muted colors for their bedroom where they will need to rest. But the playroom is for play so go with fun colors!
9. Keep your playroom safe
Use brackets to secure shelves or dressers to the wall and avoid them accidentally tipping over onto a child.
Ensure every outlet has an outlet cover.
Use a choking tester to identify small toys that could present a choking hazard and store them where little hands can’t get to them.
For more organizing inspiration, check out the 97 Best Organization Ideas.