Kids room, where do you keep toys

[buzz1fan]

My son has so much in his room. I am trying to figure out an inexpensive way to keep his toys and gadgets. Right now he has a big tub in his closet and bigger toys in it. Then little things in little containers. What do your kids do? He also uses his drawers to hold things.

Thanks

 

[sunlover13]

DD has toys in bins under her bed. She has one of those square wall units with the cloth bins for all the little toys. This was our best purchase b/c it looks a lot nicer than the open storage bins.

Her closet is really deep so we ended up putting in adjustable shelves back there for some of her bigger toys. It's kind of a pain for her to get stuff out, but at least it is put away and out of sight.

I know what you mean, we are running out of room.

 

[aimlyles]

We also have 2 under the bed storage units that hold DS toys. We found we had to use those bed/leg raiser thingys they sell, for the bins to slide in and out easier. Instead of having it raised 3-4 inches higher we flipped the raisers so that the legs sit inside of it rather than on top of it (if that makes sense) We only needed a little more room and it worked

 

[Taja]

I don't currently have little ones, but in the past we have used bookcases (be sure to attach them to the wall at the studs or with anchors) with various open bins for small to mid-sized toys. Little ones don't seem to keep lids on containers very well. Might be okay if they are attached, though. Large toys (play kitchen, pram, etc.,) had designated storage areas. We marked the areas with tape initially so they understood where to put things when they were finished with them.

Containers with lids seem to work well around age 6 or so--depends on the child--as the bookcases actually are used for books and display. We used storage ottomans that could grow with the girls--they took them to university with them! I did recover them a couple of times, though. *LOL*

 

[pigletto]

Storage solutions. It is something that I am in the midst of right now. DS's room is the smallest bedroom. And dd's room is larger than his, but she has a new Queen sized bed and very long dresser with 6 drawers and a cupoboard that take up all the available space.

So.. I have to get creative. Utilize under the bed like a pp mentioned. They make great bins in various sizes that slide under the bed.
Use wall space also. Hang shelving that will hold bins. They make cute cloth type baskets in a variety of colors that would work.
And closets! A regular old closet is kind of a waste of space in our house. But we're installing shelving at the back for board games and bins to hold toys, and then the clothes hang in front

And the best idea I ever found for those stuffed animals they won't part with is a net that hangs like a hammock at the ceiling and they all sleep in there

And my last tip.. throw away and donate when they aren't home!!!
I swear there are more fast food toys, and broken and missing toy and game parts in my sons room!! He doesn't ever notice when I purge the junk.

 

[britfish]

I must be in the minority but DD does not have toys in her room. Stuffies and books yes, but not toys.
I saw some cute storage ideas at Target a few weeks ago, you might want to look there. They were affordable but I have no idea how they will hold up.

 

[Shanna-like-Banana]

Our 3 kids do not have ANY toys in their rooms.

No way Jose. Their rooms have their beds, dressers, decor, etc and that's it.

Theyhave their loveys and a few books, but no toys allowed

Oh and they don't have TV's either

 

[chris31997]

DD had a dresser as a "toy chest" or catch all for her stuff.

DS, who is younger, has a shorter bookshelf that his toys go in.

I second the going thru and cleaning out of toys. We are in the process of doing this due to a move. I make the kids this every year before Christmas and I do a quick purge around birthdays. Make them donate the toys to someone who needs them. Good lesson

 

[LuLuO]

I cleaned most of the toys out of the kids' rooms. We built a play room though so it worked for us. They are allowed a few toys which are kept in those fabric bins that go in the closet maid shelving. We got them at Target. They also each have a toy box for stuffed animals and a book rack.

http://www.target.com/ClosetMaid-Cu...om_size-bin,target_com_brand-bin&frombrowse=0

 

[VroomVroomLightning]

My niece and nephew have a toy room and just recently my brother built shelves on the walls for them. On the shelves the toys are then sorted. But he also built the bottom one so it sticks out far enough that they can use it for writing or drawing in their books. And it is great for my LEGO fanatic nephew!

 

[buzz1fan]

Thanks for the advice. This is for my 7 year old. My 4 yr old right now doesn't have any toys in his room because I fear he will not sleep enough. My 7 yr old had no problems at all and has always listened to the rules on that, so i dont have to not let him have toys in his room. No tvs in the rooms. We also have happy meal or broken arm pieces in drawers. It is not even just toys it's just little things he picks up that to him are treasures. I do go in before holidays and do a clean up of his room and their playroom and donate what we can. Thanks for the advice I will check out target soon.

 

[malibuconlee]

For anyone who uses the cloth covered storage bins, how do you clean them? They get dusty over time, and that always bothers me. How do you clean them?

We also had a dog for over 10 years and everything would end up with dog hair on it. That would drive me nuts. Ended up with leather couches cause they were easier to clean lol

 

[linnell]

Our finished basement is our toy room, and yet there are still toys in ever room of this house. I have had enough and I'm starting to purge while they're sleeping. The problem is, my sister and my SIL all have older kids, so they hand down toys to my kids, and they're smart about it, they go through the grandparents, who travel back and forth. I admit, I'm not the neatest person in the world, but the basement is starting to look like an episode of Hoarders and that is not what I want for my kids.

So I guess I don't have a lot of advice, because I'm battling this too right now.

 

[eileen2664]

Hopefully this works....I haven't posted on these boards in years and have just started lurking again. Anyhow, I love this system I created (with the help of lots of googling) for my ds's toys. He's been using it for the last 7 or 8 years. It's 2 sets of those cubes from target and a bunch of dish tubs from the dollar store. In the middle of several cubes I attached another "shelf" using those plastic ties from the hardware section. The bins slide in and out easily and I initially labeled them with pics to help him with putting things away. Hopefully this helps.

 

[3boymthr]

We have a small house so no playroom for us. The oldest has outgrown toys so only a storage ottoman for him. The younger two have one of these only it's black with primary colored bins - I got it at BJs:

http://www.amazon.com/Honey-Can-Do-...3?s=home-garden&ie=UTF8&qid=1311772806&sr=1-3

I also have two of these under their bed (we have bunks):

http://www.amazon.com/kidkraft-train-table-trundle-drawer/dp/B0019NOUPS

All their big toys fit in the drawers and the little stuff, legos, etc. goes in the bins. Board games go on the shelf in their closet.

 

[LuLuO]

Thanks for the advice. This is for my 7 year old. My 4 yr old right now doesn't have any toys in his room because I fear he will not sleep enough. My 7 yr old had no problems at all and has always listened to the rules on that, so i dont have to not let him have toys in his room. No tvs in the rooms. We also have happy meal or broken arm pieces in drawers. It is not even just toys it's just little things he picks up that to him are treasures. I do go in before holidays and do a clean up of his room and their playroom and donate what we can. Thanks for the advice I will check out target soon.

For little treasures, I picked up plain white photo boxes at Hobby Lobby for $2.99 and had the kids decorate them. These are their treasure boxes. If they find something like a rock or a feather or a favorite car or something that they want to keep in a special place in their room then they put it in that box.

 

[melancholywings]

For stuffed animals I got a bean bag cover with out the pellets and we put all the stuffed animals in it, zip it up and she can use it like a chair. They sell something similar on amazon for $50-$100, but you can get a fur cover for like $15.

 

[LuLuO]

For stuffed animals I got a bean bag cover with out the pellets and we put all the stuffed animals in it, zip it up and she can use it like a chair. They sell something similar on amazon for $50-$100, but you can get a fur cover for like $15.

Oh that is a fantastic idea!

 

[mrsbornkuntry]

Hopefully this works....I haven't posted on these boards in years and have just started lurking again. Anyhow, I love this system I created (with the help of lots of googling) for my ds's toys. He's been using it for the last 7 or 8 years. It's 2 sets of those cubes from target and a bunch of dish tubs from the dollar store. In the middle of several cubes I attached another "shelf" using those plastic ties from the hardware section. The bins slide in and out easily and I initially labeled them with pics to help him with putting things away. Hopefully this helps.

I love that! Very frugal, creative and useful

I HATE toy boxes, the kids never ended up playing with the toys in them so I used to use shelves for their toys, but then someone gave me a set of cubbies that they got from a daycare that was closing. They work great for the bigger toys that don't belong in a group. For the smaller toys like hot wheels and action figures I use plastic drawers. The kids just take the drawer out to play with them, then put it back when they're done. Art supplies are not allowed on the carpet at all so they are in a set of bins from Target in my dining room (things like markers, play-doh, glue, etc. It adds up after 5 kids). I have also used over the door shoe holders for small toys. Wipes boxes are great for grouping small items together.

The kids' bookshelf is in some dead space in my hallway (it's a long bookcase, not tall) and there is a plastic shelving unit next to that to hold all of their board games.

 

[Mom_Rides]

DD has a play kitchen in her bedroom and all the accessories for that are stored in the kitchen. Her baby dolls and BAB's go in the baby doll pack and play/crib. Dress up clothes and accessories (she has TONS!) go in the toy box. Then she has several plastic storage boxes that hold her other toys. Those slide under her bed. She has boxes for My Little Ponys, Barbies, Polly Pockets, Doll clothes & accessories and a misc one that holds LPS, Schleich animals, etc. Books are kept in two baskets on top of her dresser. Her dollhouse is in the livingroom for now because its the one toy she consistently plays with. We are contemplating moving the kitchen to the basement and moving the dollhouse to her room but we haven't got there yet.

I have a few extra plastic storage boxes in her closet that hold extras and every so often I swap out toys that she has in her room with the ones in her closet. She also has several BAB, stuffed animals and baby dolls that I swap out as well. Things with many little parts like Mr. Potato Head and games go on the top shelf in her closet and are brought out during rainy days.

She does have a few bigger toys in the basement. Her little basketball set and shopping cart are down there along with a few other things that she plays with while shes keeping Daddy company while he plays video games. This system works for us. Our house is small and if we don't keep the toys limited and somewhat organized, they tend to takeover rather quickly.