Stylish Options for Storing Toys

There’s nothing like long winter days spent indoors to inspire me to clean up, clean out, and generally become possessed with some sort of post-holiday nesting syndrome.

Before the holidays I went through our toys with my five-year-old and we picked out several baby toys to donate to Goodwill. After the holidays I cleaned out my daughters’ closets and filled a large plastic trash bag with outgrown clothes to pass on to a co-worker. This inspired my oldest daughter to fill a large paper grocery bag with some books and stuffed animals from her room, already spilling over with stuff. We had essentially made room for the bounty of Santa and I think it taught my girls a valuable lesson about donating items to those less fortunate.

Now I am a total sucker for any kind of storage bins, baskets, tubs, chests, you name it.

When your daughter loves to collect My Little Ponies, Barbies, and Polly Pocket dolls and their 8 million tiny brushes and accessories nearly indiscernable by the naked eye, you learn to scout out the best ways to organize and cut down on clutter, although sometimes for me this means simply opening a drawer, tossing everything in it, and slamming the drawer shut. This is called the “out of sight, out of mind” method, but it’s just a temporary fix.

Here are some practical and stylish solutions for children’s toys that I’ve found on the Web:



These mini suitcases from Land of Nod are a whimsical and keep tiny items out of sight.



I adore these girly polka dot canvas storage bins.



And, these more masculine locker bins from Pottery Barn Teen.



Ditto on these collapsible storage cubes from WalMart.



This toy trolley on wheels from The Container Store would also be great in a bathroom filled with rolled towels.



These baskets with chalkboard labels from JC Penney would look great in a home office or kitchen or filled with art supplies and coloring books and crayons or perhaps even your child’s school work.



This cubby bench comes in a whole slew of sexy colors, from apple to turquoise, and has been featured on HGTV’s Mission Organization.



I love these jute storage baskets from Ballard Designs, although it hurts my heart a little bit to see they no longer offer monogramming. If you’re especially gifted with the home decor juju, like one of my girlfriends, you have a direct connection to someone who will monogram for you. These baskets are neutral enough for storing baby books and small toys in the den without screaming Elmo was here. At my house we have a large black bamboo handled basket in our den full of baby board books.

If you’re on a tight budget you can also check out dollar discount stores and Big Lots for storage solutions. Thrift stores also have great baskets that can be painted and no one will know you didn’t pay full price for them.

Happy organizing!

Images courtesy of Jamie Reeves, Blonde Mom Blog