Kids Toy Storage Solutions

Kids’ toys can get out of hand pretty quickly! With these kids toy storage solutions, you can get the upper hand and keep toys out of sight.

We have some creative kids storage solutions for you. Ways to hide the toys away. How to encourage play in certain areas to keep them from spreading across the floor. Toy storage in common living areas. Even, how to use your vertical space for toy storage.

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Kids toy storage is a never ending battle, isn’t it? I love the idea of minimalism, but we just aren’t that kind of family. Grandma and I seem to love providing the kiddos with toys as much as they do playing with them. Therefore, I’ve gotten creative with how the toys are stored away. I’ve also gotten creative with how and where I encourage play in order to keep other areas clean.

Bedroom Kids Toy Storage

Keeping kids’ rooms clean can be a major struggle. Through a lot of trial-and-error and temporary solutions we have found a few things that really work. We even moved Little Lady into what was the toy room (and her step-sister’s room when she’s here) because she needed more space for play.

What works for us is finding a good amount of spaces where toys can be tucked way, creative kids toy storage solutions, and setting up play areas instead of spreading across the floor.

Use the walls

I shared this awesome project some time ago. My favorite brilliant use of space is Little Lady’s American Girl doll holder. It gives those dolls a very specific space and gets them up off floors and shelves.

Get creative with your containers and how you use your space. The more toys you can get up off the floor, the more space is freed up for play.

In an effort to use even more of the vertical space in her room, we have adorable baskets we have yet to hang. They will be hung near a little mirror and used for things such as dress-up, hair supplies, and small toys.

Also Read: DIY American Girl Doll Holder

Set up bookshelves for play

Another fantastic use of vertical space for kids toy storage is to add bookshelves. They don’t have to be used for books! In our case, we designed the spare bedroom / playroom to have bookshelves hold up a lofted bed. This creates a lot of play space and keeps toys under control!

Little Lady has since claimed the room for herself, so it is now all set up for her. One of the main problems we have is that she can create a catastrophic mess in no time! One way to keep this under control is to keep some of her bookshelves set up for play. This way, she doesn’t have as much desire to spread her mess all the way across the floor.

Also Read: Route 66 Boys Bedroom

Baskets Galore!

One of the things you may have noticed is that we have a lot of baskets for kids toy. You can see them in our son’s Route 66 bedroom and with Little Lady’s old bedroom and new loft bedroom.

I get a ton of these plastic storage baskets from the Dollar Tree. I have a ton of white for storage spaces all over the house, red and blue in Little Guy’s room, and some green in Little Lady’s room. I can’t get enough of them!

The great thing about having baskets is it keeps those little pieces together. It also make it much easier for kiddos to clean up when they know exactly where something is supposed to go. Signs and pictures help! Baskets are also helpful within a larger toy box, cabinet, or shelves to keep things from getting out of control.

Also read: Tips to Help Young Kids Love Cleaning

Toy box

Well, this isn’t a unique tip for kids toy storage by any means. However, our kiddos never really had an actual toy box until recently.

When Little Lady moved into the loft bedroom / playroom we got her a beautiful Little Colorado toy box. It’s such a great size for hiding away the messier toys and it’s so sturdy she also uses it for sitting. It’s also important to get a sturdy one like this with a strong hinge on the lid to keep from slamming on little fingers. They have other great toy boxes too and I’m considering getting the treasure chest toy box for my son.

There are always going to be toys that contribute to the mess and are difficult to keep neat. A nice toy box is the perfect place to catch all those items and keep the room looking tidy.

Use the closet

I have never liked hanging kids clothes. They’re so little. You have to have all those tiny hangers. It’s just a pain in general.

For our kiddos, their clothes are mostly folded. We get creative on where we put them. When they were young, they were put in hanging shoe organizers, which I still do for Little Lady’s leggings. We also use hanging organizers for setting out outfits for the week.

Also read: Morning Routine with Kids: set yourself up for success

With all this folding, the closets have had a lot of space in them. Little Lady’s old closet was so big, we put her desk and bookshelves right inside! This gave her room for dress-up, her magnet board, and books. In Little Guys’s closet, he has a shelf against the side wall that is strictly for toys. This works great until they are older and fill the space with larger clothes.

Also Read: Kids Closet Organization

Kids Toy Storage in Common Areas

One of the hardest things about kids toys is the ability they have to spread them across the entire house in no time at all. That’s when I really lose my mind! I have nights where the kids are already in bed and I walk around the house to find messes I didn’t even know where there!

Give toys a hidden spot

The key to kids toy storage in common areas of the house is to have smart, hidden-away areas to put toys away.

When the kids were little it was more common for us to have some of the toys out in the open. However, as they got older – and especially when we moved into a new house – we have designated areas to get them tucked away quickly.

There are three spots in our main living areas for kids toy storage.

In our living room there are two matching dressers. Messy as it it, the kids have one cabinet for toys. Above that is the family movie drawer – nearly all Disney movies for Disney movie nights, of course!

The kids have also taken over the storage bench in our living room. However, that mainly holds their trays for said movie nights.

The last place for kids toy storage in our main living spaces is an additional cabinet for all the art supplies and art-related toys. That we keep near the dining room, so they can do their art and return it to it’s hiding place easily.

I hope this gives you some inspiration for your own kids toy storage! I also hope it helps save a little sanity and your poor parent feet from stepping on any more toys!

Be sure to check out Little Colorado for adorable, sturdy toy boxes and get 20% off your order with the code WLCMR20

What are some kids toy storage areas you’re stumped on?

Leave them in the comments and I’ll do my best to help!

More Kids Toy Storage Options