Toy Storage Ideas – 27 Useful Ideas for Storing Your Kids’ Toys and Books

By Hemapriya Natesan @MyLittleMoppet

January 17, 2019 Leave a Comment

One of the biggest questions for moms trying to keep their homes organized and clutter-free is how to neatly and efficiently store all the kid’s toys. We want our kids to enjoy their toys and we want the house stays mess-free once they are done playing. Besides, we want the toys to stay clean and in good condition for as long as possible.

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How do we do that? By taking inspiration from organizing guru Marie Kondo’s philosophy of ‘A place for everything and everything in its place’.

The number one rule for organizing things in the house is to identify a place for everything so that when we (our children in this case) are done using something, it goes back to its proper place. It may sound obvious but how many of us really have clearly identified storage spaces for various types of kids’ toys?

In this post we share with you kids toy storage ideas so you can organize your kids’ toys and books, teach them where things go, and say goodbye to clutter once and for all!

We have broken down toy storage options in the following categories:

A) Toy Storage ideas for a mix of every-day, easily accessible toys

B) Storage ideas for Books

C) Storage ideas for Soft Toys

D) Toy Storage ideas for Blocks, Legos, Cars and Magnetic tiles, Animal Figures and Dolls

E) Storage Ideas for Stationery and Art Supplies

F) Storage ideas for Puzzles

G) Ideas for Storing and Carrying Beach Toys/Garden Toys

A) Storage ideas for a mix of every-day toys, easily accessible to kids

1. 4-bin Colorful Pull-out Toy Storage Baskets

Joyful Studio 4 XLPlastic Modular Drawer System

You can store the most commonly used toys in these racks, sorted by categories. For example, toy cars can be in the top rack, animal figures and action figures in the second, play dough boxes and molds in the third and some coloring books and crayons in the last one.

This rack can be placed in the part of the house where the family hangs out most so that kids can play while the parents potter around the room. Ours stays neatly tucked in one corner of our living room.

Find out the price of this colorful toy storage option here.

2. Multi-layer, Kids’ Storage Furniture with Wheels

Amardeep and Co XL Multipurpose Toy Box Rabbit

Check out this versatile storage rack that can store toys, books and clothes, here.

3. Multi-purpose 8-bin Kids Toy Organizer

Ehomekart Playgro YOTO Baby Multipurpose Shelves for Kids

Learn more about Ehomekart Playgro YOTO Baby Multipurpose Shelves for Kids here.

B) Storage Ideas for Books

4. Vibrant Multi-level Book Shelf for Kids

Little Fingers Book shelf

Check out this attractive Little Fingers Playgro Multi Pocket Colorful Book Shelf on Amazon.in here.

5. Multi-level Cloth and Melamine Book Shelf

   Homesmiths Book Rack

See this product on Amazon India.

C) Storage Ideas for Soft Toys

Most children today have a bunch of assorted soft toys, some of which they develop a strong emotional attachment with. Though most soft toys can be machine washed, it is best to minimize the dust and dirt on them by keeping them stored in covered storage. Here are our popular soft toy storage ideas:

6. Large Saree Covers with Zip

HomeStrap 2 Piece Cotton Quilted Large Saree Cover

Saree covers are light, closed and partly see through making them a very good option for storing soft toys.

Check out this reasonably-priced set of two quilted, large HomeStrap saree covers here.

7. Stiff, collapsible clothes organizer

Hokipo Oxford Foldable Organizer

This wardrobe organizer can also play the role of a kids’ toy storage box with élan. Click here to see the price of this Hokipo Oxford Foldable Organiser.

8. Stylish Laundry Basket with Drawstring Closure

Hokipo 45L Cotton Laundry Basket

This chic Hokipo laundry basket makes for a wonderful toy storage bin for soft toys!

9. Collapsible Toy Storage Bin

Pigloo 77L Pop-Up Storage Bin

You can find this cute Pigloo 77 Litre Pop Up Basket here.

10. Hanging Mesh Storage for Soft Toys

We prefer closed storage for soft toys, but there are a couple of cute open storage options too if you wish to consider. These can also be hung inside a wardrobe or a cupboard so the toys stay clean for longer.

Leoie 2 pcs Hanging Mesh Storage

These hanging mesh baskets would work well for smaller soft toys. Check out this image posted by Homebnc.com

Reference image – www.homebnc.com

Buy these hanging meshes here.

11. Hanging Canvas Shelves

HomeStorie Hanging Canvas Organizer

These multipurpose hanging shelves can be used to store clothes, soft toys and even store board game boxes as seen in the picture below.

Reference Image – https://morningchores.com/toy-storage-ideas/

12. Soft Toy Hammock

Soft Toy Hammock

Although it’s not closed storage, soft toys resting on a hammock lend a very cute and colorful look to the child’s room. Check out more information about this hammock.

D) Storage ideas for Blocks, Legos, Magnetic tiles, Cars, Animal Figures and Dolls

When it comes to toys like Lego sets, building blocks, magnetic tiles, cars, small dolls and animal figures, we recommend one box for each category of toys so that the child can give their focused attention to one set of toys at a time (e.g. Legos) and it’s easier to keep the toys organized.

13. Transparent Toy Storage Boxes with Lids

These kids’ toy boxes are available in different sizes, so depending on your collection of blocks, Legos, etc, you can pick appropriate sizes. For example, the smaller ones can be used for an assortment of smaller Lego pieces, while the larger ones can be used for bigger sets like a 100 piece magnetic tiles set.

Many of these also come with wheels making it fun and easy for your child to lug it around.

Aristo 25L Storage Container with Wheels

Check out the Aristo Plastic Storage Box with Wheel (25 L) here.

The smaller container below works beautifully for Lego sets which have smaller pieces.

Kurtzy Storage Box

Kurtzy Storage Box

Click here to see the Kurtzy 3-layer Organizer.

14. Nano Pull-out Racks

Joyful Drawer System – Studio Nano 4

This toy organizer is a smaller version (Studio Nano 4) of the racks shown earlier in point 1, making it ideal for sorting and storing sets with smaller parts like Lego sets.

15. Eco-Friendly Bamboo Baskets – Pack of 2

HomeStorie Foldable Bamboo Storage Set

Here’s an eco-friendly version of the plastic storage boxes. This elegant pack of 2 fold-able basket bins from HomeStorie is made of natural bamboo and comes in two combos – a small + large or 2 large baskets. See the price of these baskets set here.

16. Foldable Storage Box Cum Stool

Tied Ribbons Toy Storage Box

Tied Ribbons Toy Storage Box

This compact storage box with a padded lid is ideal for storing an assortment of blocks, cars or animal figures in one place. It’s small, light and doubles up as the toddler’s own little seat.

17. Sturdy, foldable cloth storage box with lid and 2 compartments

Foldable Cloth Storage with Two Compartments

Learn more about this storage box here.

 18. Recycled Shoe Boxes

Recycled Shoe Box

Never throw away an empty shoe box! Shoeboxes are such versatile storage options that there will always be something you can store in them. If your little one has a collection of tiny matchbox cars, you can store them in shoe boxes. You can even make a project out of it and enlist your child’s help in decorating the shoe box and transform it into a toy storage box.

19. Hanging Pockets for Dolls

Reference – www.playdatesandpearls.com

Reference – www.morningchores.com

These versatile door hanging shoe racks can also be use to store dolls and action figures like Barbies and Superhero figures, in addition to storing smaller soft toys as shown in the reference pics above.

Dolls and Small Soft Toys Organizer

You can buy similar hanging organizers here.

E) Storage Ideas for Art Supplies and Stationery

Have you notices that once the child starts kindergarten/pre-school, the volume of art supplies in the house magically multiplies? Don’t we all have more than one set of crayons, sketch pens, color pencils and water colors? How can we store all the art supplies?

To begin with, we can keep new, unopened color boxes out of our child’s sight if they are already in the middle of using one set of colors. The colors that they are currently using can stay in the cardboard box that they come in or we can transfer them to more durable storage as shown below.

20. Set of Tin Boxes for Stationery

The small tin boxes that many Indian airlines sell nuts in are perfect for small sets of 12 crayons or color pencils.

Tin Boxes for Art Supplies

You can also buy similar boxes on Amazon. The set of 3 tin boxes from Lazykarts below is larger in size and can hold a bigger set of colors.

Lazykarts Set of 3 tin boxes

Lazykarts Set of 3 tin boxes

21. Zipped Stationery Pouches

Another value-for-money option that is working well in our house is this set of zipped pouches. We store our crayons in one, color pencils in another, sketch pens in a third. We also use these to store magnetic alphabets which can be used on a refrigerator door or a whiteboard.

If you want to buy a set of 10 such pouches at a reasonable price, check out Kieana Pen Pencil Pouch for Kids.

Set of 10 Zipped Stationery Pouches

22. Stand for Art Supplies & Stationery

Kurtzy Stationery Stand

More useful for children in primary and secondary school, this stand from Kurtzy with 96 slots can hold paint brushes, color pencils, sketch pens and pens all in one place.

23. DIY Shoe Box Art Caddy

Source – www.auntpeaches.com

If you’re feeling creative, you can make this lovely art caddy using toilet rolls and a shoe box. Check out the instructions at http://www.auntpeaches.com/2012/10/well-gosh-dont-i-feel-handy.html.

F) Storage Ideas for Puzzles

You can always retain the original puzzle boxes to store the pieces in, but often these boxes tear or get flattened and some may also take up a lot of space. Here are some creative ideas for storing puzzle pieces.

24. Small Cloth Bags

Small drawstring cloth bags make for neat and elegant options for storing different sets of puzzle pieces. Here’s the one we use.

Cloth Pouches

You can also order a set of such bags on Amazon here.

B11 Small Packing Bags

25. Transparent Toy Storage Box

Transparent Toy Storage Box

The image above shows how we store the set of 3 puzzles that came in a pack. We keep each puzzle in a zip lock pouch along with a cutout of the final puzzle image for reference. These 3 zip lock pouches are then stored in the small transparent storage box.

If you wish to buy similar (but slightly bigger) storage boxes, check out this set of 3 boxes from Howards Now & Zen here.

Howards Set of 3 Storage Boxes

G) Ideas for Storing and Carrying Beach Toys/Garden Toys

The ideal storage options for garden/beach toys such as spade, shovel, watering cans, boats, etc. are those that are light, portable and easily washable. Here are the popular options:

26. Drawstring See-through Bags

Lify Set of 6 Waterproof Drawstring Bags

Lify Set of 6 Waterproof Drawstring Bags

For a short trip to the nearby sand-park, these see-through shoe storage bags are creative options to carry a few garden toys in. Ordering a set of multiple bags is a cost effective option since you can use these handy bags for storing various things.

27. Mesh Totes for Carrying and Storing Beach Toys

ToyMyToy 2 pcs Beach Mesh Tote

ToyMyToy 2 Pcs Beach Mesh Tote

These large totes are particularly useful while going to the pool or beach when we need to carry swimwear, towels, etc in addition to water/sand toys. This ToyMyToy mesh tote also comes with a smaller sized mesh bag that kids can carry on their own.

Are there any toy organizing ideas that you’d like to share with us? We are always eager to learn from other creative mums!

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