Toy storage and a big ol’ playroom #SpeedClean!featured
I’ve been listening to you, friends. Over on the Tidyish Facebook page, a bunch of peeps have suggested projects that they’d really, really like help tackling. First up, toy storage solutions!
Toy storage (doesn’t have to be awful)
Again, the most important rule for toy storage– and any storage concerning kids’ possessions, actually- is to keep like with like. If the kids don’t know where to find something, they’ll trash the joint in the process and certainly won’t know where/how/why to put it away.
Second rule? Measure, measure, measure. Know how much stuff you need to store- and where you need to store it- before you reach for that credit card. (I don’t care how cute that bin looks in the circular; if it doesn’t hold all of the blocks in your playroom, then you’ll find yourself with a cute, overflowing bin with a nice li’l pile of blocks beside it.)
Third rule: Think outside the [toy]box. There are tons of options that don’t feature the face of a licensed cartoon character and which, I think we can all agree, will age nicely with your kids and home and sense of self.
My powerhouse storage quartet
I’m not an employee of the Container Store. What I am, however, is a gal who waltzed into a Container Store one afternoon and emerged victorious, clutching (adorable) answers to so many of her (not-so adorable) toy storage messes.
#1 LEGOs
Got LEGOs? LEGO parents fall into two camps: the ones who have casual block-builders, and the ones who are living inside a LEGO showroom. The first step is figuring which one you are. The second step is admitting which one you’d prefer for your house. (Listen, no judgement- some folks are way into hunkering down with a 1,000 piece kit and leaving it on the mantel for passersby to admire. Live your truth.)
There are many, many large-scale solutions for this. (I’ve seen converted garages with color-coded shelving and roll-up storage mats that look like you’re hiding a body.) I personally love a good, tall shelving unit with shallow nooks for leaving the finished creations for as long as your builder wishes but, like all collections, there has to come a point for parent and kid to say “enough” and pass on lesser-used LEGO sets to make room for future ones. Either that or fully embrace the dream of never again using the coffee table for “coffee” or as a “table.”
My favorite LEGO storage solution are these rad Iris clear letter-sized file boxes with snap closures. (Don’t be afraid to look in different departments!) My shelves weren’t deep enough for the mammoth cases, but I found these in the office supply section and instantly fell in love. They’re thin, tall (with the ability to fit plenty of bases and completed sets, if necessary) and, since the design is so basic, they give you the ability to add more and more as years and sets demand. (We still keep specific sets in gallon freezer bags inside those bins, each marked with a Sharpie and stored with their instructions. We’re not animals over here.)
#2: Non-stackable toys
Hey there, Rubik’s Cube! Meet my friends Simon, Hungry Hungry Hippos, and marble bag.
This type of toy and game can be tricky, but resist the temptation to pile everything into the abyss of a gigantic toy chest. I want better for you. For a project like this, you need a tough material, sturdy handles, and a medium-width size that would work for shelves and playroom floors alike.
The clear (or rather, sage green) winner was the Splash storage bin. It has handles! The basket weaving is made from strapping material! It’s cute enough that it would look equally good in a playroom and foyer alike! Right now we’ve got one for the aforementioned unwieldy games and another for oddly shaped toys, playing cards, and the like.
And oh, I like.
#3: Bonus seating
My preschooler loves gigantic puzzles that need to be stored in tall freezer bags. They don’t look so awesome in an open bin and, especially with my youngest, my toy storage solution needed to be sturdy.
Ready for this one? The Bigso Milo toy box seat (with handles!) is the perfect guy for the job, and adds some much-needed friend seating for tea parties and Wii-athons. Plus, they were satisfying to fold together like moving boxes (but a thousand times sturdier) and squat enough to fit on my bookshelf.
And did I mention that each box fits about five or six toddler puzzle kits? Good boy, Milo.
#4: Art paper
I had a revelation recently. Paper should be stored in a bin that, you know, fits paper sizes. (Crazy!) We used to keep keep the kids’ scrap paper, construction reams, and coloring books in a monstrously huge box- and then wondered why it was always such a disaster. (Related: I also attempted to store their paper in a file box- and then wondered why the oversize pages were always such a disaster.)
I. Love. This. Box. The Ivory Cottage woven bin is surprisingly rugged for the delicate-looking detail, and the lid contains things oh-so nicely. At 14.5 inches long, it neatly holds all of that standard size paper, but also keeps oversized coloring books and larger scraps exceptionally well.
It’s okay to nerd out on paper storage. It’s actually quite awesome.
And now, a new #SpeedClean!
(Even Bob Dylan over there in the corner can’t believe how prettily this one turned out.)
Ideas for new projects? Thoughts on this one?
Comment below!
