Toy storage and organising is challenging at the best of times but we bet it was a lot harder during the lockdown? With the kids being at home all the time, toys and games end up everywhere besides the cupboard. We can all agree that it’s mostly manageable when schools are open and the weather is good as toys are used more often. However, as parents, we know that can change in an instant. To help keep your home better organised, here are some innovative toy storage tips and tricks.
Toy Storage Advice
Under normal circumstances, and once the weather changes, kids spend more time indoors. That usually means bringing out toys and games as they can’t sit in front of the TV and play on the computer or Xbox all day. Unfortunately for us, that usually leads to far more clutter inside the house than we’d like.
So how do you encourage children to not only put things away but do so properly? You could talk to them about the value of replacing things, the importance of looking after their stuff and safety among others. However, it doesn’t have to be a chore as you can make it as easy as possible and fun. That said, before we do anything, it’s important to put a routine in place to try and keep things as ‘normal’ as possible.
Put A Routine In Place
Who doesn’t love spending the day in pyjamas? However, being organised and productive during the lockdown requires putting a routine in place. It’s all about balancing online classes, homework, working remotely and playtime. Here is a simple example of what a healthy routine might look like:
- Have breakfast with the kids and make sure they shower, brush their teeth and get dressed
- When working from home, it’s the ideal time for kids to do classes or arts and crafts
- Have a mid-morning break with a light snack and remember to prepare a healthy lunch
- Use the afternoon for extracurricular activities, such as educational books, puzzles handwriting exercises
- Get in some exercise whether it’s playing football or a run around the flat, house or garden
- Add two hours of family fun (board games, yoga, films or TV series)
- Go to bed early
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How To Create An Organised Space
If you can get your kids to put things away properly, it will make everything a lot easier and safer. The challenge is getting them to follow through which is why you need to make packing fun and easy. Before we get to some innovative toy storage ideas, let’s look at how to get started.
When it comes to toy storage in any room, you need to organise your space efficiently. If done properly, you’ll be surprised how much room you can make for toys, games, clothes and other items. Use drawer organisers and multi-purpose hangers to keep that heap of tangled belts or ties organised. Imagine how easy it would be for the kids to play dress-up when everything is organised in one place.
Related: ‘Simple Storage Solutions For Garden Toys’
Create space for under-the-bed-storage
If your beds have space underneath, you can use all sorts of storage containers and slide them in. Just make sure the kids don’t throw everything they own under the bed as that defeats the purpose. This secret storage space is ideal for clothes, toys, books or shoes as they are neatly organised and out of sight.
You could also look at changing the bed entirely as there are some great ‘storage beds’, especially for a child’s room. These either have slide-out drawers or others you can lift, revealing plenty of storage room underneath.
Maximise cupboard space
Cupboards are often under-utilised as there are many ways to make more space. For starters, you can attach use door hangers and storage baskets to your wardrobe doors. How about adding an extra shelf or two if there’s enough space? If you don’t want to drill holes, use stacking racks to double the storage space. You can also use open and closed shelving, bookshelves and other storage units to additional toy storage space.
Creative Toy Storage Ideas
Creating extra storage space for toys and games shouldn’t have to be a boring and time-consuming task but it often is. We could all do with some extra space, especially during the coronavirus lockdown as everyone is at home with toys and other random things just adding to the clutter. Check out these innovative toy storage and organising ideas that will change the way you do things forever.
Create Dedicated Parking Bays
Struggling to get the kids involved in organising and storing their toy cars, scooters and wagons? A sure way to make this fun is sticking colourful tape to the floor and create dedicated parking bays. Not only will the kids love doing this but all the moving toys will be in one place.
Pouches And Ziploc Bags
Instead of trying to find space for those big, bulky puzzle boxes, why not use Ziploc bags or other transparent pouches? You can also use these to store Lego and other small toys but remember to include the diagram or picture. From there, simply put the bags into colourful boxes and save tons of space.
Use Hanging Shoe Organisers
Hanging shoe organisers are one of the handiest storage ideas that can be used in multiple ways. In this instance, remove dolls from their boxes and place them into the shoe organiser along with their accessories. You can also easily use it to store toy cars which are most likely plentiful at the moment.
Photo Hanging Clips For Artwork
A fun activity for kids is drawing, painting or arts and crafts but this can result in more clutter. While some people are quite happy to throw things away, you could use photo hanging clips to display their works of art around the house. Not only does this add to the décor but it will make them feel happy and accomplished. At the same time, you will also feel proud every time you look at it.
Shoeboxes For Toy Storage
Shoeboxes are one of our favourite toy storage ideas as they’re incredibly versatile and free (besides the price of the shoes). A great way to enhance the look is by decorating them with colourful wrapping paper. Just remember to clearly label each one to easily identify the content.
Related video: ‘Toy Room Organisation And Storage Hacks’
Final Thoughts
Packing things away neatly will help prevent damage but not just to the toys. Anyone who has stepped on a small toy barefoot will know just how painful it can be. That’s not all though as stepping on small toys can result in tripping which can cause serious injury.
When it comes to toy storage, it shouldn’t have to be a mission to get things organised. If you make it more fun with these creative ideas, you could have a fruitful lockdown. It may not be ideal at this time but you could consider renting a self storage unit short or long-term if you’ve run out of space at home.
Please call us or visit our website if you need any advice or would like to know more about our storage units.