One big challenge in keeping your home clutter under control is keeping the play room toys at bay. In our home, we actually have a room that doubles as the play room and the family room. Since we have younger kids, we like to keep a bit of a better eye on them. 🙂
But what that means is that the toys can get a little unruly and infringe on our other living spaces. So we have a designated area with the toys stored. Let’s face it, it is a lot easier to deal with toys when they have a spot to go when the kiddos are all done playing with them. You don’t step on them in the dark (ouch) and your home does not look like a tornado came through!
These dollar store storage hacks work great in small spaces as well as in their own designated play room!
Tips for an organized play room
- Regularly review what you have toy wise. Sell or donate items that are no longer age appropriate.
- Rotate toys. I like to pack up about 1/2 of the toys and store them in the basement. When they get bored with the toys out, I rotate in the “new” packed away toys. It keeps their interest more.
- Discard any broken toys. That is dangerous! No need to keep anything broken.
- Make a plan on where you would like the books shelves, bins and other items you are going to use to store the toys. Sketch it out if it helps you visualize it.
- During the holidays have your kids “donate” a few toys. I have them put a few toys into a basket the night before Christmas and donate them to kids in need or the children’s hospital. It teaches them to be kind, generous and that material things are not the most important things in this life.
- Use inexpensive items to organize, buy extra and store them for expansion or if the box/tote/basket breaks
Using these 5 tips in conjunction with the five items listed below, which you can buy at the Dollar Store to hack your play room organization. You will have a neat and tidy, but inexpensively organized play room in no time!!
Five Items that you can buy at the Dollar Store to Organize your playroom
Jot Plastic 9-Compartment Organizer Case
These simple cases are such wonderful multi-taskers. I not only use them for play room organization. I use it for gifts, to store my jewelry in my chest of drawers, as a sewing kit, and for my jewelry bead storage. You can use these awesome, inexpensive cases to reign in small pieces in your family room or play room.
In our house we store board game pieces, art projects, and small toys (magnets, tiny plastic toys, rubber balls, grab bag gifts). It make it so much easier to keep from stepping on the small toys in the dark and since the boxes are clear plastic, you can see what it in each box quickly.
Uses:
- Pearler bead storage
- Jewelry bead storage
- Board game pieces
- Small toys
- art supply storage
Teaching Tree Colorful Plastic Book Bins
These simple bins are the perfect way to sort multiple kids books, workbooks, coloring books, even art supplies.
In our house we have it color coded. Black for my youngest and Blue for my oldest. That way they know which books are theirs. In fact I actually use mine to store a box of crayons and colored pencils with a few coloring books, which the kiddos can get out when they are supposed to have quiet time.
Another way that I use these bins for my older child who is learning to read is by categorizing books. I have a bin of Dr. Seuss books, I have another of Bearnstein bears, one for Pete the Cat and another for learning to read books we got from school. The way you choose to sort it is up to you. If I were to do the same for my youngest I would have baby books, Dr. Seuss books, board books, and miscellaneous.
The final way I love to use these bins is to sort the workbooks that we use for my oldest. I have a bin for math workbooks, another for phonics, one for writing and one for any work that comes home from school. Each bin is labeled and that way when we plan to work on a certain subject, we just pull that bin and take it with us to the table to work on it.
When we are all done, we simply put the books back in the bin and take it back to the shelf. It is such a simple way to keep everything neat and tidy and in its place. What is awesome about it is that it is portable, which means if you are in another room you can easily take the items with you and then return them to their spot when you are all finished.
Uses:
- books
- workbooks
- art supplies (by child)
- coloring books
- small toys that are similar
Long Rectangular Plastic-Weave Baskets
These baskets are perfect for a bookshelf or cubbies. The baskets hold toys easily so storing them when you kids are done playing is a snap. The handle makes it simple for your kids to pull them out off of the shelf and on to the floor to play.
I have a basket for trains, one for cars, another for dinosaurs, and one for make believe toys. Depending on what toys you have at your home you might have dolls, art supplies, blocks, magna tiles, etc stored.
I adore the bright colors, but they also make them in muted tan and black if you prefer! These baskets will become a fan favorite in your home, they are inexpensive and useful, proving that to organize your play room you do not need to spend an arm an a leg.
Uses:
- car storage
- train storage
- doll storage
- blocks, legos, magna tile storage
- make-believe toys storage
- the sky is the limit!
Sandwich Boxes
If you need storage that is sealed, then sandwich boxes, or its other shaped cousins, are just what you need. I have a ton of the sandwich box sizes to store small puzzles.
Then, I cut out the photo of the puzzle from the box and either tape it / glue it to the lid or place it in the box with the puzzle itself. It is a lot less bulky and since each box is the same size they fit together nicely. You could buy bigger boxes for your larger puzzles too.
The other main use in our home is to store errant game pieces. For some reason younger kids just LOVE to smash game boxes beyond recognition. To save my sanity and keep all the board game pieces together, I use these boxes. I place the boards on the shelf like a book and the board game sandwich boxes stacked next to them and labeled by game. 10 games take up hardly any space now!
Uses:
- puzzle holder
- game pieces storage
- small toys storage
- art supply storage
- card game storage
Round Plastic Woven-Look Storage Baskets with Handles
Now these baskets are great to line up along a wall, or put one in the closet or corner. I use the baskets to hold all the stuffed animals, blankets, and unwieldy large toys. Think large monster trucks, fire trucks, or dinosaurs. It keeps them off the floor and neat, but easy to access to play.
I have the baskets in black, but they also make them in the pretty colors of the long baskets above.
Uses:
- store blankets
- stuffed animals storage
- bulky items storage (like large monster trucks)
With these 5 items alone you can easily sort and organize your unruly playroom! If you are looking for inexpensive shelf ideas, I recommend IKEA’s Billy Bookcase or Kallax square shelf units. Each are great options to store your baskets and boxes.
Happy organizing!
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Looking for a great way to get your home organized? Check out these awesome Decluttering challenges for each room in your home. Each comes with a free checklist to keep you on track.
De-Cluttering Challenge #1: 30 Minutes in 30 Days
De-Cluttering Challenge #2: Closets
De-Cluttering Challenge #3: Kitchen & Dining
De-Cluttering Challenge #4: Family Room & Play Room
De-Cluttering Challenge #5: Bathrooms / Office
De-Cluttering Challenge #6: Garage / Shed / Attic
De-Cluttering Challenge #7: Basement
