December 27, 2012
by Sally Vandermark
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Hope every one had a happy & safe Christmas!!
We had a great, quiet one in our house!!!
Thanks to a cyclone that went through Fiji the week before Auckland was grey and rainy, which kinda spoiled the excitement around the kids present of a HUGE trampoline… but as i write they’re out there, yelling, screaming and jumping!! : D
Now it’s that week inbetween Christmas and New Years. The week where you’re kinda in holiday mode, kinda not but if you’re any thing like me, feeling like you need to get the house in some sort of order… i can only deal with so much CHAOS!! : )
And, if you’re in the same stage of life as we are, then the majority of the chaos is coming from the huge amount of new toys that the kids have!!! (for which we are all very grateful!! BUT, they still need to find permanent places to live… which IS NOT on the living room floor!! : )
So, i’ve put together 9 great toy storage ideas to get you started.
I like to use the kids toys as decor in their bedrooms as much as possible!! It adds to the kid-feeling of the room, brings fun & colour plus when toys are on display their more likely to be played with and hopefully you hear less of the
“IIiiii”mmmmm bbbooorrrrrrreed!!!!” !!!! (right??!! : )
Also, toy storage doesn’t need to be the traditional toy box! It can be anything that groups or holds toys together!! Smaller containers are often better as it’s easier to put toys away if they’re in smaller groupings.
My favourite place to start for inspiration is Bunnings!! (for non NZer’s, Bunnings is one of our local hardware stores). There’s lots of bright, colourful containers & things are way cheaper than going to a storage or kids shop and paying more money to end up with the same result!
So, here goes! Have a browse through the ideas. Make a pile of all the things that you need to organize and start working.
I would LOVE to see your photo’s of before and afters! : D
1.
Use one of those left-over cardboard boxes to make a fun storage box.
Cut out a hole for a mouth, & a way for the kids to get the toys in and out.
Cut-out triangles for the hair & so can can easily through all the toys into the top for easy clean-up.
(source: www.diyhomedecoratingideas.com)
2.
Put game pieces & cards into sturdy, plastic storage boxes.
The original, cardboard ones never last!!!
(i found one’s very similar to these, in great colours at k-mart. $4 for a pack of 4. Perfect!!).
(source: www.moneysavingmom.com)
3.
Suitcases!! One of my fave’s!
I’ve gotten quite a few in Missy’s room! They look super-cute, colourful, hold alot & are pretty enough to be stacked in the room rather than having to find room for them in a cupboard! Look out for vintage ones at garage sales and op-shops! The vintage colours are just gorgeous, are usually in great condition as they have just been stuck in storage somewhere for the past 30 years & are made sturdy. The traditional picnic baskets are also another cute option. Either keep them the original cane colour or easily spray paint them any colour you choose!!
(source: www.bellemaison23.com)
4.
Buckets attached with cable-ties.
A group of these would look great in the corner of a room & would probably solve just about all your toy storage problems as they would hold a HEAP!
Cheap, easy, cute & colourful.
$1 buckets, in a variety of colours, are available just about anywhere. Unsnap the handles, drill a holes in the buckets, tie together with cable-ties. DONE!!
Would work great in a bedroom, playroom, garage or outside for the beach/outdoor/pool toys.
(source: unknown. Found all over blog-land but can’t find the original source)
5.
Plastic, small toys on jars.
These small toys can be found in packs at the $2 shop.
Attach to the top of a jar lid with super-glue, paint.
I love that by using clear jars you can see exactly what’s inside & therefore use these as part of your room decor.
Be great for marbles, crayons, littlest-pet-shop type toys, beads, hair-ties/clips….
(source: www.housetohome.co.uk)
6.
Clear shoe holders.
These can be used to hold just about anything.
Hang them on the back of a door, or on the side of a dresser for lower, easier access for littlies.
K-mart is great to find these.
(source: unknown. Found all over blog-land but can’t find the original source)
7.
Make a toy zoo.
For those of you who have an abundance of stuffed toys!
Add dowels vertically to a set of shelves, storage boxes, cubes or even just a large cardboard box.
Put the toys in between the “bars”. Cute, tidy & you won’t have any tantrums when you try to get rid of one of these 10,000+ teddies.
(source: www.betterafter.net)
8.
A trundler as under-bed storage.
If you happen to have a trundler bed that you very rarely use, remove the mattress and place with boxes, or dividers.
Easily accessible storage. Easy to tidy up. Out of sight.
If you don’t have a trundler, but you have a slat-bed or a bed that’s got a gap underneath then use the same idea but buy the narrow, under-the-bed storage boxes that are on wheels.
(source: www.landofnod.com)
9.
A beanbag as storage for soft-toys. GENIUS!!!
Use soft-toys instead of the beanbag beans.
Comfy, practical & keeps the soft toys out of sight!!! : D
(source: www.alittlelearningfortwo.blogspot.co.nz)
Have fun finding practical, cute & unusual ways to organize the littlies stuff!!
~ Sally Xx
