3 Toy Storage Ideas for all the Hard-to-Store Toys

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We have a dedicated playroom in our home, but somehow all the storage bins in the world don’t stop my house from being completely overrun with Legos and Barbie shoes on a regular basis.

How is that, despite our best efforts, the toys just seem to multiply and take over the house?!

I know many of you are facing these same challenges, because I frequently receive emails asking for tips on how to tame the clutter. And many of you have shared positive feedback (thank you!) about my checklist to help start your decluttering efforts in kids’ rooms. If you haven’t seen it, you can download a FREE copy right here.

Anyway, there are a couple toy categories that have been keeping me up at night from an organization perspective, because everything I had tried previously just didn’t work. 

Like storing art supplies, for example. I used to use mason jars to hold beads, sequins, and other small crafting items, which initially worked okay. But between one accidentally breaking and me getting a nasty gash in my finger, and the fact that my daughter constantly had to ask for my help to get them off a high shelf, it wound up not being the perfect solution after all.

So today I want to talk about three “problem areas” when it comes to toy storage and organization in a kids playroom or kids bedroom, and how you can easily fix those.

And what’s even MORE exciting?! I’m giving away one of the items I’m going to tell you allllll about below! Keep reading to find out how to enter!

This post contains affiliate links. That means that if you click on a link and/or purchase something you found here on Kate Decorates, I may receive a small commission at no extra cost to you. Thanks for the support! To read my full disclosure policy, please click here. I also received a free product from Creative QT (yay!) as well as one to give away to one of YOU (double yay!). All opinions shared here are 100% mine.

How to Store and Organized Stuffed Animals

My daughter was never all that excited about stuffed animals. My son, on the other hand, has never met a plush toy he didn’t like.

So when he insisted on arranging 22 stuffed bears (not exaggerating!) on the floor of his bedroom the other day, it became really clear that I needed a better way to store these oodles of stuffed animals than just tossing them into a basket in the corner.

I had been eyeing Creative QT’s Stuff ‘N Sit for a while, as I had seen a few of their posts on Instagram and it seemed like a genius way to not only corral stuffed animals, but then also put them to use as, well, extra seating. If you haven’t seen the Stuff ‘N Sit, it’s basically an empty bean bag chair that you fill with stuffed animals, zip closed, and then can use it as extra seating or a footrest. Smart, right?!

Anyway, I was thrilled to receive a free Stuff ‘N Sit for M’s room from Creative QT. I chose the standard size, which holds about 50 stuffed animals, because I wanted to use it as a footrest alongside his glider. The XL size holds about 90 (!!!) stuffed animals and doubles as a bean bag chair.

I was pleasantly surprised that, even with several Elmos and bears and stuffed dogs in there, the Stuff ‘N Sit held its shape beautifully (read: there were no random stuffed animal body parts trying to bust outta there). Take a look:

If you have a kiddo who has an obsession with stuffed animals, you need a Stuff ‘N Sit in your life. It’s such a great alternative to piling stuffed toys in a big basket or bin.

How to Store and Organize Dress-Up Clothes

The second “problem area” for us has been dress-up clothing. Because I have both a son and a daughter, we keep a wide range of dress-up items on hand, from princesses to superheroes to whatever else Melissa & Doug makes (no joke, we have allllll the M&D dress-up clothes). For a while, I tried to stuff them all in an upholstered toy bin, and eventually that just became a dumping ground for dress-up stuff and everything else that didn’t have a home.

Not cool, and no one could find much of anything in that bottomless pit.

I finally got smart and, realizing we had a little bit of wall space available, purchased wall hooks to hang up many of our dress-up outfits. So far, it’s working really well for us. We still have a basket to hold dress-up accessories — like superhero masks and the chef’s hat and the ever-popular Santa hat — but most of the actual outfits go on our hooks. (I purchased two of these wall hook racks from Amazon and we love them.)

How to Store and Organize Kids’ Arts and Crafts Supplies

This has been another pain point for us for a while. I’ve made a couple attempts to organize our arts and crafts stuff over the years, but six months after I have “organized” everything seems to be a giant mess again.

However, with our family room refresh — and by the way, I just realized I haven’t even shared the reveal with you yet (OMG), but you can see the plans right here — we purchased new media consoles from Pottery Barn Kids, which wound up being the PERFECT place to conceal some of our arts and crafts items. Take a look:

This was really a wonderful spot for us to store markers and crayons, coloring books, slime-making kits (but of course!), as well as unopened craft kits that we’re saving for all those “I’m bored!” moments.

The woven baskets (which I snagged on Amazon for a pretty good price) that you see are dedicated to holding Perler beads, which my daughter LOVES, as well as all the markers, crayons, and colored pencils we own. Both of those groups of items work SO well in baskets because it’s so easy for my daughter to pick up the whole thing, bring it to the kitchen table, and then load it up and put it back in the console again. Anything to make cleanup easier, right?!

Enter to Win a Stuff ‘N Sit from Creative QT!

This giveaway is now closed. Thanks to all who participated, and congratulations to our winner! 

If you’ve made it this far, thank you! And now for something SUPER fun — a giveaway!

I’ve partnered with Creative QT to give away one XL Stuff ‘N Sit bean bag in the winner’s pattern of choice.

The fine print: The giveaway is limited to U.S. residents only, and you must be 18 years of age or older to enter. Thanks for understanding!

To enter the giveaway…..

Head over to Instagram and like this post, and then follow the rest of the instructions there!

The giveaway will close Monday, March 12 at 11:59pm ET, and the winner will be announced on Instagram. Good luck!

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