What is the best way to store toys? This post outlines realistic, budget-friendly ways to organize toys. The best toy storage ideas don’t have to be complicated or expensive, and this article proves it.
- Are there toy storage ideas that actually work?
- How do you store lots of kids toys?
- Why does toy organization matter?
- The best toy storage ideas and tips
- Revealed the best toy storage ideas
- How to organize toys in a closet
- How to organize dress-up clothes
- How to organize board games
- How to organize toys in a bedroom
- Honorable Mentions for Toy Storage
- The importance of toy storage ideas cannot be overstated
Are there toy storage ideas that actually work?
In short: yes.
But let me tell you – I feel your frustration with toy storage and organization. It’s one of parenting’s greatest ironies: you need toys to keep your kids happy, learning, growing, and engaged, but toys also have a magical way of making your home look like a tornado just passed through.
How fun.
Toy storage is like the parenting trifecta of impossible: part white whale, part holy grail, and 100% your own personal Sisyphus moment of rolling the toy boulder up the hill—again and again.
(PS: Someone please let my high school English teacher know about my literary metaphor flex here. I think he’d be proud.)
The bottom line? Organizing toys is hard. And let’s be honest – most of the “best toy storage ideas” on the Internet look perfect… for people without kids, a budget, or a small living room.
RELATED: Indoor toy storage isn’t the only hill to climb. Check out my ideas for outdoor toy storage.
How do you store lots of kids toys?
You can organize toys with thought, purpose, and deliberate intentions. That’s the thesis of this post (yes, I’m channeling high school English again—can’t stop, won’t stop).
Here’s the good news: you don’t need a Pinterest-perfect playroom, a sprawling McMansion, or a massive budget to make toy storage work for your family. You don’t even need to donate half your toys to achieve that elusive organized look.
What you do need? A little thought, a dash of purpose, and a sprinkle of deliberate action. Oh, and the tips, ideas, and life experience from some random lady on the Internet (that’s me—hi!).
Here’s the reality check I remind myself of often:
- Toy storage wins happen when I think critically and thoughtfully about what works for our space and family.
- Toy storage fails? Those happen when I rush into an idea just because Pinterest told me to.
Trust me—thoughtful beats trendy every time.an idea just because Pinterest told me to.
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Why does toy organization matter?
Remember: toys are the tools of childhood play. They’re essential, and how we store them matters—a lot. Thoughtful toy storage isn’t just about keeping things tidy; it’s about supporting your child’s ability to engage, explore, and play.
Here’s the heart of it:
- Kids can’t access their play if they can’t find their tools.
- Play doesn’t work as well if the tools are hidden or buried.
- Toy organization isn’t just about making your home “look nice.”
Toy storage is a critical piece of the play process. It can support your child in finding their independent play or stand in the way of it. Independent play is the goal here. When toys are accessible, kids are empowered to play freely and independently.
The best toy storage ideas and tips
The brass tacks: there’s more to toy storage than just tossing things in bins and calling it a day. Toy ownership comes with a few truths that need to be said out loud.
First, a little about me. I taught Kindergarten and 1st grade for 8 years, managing classrooms packed with kids and toys. I’ve been a parent for over 11 years, living through what feels like a lifetime of toy organizing. I’ve seen what works, what doesn’t, what fosters independent play, and what holds kids back -not just with my own kids but with the hundreds I’ve taught and interacted with.
I know what I’m talking about here.
4 Key Thoughts on Toys:
- Toys must be visible. Out of sight, out of mind. If kids can’t see a toy, it basically doesn’t exist.
- Ditch the boxes. Toy packaging is the ultimate space hog – and it hides what’s inside. Let the toys breathe!
- Too many toys can overwhelm. Kids need clarity, not chaos. When there are too many choices, it’s harder for kids to decide what to play with. This can lead to frustration and a refusal to play independently. We want the opposite: toys kids can find, grab, and dive into.
- Toys need a home. No home = no hope for organization. A designated spot for each toy is a game changer.
Revealed: the best toy storage ideas
These are the toy storage solutions that work for my family. Will they all work for yours? Maybe or maybe not – and that’s okay. My goal here is to share ideas that are realistic, doable, and rooted in actual experience (not Instagram perfection).
The truth is, these storage tips have unlocked untold hours of independent play for my kids and saved me along the way. With a little thought and intention, they can do the same for you.
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How to organize toys in a closet
In my house, we don’t have a playroom or a basement. All the toys my kids own have to fit in their closets.
This means I have to get intentional—and a little creative—about how I organize things.
To make it work, I rely on a few key toy storage strategies that I repeat throughout their closets. These simple ideas keep everything manageable, accessible, and (mostly) organized.
Shoe Box Bins
The shoe box bin is a staple. It stores one type of toy and kids can see inside of it to know what that toy is. It’s small in size so it can’t be overfilled and it’s very clear what goes back where.
Other brands that I use:
Cube Bin
For larger toys that you don’t need to see (like magnetic tiles or LEGO Duplos), these bins are great. They conceal the mess but kids can still peak in and know what goes in each bin. Again, just one type of toy per bin.
Clear Cookie Jars
These plastic containers are PERFECT for toys that don’t fit right in a rectangular container or if you need a different shape for your space. They’re fantastic. I have so many.
Puzzle Rack
I cannot sing the praises of this enough – we actually own two. These store all the chunky puzzles in our house. After 9 years of use, we haven’t lost a puzzle piece yet – largely because the puzzles have a safe home.
Shelves
The shelves in my son’s closet are “custom.” They’re pre-painted shelves from Home Depot, length cut in store to fit, and held up with brackets. I love not being restricted to cubes in this closet.
How to organize dress-up clothes
In my youngest child’s room, I found the perfect spot behind the door for dress-up clothes.
I mounted an accordion hat rack to hang the clothing and added three simple bins below for hats and accessories.
After years of failed attempts at organizing dress-up clothes, this setup was the first one that actually worked for us.
Accordion Coat Rack
The exact one I bought is no longer sold at Target but this version looks nearly identical. What I like about this organization piece is that the accordion can stretch or shrink to fit your space.
Small Fabric Bins
For accessories, I picked up 3 of these coil baskets again (say it with me) to keep everything visible and in arm’s reach. These are full of hats, belts, gloves, jewelry, etc.
Weapons Bin
A basket for my kids’ vast collection of weapons has been a life saver. Play fighting is a natural part of childhood, and having all their weapons in one place with this bin has been huge.
How to organize board games
Board game storage is a tricky one. It’s easy to want to leave things in the cardboard boxes, but that took up so much room for my family.
So years ago, we ditched the boxes and went with The Zipper Bags.
You know, “The.Bags.”
Yes, it means I cut down the boxes.
Yes, I know that’s hard for many of us.
But it was so worth it to get so much space back and be able to more efficiently store board games.
Zipper Bags
The iconic Instagram viral bags. These are perfect for just about everything, but my love-affair started in the board game closet.
RELATED: Need more information on how I store games? I have a separate post just about the board game storage hack.
How to organize toys in a bedroom
It’s been a decade of trial and error to fine tune toy storage in bedrooms. I finally got there, and it’s been smooth sailing for the past few years enjoying all this organization.
Kids know where toys go.
Toys get played with and toys get moved back. It’s a beautiful toy life.
The mark, to me, of a well done storage situation is if other kids and parents can clean up a space.
My daughters room is often the center of play at our home. Sometimes 10 kids will cram in here playing. At the end, they do a pretty good job (from toddlers to tweens) of getting things back into their places.
Cube Shelf
Over the course of my parenting life, we’ve owned 7 versions of this shelving unit. This 4×2 has been in my daughter’s room since she was 2 years old. Target also has it in 1×3, 2×2, 2×3 and even more styles as well. We have this tipped on the side and anchored to a wall.
A few notes:
- Pro: This holds a lot, it’s durable, and the price cannot be beaten.
- Con: It can sometimes be limiting to work in the 11′ inch cube parameters
Utensil Tray
My daughter loves “loose parts play” and we store her toys in this utensils tray. What’s amazing about this set up is that not only does she keep it organized, but any child who comes to our house has been successful with cleaning this toy up because it’s such a well designed space.
Wire Bins
I have an older style of these bins that I use for my daughter’s rainbow blocks and large animals. These are fun to have out because they’re pretty to look at and functional.
Net for Stuffed Animals
I had this as a kid. Did you? I loved it and had to get one for my stuffie obsessed daughter. She can still see all her friends, everyone is available for play, and she has room in her bed for sleep… (comes as a 2 pack)
Over the Door Stuffed Animal Holder
If you don’t have a corner to work with or can’t screw into a wall, this over the door net is a great option. My daughter’s room has both the net and the over the door holder…. We have a stuffie problem.
Cubes for Small Toys
This set from IKEA comes with multiple sizes. I use the big cubes for clothing and the smaller ones for toys.
Honorable Mentions for Toy Storage
There are three important honorable mentions that must be included in this post (but they didn’t fit into one of my Monica Geller categories, so here we are in this catch all group).
Books, tiny toys, treasures, and LEGO creations.
Rotating Book Shelf
Books were overrunning my kids’ bedrooms. All the good spots for toys were taken over by books, and while I love that (what a problem to have), it was creating issues with storage.
To ease the pressure books were putting on their rooms, I moved books to the hallway.
Since my kids (7, 9, and 10) are fairly close in reading level, this system works. It may not have been as great with tiny tots reading board books or picture books, this is a magical system for chapter books (and books of that size/shape).
Rotating Bookshelf
Warning: It’s not cheap. It holds 230+ books for my family so it’s been worth it for us. When I assembled ours, I did not add the box on the bottom. It would have been too tall for our space.
Hardware Cabinet
Tiny toys are often super hard to organize. It’s hard for kids to manage them, they get lost, or in mixed up bags, kids can’t find what pieces they need.
As my kids got older (keyword: older), I started using a hardware cabinet. We use it for LEGO pieces. Wouldn’t it be fabulous for Barbie accessories?
Hardware Cabinet
This system has worked great. Started it when my oldest was 8 years old. It’s needed a few refreshes but it’s been way better than the alternative of all loose small LEGO accessories strewn about.
Treasure Box
Do you have a child who loves treasures?
I have two.
To help keep their important treasures (rocks, small toys, geodes, etc) safe, I use a 1990s style organizer. Best. Decision. Ever. This thing holds so much and keeps these precious artifacts from cluttering up the house.
Treasure Organizer
It’s been a lifesaver to have this. Everything in a place. Everything safely stored.
Risers / Stands
My son is a LEGO builder and he has a lot of creations and sets he likes to keep “whole.” But those things take up space!
These risers give a little height and maximize the space on his shelves way better than without.
6-Pack of Risers
The fact that this set is a six-pack is what sold me on it and it has helped so much for our LEGO displays.
The importance of toy storage ideas cannot be overstated
Toys are the tools for childhood.
Children use these tools for the most important work they do: play. If a child can’t access or find a tool for their play, it’s as frustrating as when you misplace something in the kitchen or can’t find equipment in the garage for your next project.
Help kids find their tools.
Think critically about your toy storage at home, and above all else: make a functional and accessible.
Susie Allison, M. Ed
Owner, Creator
Susie Allison is the creator of Busy Toddler and has more than 2.4 million followers on Instagram. A former teacher and early childhood education advocate, Susie has written two home learning curricula, Playing Preschool and Branches. Her parenting book “Busy Toddler’s Guide to Actual Parenting” is available on Amazon.
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Syllable counter says
This is a great post! I have been looking for ideas on how to store my son’s toys and this is perfect!
Jackie says
Hi! Long time reader, first time commenter 🙂 This article is great. I know its outside of your normal play/toy focus but I’d love to see a similar article on how you organize kids clothes with limited closet and storage space. From the day to day so they can access what they need and help clean up/put away laundry, to systems for for organizing/storing next season stuff or items from siblings that are a few sizes away. Just an idea – we really struggle with this and reading this article made me wonder if you have tips/tricks in this area, too!
Shayna Fung says
Love these!What do you use to organize the toys outside?
Danielle says
I love these ideas! How would you recommend storing larger items like American girl dolls and all their accessories?
Arica says
This is very helpful. I have such small closets so I’m looking for a ton of tips. What are your thoughts on storing pretend food?
Erika says
Thank you for the tips! What about kids who share a room and toys, but are at different levels? I have a 5 y.o. and a 2 y.o. and my 5 y.o. is into building kits, LEGO, etc., while my 2 y.o. is a destroyer. HELP! I feel like we just end up limiting my older child.
Rachel says
Susie,
Did you take the doors off your kids closets? We just moved and in her new room, my daughter has a decent amount of toys organized on a cube shelf but we had to put it in her closet for space. The cube shelf has roughly the same toys on it it did in her old room (and they’re great toys – magna tiles, baby dolls, etc.) but sure enough, she never plays with them. I mean, I’m about ready to take it off anyway but happy for some support convincing my husband from the “crazy lady on the internet.” 😉
Susie says
We did not take the doors off BUT what I did when she was littler: I would open the closet EVERY MORNING. “Good morning, Kate….” and I’d open her closet. Almost like opening the window to see the world. I’d open her closet to see the toys. Same with my youngest. I would try that first. I’d also let things simmer a little – with the transition to the new home/room, she hasn’t formed her play routines yet. She needs time to find her flow, same as it takes us time to refind our flow in a new kitchen layout. Hope this all helps!! ~The Lady on the Internet
Joanne says
Thank you! This is so so so helpful! Question… what do you do with miscellaneous stuff? Not enough of a kind for a whole bin, not enough surface space to set everything out. Ex… small rocket ship, wooden people and school bus, small cars, shape sorter, etc. any thoughts greatly appreciated!!
busytoddler says
Anything that can be left out – like a shape sorter – I leave without a bin and just set it there. I do have a miscellaneous bin in each kid room that is SMALL and we go through it often. But generally, if it doesn’t need a bin to sit in (like a rocket ship), i just set it on a shelf to be out and seen.
Crystal says
My husband (34) has been a Lego collector his whole life. One wall of our basement is Ikea cubes on the bottom and Akro-Mils cabinets on top. The opposite wall is built sets. Dragons , aliens, and spaceships hang from the ceiling. There’s a bookshelf with just Harry Potter sets. Kids are in awe when they come over lol
Stephanie says
How on earth do you store the lego kits that are a set all together on their own…? We are just getting into this lego thing and I feel like we should keep the pieces of each kit together somehow but we have about 10 different kits and there is already a bin going of pieces that I have no idea which kit they go to.
busytoddler says
The sets the he keeps out and plays with are on the floor of his room in what we call “LEGO world.” I’ll add a picture to this post. You can see Minecraft LEGO world on top of his LEGO dresser. The extra pieces from a set or the additional pieces, we generally just mix them in to the appropriate colored spot. Only a few sets that are REALLY complex (like a robotic LEGO tree cutter), we keep zipper bags in a dresser drawer far away from normal LEGO play.
Megan Ramos says
Love the idea of toys in the closet, but where are the kids’ clothes kept?
busytoddler says
In my daughters closet, you can see it is mixed in to her closet and some is not pictured (stored in the drawers under her bed). In my sons, he has a dresser where his clothing is stored. I prefer the clothing in dressers or low to the ground so kids can make their own clothing choices. It also helps me make sure not to over-buy clothing that then they won’t use or use often. We have an IKEA dresser with unders/socks up top, and then a drawer for pajamas, one for tops, one for pants, and one for future clothing/handmedowns. It works great for us!