Toy Organization: This is How We Do It

In 2011, we had two little girls and under 20 toys.

We now have three little girls and four small fabric bins for toys:

1. stuffed animals
2. dolls
3. pretend play
4. play food

Here’s a close-up of one of the bins. I took photos of the contents and made simple labels so that the girls (and guests) can know where things go.

To keep everything well-organized and easy to pick up after playtime, we bought a ClosetMaid 9-Cube Organizer in Alder (watch Target for sales!) and put it in the girls’ closet. Three of the drawers are “open” for oversized books and an inflatable globe.

The bottom two drawers are for shoes – one bin for our 6-year-old, one bin for our 3-year-old.

If we get new toys as gifts or handmedowns from neighbors (thank you, friends!), we quickly decide which of their current toys will be given to other children or passed along to a non-profit. Our unofficial rule is that the toys have to fit in the bins.

Note that we also have a wooden toy kitchen, a half-dozen dress-up costumes that hang on the other side of the closet, and separate areas in our house for children’s books and arts & crafts. More on that in a future post.

How do you organize the toys in your home? Which toys do your kids play with the most?