How To Organize and Store Children’s Toys
It has been remarked to me on a number of occasions that, considering three children reside in my home, there are surprisingly few toys strewn about the house on my Instagram feed. WHERE ARE ALL THE TOYS, everyone wants to know, and the answers are, in no particular order: 1) cropped out of the photo, 2) there weren’t that many to begin with, and 3) hidden in plain sight.
That’s right: hidden in plain sight. They’ve been there the whole time, suckers! And I’m about to let you all in on my witchy ways…
FIRST THINGS FIRST: make sure your kids don’t have that many toys in the first place.
Limit the intake by heading off the deluge of toys at the source. Politely request no gifts at birthday parties. (“Your presence is our present!”). Encourage grandparents to gift subscriptions to magazines (like Highlights or The Week Junior), monthly activity kits (Kiwi Crate is a great one), book clubs (inquire at your local independent bookstore) & annual memberships to museums and zoos.
Prioritize quality over quantity, i.e., no plastic crap. Collect classic, well-made toys like wooden block sets, Brio trains, musical instruments, Schleich animal figurines, Hape marble mazes (LOVE) & soft-bodied dolls (like Corolle and Maileg). It’s not a perfect system — LOL Dolls & Beyblades are going to sneak their way in there — but sticking to open-ended toys that can be used flexibly is le strategy.
Manage with savagery. I am constantly culling toys that are broken, no longer age-appropriate, or just plain forgotten. HOWEVER, you must sneak these toys out of your house like a thief in the night! Nothing makes a child fall back in love with a discarded toy faster like the prospect of said toy’s imminent departure.
Once you’ve cut back on the sheer volume of toys, your mission is to organize & contain them, but (and this probably goes without saying): make it pretty.
Collect baskets you LOVE and won’t hate seeing in the communal spaces of your home. Priss & Vinegar loves the La Jolla collection from Serena & Lily, the Bunny Williams lined baskets from Ballard Designs, whimsical Kouboo white wicker animal storage, and French log baskets.
Group small pieces in appealing, size-appropriate baskets so they don’t end up forgotten in the bottom of larger bins. Priss & Vinegar recommends these excellent scalloped amololo baskets, which are meant for fruit (what?) but we love for organizing decks of cards, small hand toys like Rubik’s Cubes & fidgets, and Tonies.
Establish kid-friendly systems, like sorting into simple categories (a basket for animals, another for cars) & labeling clearly. If your children can’t put the toys away alone or with minimal oversight, your system isn’t going to be sustainable. Priss & Vinegar loves these metal basket clips that can be labeled and relabeled, as needed.
Consider unconventional storage that suits the style of your space. We’ve used L.L. Bean Boat & Totes on wall hooks to store American Doll accessories (embroider the name of the thing you’re sorting directly onto the bag), woven trays to organize LEGOs, and an antique demilune cabinet to store puzzles & board games.