Has anyone found a toy organizing system that WORKS?

[kaitlyns.mom]

I have tried so many things for our toys and haven't been able to stick to anything, or find anything that encourages them to independently pick up their things. Right now we have a Trofast, a plastic drawer bin, some baskets here and there and a buffet to store the toys in our playroom. The toys end up all over the place anyway. I have purged a ton but we are down to things they won't get rid of - trucks, Barbies, MLPs, baby dolls and accessories, etc. I have a boy (almost 3) and a girl (almost 6) so there is not much crossover there, except for Duplo (which we have a huge bin of) and Lego. We had an Expedit but moved it to the garage for storage there.

So there are tons of categories of "little" toys, like matchbox cars, and Lego, and plastic animals... then there are categories of large toys, like Duplo, big trucks, stuffed animals and wooden blocks.

Is there a one-size fits all solution? I just need to settle on something, stick to it and label the heck out of it so DD and DH can remember where things go.

[hillview]

I invested in the PB kids shelf thing with bins. I labeled all the bins and it has worked pretty well. I have space for about 12 large cube bins with extra shelf space. If it doesn't fit in that, we have an issue. I still have to purge a ton. I do have a large tub of sports balls the boys are allowed to use in the playroom. That said your kids are a 2 pretty different ages and the level of toys seems highest ages 2-4 IMO. So you might be in the thick of it right now. GOOD LUCK!

[kaitlyns.mom]

I invested in the PB kids shelf thing with bins. I labeled all the bins and it has worked pretty well. I have space for about 12 large cube bins with extra shelf space. If it doesn't fit in that, we have an issue. I still have to purge a ton. I do have a large tub of sports balls the boys are allowed to use in the playroom. That said your kids are a 2 pretty different ages and the level of toys seems highest ages 2-4 IMO. So you might be in the thick of it right now. GOOD LUCK!

Thanks. :) I do feel like we are in the thick of it. I had been hoping the Trofast would be the solution but honestly it doesn't seem like it helps at all. Right now the bulk of their toys are in our enclosed patio, which also has our sectional and the TV, so it's sort of a playroom/bonus room. I'm debating moving their toys to their bedrooms and leaving just a small corner downstairs, but I think they'll just bring them all downstairs again.

[wendibird22]

We have 2 of the 3-step Trofasts that are side by side and it works great for us. Each Trofast holds a mix of large, medium, and small bins. The small bins hold tiny things like my little ponies, M&D magnet dolls, doodles, etc. The medium hold duplos, thomas train stuff, barbies, pop it dolls, etc. The large hold potato heads and pieces, dolls, doll clothes, play dough. With the two being side by side with the tallest side at the far ends and shortest sides touching it creates a nice stepped shelf that holds puzzles, toy cash register, a basket full of dress up hats and wands, Mi Little Pony castle, etc. Each type of item or category has its own bin and the girls know where everything goes. We do have a separate rubbermaid bin for dress up clothes and a 3 drawer sterilite bin next to the play kitchen that holds all the toy kitchen stuff.

[zukeypur]

As far as which system, I'm leaning towards getting an expedit or two and storage drawer/benches from IKEA.

Do you like having the toys downstairs? We only have one living room with no bonus room downstairs. I don't like toys in the main living space, so all toys are upstairs in the playroom. Any toys that come downstairs get put into a large bin at the bottom of the stairs. AT the end of the day I carry the bin upstairs and they have to put the toys where they belong. During the summer when everyone is home, we do this before lunch and dinner so that the mess doesn't become too much to handle.

[SnuggleBuggles]

I don't love bins as they often just become black holes. Exception are the shallow drawer like ones I have I have a (now discontinued?) Itso system from Target that has open shelves, a cabinet, and fabric drawer bins. We used to have open bins on angled shelves that were very accessible but not used as I'd hoped for.

I have had the most luck w limiting the number of kinds of toys out. Right now we have a marble run, Imaginext, some Little People and Thomas available. Clean up is fast and easy without a gazillion random toys to sort.

[blue]

I have had the most luck w limiting the number of kinds of toys out.

:yeahthat: Absolutely, this is only way I have found to remotely control the mess and daily cleanup. I have smaller home (900sq ft) My new motto is: less toys out at a time. I keep 75% of the toys in DS1s closet (in various sized plastic bins with lids). The kids are not allowed to take toys out of the closet themselves, but I will rotate maybe twice a week. The other 25% of the toys in play are spread between the living room and ds1's room (and by the end of the day in every corner in the house ;)). We have a small book shelf in the living room for the toys. I also limit the number of toys with small pieces allowed out at a time. For example, playmobile, duplo, or imaginext are not allowed out at the same time. Or, only one playmobile tractor, one duplo person, and an imaginext ogre came be out at the same time, never the whole tub..... Hope that helps some OP, I am still waging war against the toys,but my current system is better than my old one (for me).

[kaitlyns.mom]

We have 2 of the 3-step Trofasts that are side by side and it works great for us. Each Trofast holds a mix of large, medium, and small bins. The small bins hold tiny things like my little ponies, M&D magnet dolls, doodles, etc. The medium hold duplos, thomas train stuff, barbies, pop it dolls, etc. The large hold potato heads and pieces, dolls, doll clothes, play dough. With the two being side by side with the tallest side at the far ends and shortest sides touching it creates a nice stepped shelf that holds puzzles, toy cash register, a basket full of dress up hats and wands, Mi Little Pony castle, etc. Each type of item or category has its own bin and the girls know where everything goes. We do have a separate rubbermaid bin for dress up clothes and a 3 drawer sterilite bin next to the play kitchen that holds all the toy kitchen stuff.
Thanks! Our Trofast drawers stick... do you have a problem with this? And the kids just remove the whole bins and leave them all over the house (with the contents on the floor).


As far as which system, I'm leaning towards getting an expedit or two and storage drawer/benches from IKEA.

Do you like having the toys downstairs? We only have one living room with no bonus room downstairs. I don't like toys in the main living space, so all toys are upstairs in the playroom. Any toys that come downstairs get put into a large bin at the bottom of the stairs. AT the end of the day I carry the bin upstairs and they have to put the toys where they belong. During the summer when everyone is home, we do this before lunch and dinner so that the mess doesn't become too much to handle.
What benches are you looking at at IKEA? I like that idea, too.

I do not like having the toys downstairs. It drives me crazy. When we bought this house earlier this year, we expected the enclosed patio/sunroom would be a playroom, but we didn't expect the toys to migrate all over the place. The kids watch TV in the playroom but seem to play everywhere else. Their rooms are pretty small but I'm considering moving their toys into their rooms. We only have three bedrooms, one for each kid and the master. They would share if we asked them to (they did before the move) but they sleep better separately IMO.


I don't love bins as they often just become black holes. Exception are the shallow drawer like ones I have I have a (now discontinued?) Itso system from Target that has open shelves, a cabinet, and fabric drawer bins. We used to have open bins on angled shelves that were very accessible but not used as I'd hoped for.

I have had the most luck w limiting the number of kinds of toys out. Right now we have a marble run, Imaginext, some Little People and Thomas available. Clean up is fast and easy without a gazillion random toys to sort.
I think this is what we will have to do. I just need to wrap my brain around how it will work - and then get the willpower to execute it. Maybe put everything else in bins/clear plastic boxes up high and have them ask when they want it.


:yeahthat: Absolutely, this is only way I have found to remotely control the mess and daily cleanup. I have smaller home (900sq ft) My new motto is: less toys out at a time. I keep 75% of the toys in DS1s closet (in various sized plastic bins with lids). The kids are not allowed to take toys out of the closet themselves, but I will rotate maybe twice a week. The other 25% of the toys in play are spread between the living room and ds1's room (and by the end of the day in every corner in the house ;)). We have a small book shelf in the living room for the toys. I also limit the number of toys with small pieces allowed out at a time. For example, playmobile, duplo, or imaginext are not allowed out at the same time. Or, only one playmobile tractor, one duplo person, and an imaginext ogre came be out at the same time, never the whole tub..... Hope that helps some OP, I am still waging war against the toys,but my current system is better than my old one (for me).
This is good to read. There is hope!

[Tondi G]

we have several sterlite drawers carts .... 3 drawers. and it works for Legos, matchbox/hotwheels etc. We have hardwood floors so the wheels make it easy to move the carts out of the closet and then back in when they are done playing. You can also remove a drawer and put it on the floor.

http://www.sterilite.com/ProductCategory.html?ProductCategory=20&section=1

[kaitlyns.mom]

Wanted to update this. I moved the vast majority of the toys into our downstairs closet on shelves, and right now all that's out are Duplos, some cars, and in DD's room she has the Barbies, baby dolls and dress up stuff. It is already much easier to manage although we have a ton of Duplos and those have been spread around quite a bit. ;)