Organizing Hacks for the 3 Most Difficult Toys to Store
/Have you ever stepped on a Lego? Do you find it difficult to find your child amongst the pile of stuffed animals on their bed? Is finding a place to store puzzles and games, well, puzzling? Over the years, I’ve learned the more organized I keep my kids toys, the more likely they are to actually play with them. I am going to share with you my hacks for organizing what I have found to be the 3 most difficult toys to store: Stuffed Animals, Puzzles + Games, and Legos. Who’s with me?
We aren’t exactly minimalists when it comes to toys, but we do make an effort to give experiences and art supplies in lieu of toys, frequently rid the toy bins of anything broken beyond repair, and at least once a year (typically around Thanksgiving) we go through all the toy bins and donate or sell items that are no longer played with. I let the kids decide which items can go. If I sell the item they get to keep the cash. I discourage getting rid of your child(ren)’s toys without their permission. They will know—you’ll throw out something seemingly useless and they will ask you for it three weeks later. If your kids are struggling to let go, explain to them how their old toys will make some other child really happy. Keep it light hearted and stay positive through the minimalizing process—chances are they will be okay parting with a few items. If it’s too hard for them to let go right now, that’s okay, try again later.
Stuffed Animals
My kids love their stuffed animals and play with them often. The amount of stuffed animals kids accumulate can be overwhelming. I’m 100% okay with having a collection of stuffed animals while my kids are young and enjoy playing with them. I like to keep stuffed animals in the kids’ bedrooms. My son has a large basket in his room to house his stuffed animals. My daughter has a hammered metal table I had originally purchased as a nightstand, but discovered if flipped over it makes a great stuffed animal bin. The kids can play with whichever plush toys they want and take them wherever as long as at the end of the day the stuffed animals end up back in their bedrooms. Then, they can pick one or two to snuggle with at bedtime. Having a bin designated solely for stuffed animals makes it easy for kids to know where they belong, and with no hard plastic or wooden toys in the way it’s easy to smush them all inside.
Puzzles + Games
We have a game cabinet, some people use a closet or bookcase—any of those storage spaces are just fine. First, remove all the games and puzzles and set aside any items you plan to donate or sell. (Be sure to consider how many decks of cards you actually need.) Next, set aside anything that is seasonal. I prefer to store seasonal games and puzzles with our seasonal items—Christmas puzzles and games are stored with Christmas decorations, Halloween puzzles and games are stored with Halloween decorations, and so on. It keeps those items a little more special while saving on storage space.
Some game boxes have a lot of wasted space, so finding ways to condense your collection can help gain you extra storage. For example, we own two versions of Taboo and Trivial Pursuit, I was able to fit both versions in just one box. Storage drawers or stackable bins work great for keeping card games, dice games, and small puzzles organized.
Time to put it all away. Store board games and puzzle boxes vertically. The goal is to keep everything easy to see and remove for a stress free family game night.
Legos
We play with Legos at the coffee table, kitchen table, playroom, bedrooms, EVERYWHERE, so they are stored in the family room—a good central location. But, if you have a specific place in your home where kids are playing with Legos that’s where they should be stored.
My kids follow the building instructions to a T, making the bricks perfectly match the photo on the front of the box, then, they play with their creation like any other toy. We have too many sets to store each individually, so they are stored by genre—all the Lego City sets are stored in one bin, Avenger sets are stored in another, and so on.
Instruction booklets can be stored right in the bins or in page protectors within a binder. FYI: You can find all Lego instructions by search on the Lego website, so no hard feelings if they end up in the recycling.
If you’re kids are more creative and toss the instruction booklets aside, you can probably get by with mixing up the sets in a large storage container. I would separate out specific building pieces into smaller bins, like car parts and Minifigures. Imaginations can run wild, but they won’t get frustrated looking for the 4th wheel for their Lego car.
