When you are designing a creative playroom space that your children will love, there are some great products available to help make the space both functional and organized. Kids have a LOT of stuff. To stay sane as a parent, we need to find storage and organization solutions that will be easy for kids to find what they are looking for, and even more importantly, have a home for it when they are finished playing with whatever it may be. This list will contain some of my favorite items for organizing a child’s playroom.
Before we dive into things, it is important to first know your organizing style — or more importantly the organization style that will work best for who will using the space — your kids. Some people like to visually see everything they own, whereas some people like items to be concealed in a basket or tote that is not transparent. On top of these two organizational styles, some people like to have things covered with a lid, while others opt for no lid — keeping things that much more quickly accessible. These are important things to consider before you start purchasing storage and organizational solutions for your child’s playroom. This list will contain items for each of these organizational styles — you can then decide what will work best for your family.
18. Open Storage Shelving
Open storage shelving is great for kids. It can be beautiful, while being extremely functional. When you are looking at open storage solutions, it is best to look for something that is low to the ground, or something that can be easily reached by your little ones. You don’t want them climbing up the shelf or on a chair to get things out to play with. DANGER!
Like any large piece of furniture, it is always a good idea to anchor the unit to the wall for added safety. You do not want their to be any chance of the furniture piece falling on your child and hurting them. Another important thing to note, is to keep the heaviest items down low, and the lighter items up top. This will also help prevent any possible injuries when your child tries to take out their toys to play with. With open storage shelving you can use a variety of storage bins to help further contain and organize your child’s toys — more on this below.
https://www.decorpad.com/photo.htm?photoId=105824&index=7¤tPage=0&spaceId=1 Source:DecorPad.com17. Closed Storage Shelving Unit or Closet System
Closed storage shelving is great for keeping things out of site and contained when they are not in use. If you don’t necessarily have a space dedicated for your child’s play, and instead you have a shared living/play space, you may opt for this type of storage to please both parents and the children. You can purchase freestanding storage units with cabinet doors that close to conceal toys inside, or if there is adequate closet space in the room, closet storage solutions are also great to hid toys behind a closed door when it isn’t playtime.
Again, if you opt for a freestanding unit, remember to anchor it to the wall, to avoid potential injuries. Again, much like with open storage shelving, you can use a variety of storage bins to help further contain and organize your child’s toys. If it is a shared space, keep mom and dad’s storage up high, and kid stuff down low for them to access easily.
https://thehappyhousie.porch.com/playroom-organization-ideas/ Source:TheHappyHousie.porch.com16. Floating Bookshelves
Every play area should include a place for all of your little ones favorite books. Floating bookshelves are a great option to create a cool reading nook in the corner or your child’s playroom. I like the idea of using floating bookshelves instead of standard bookshelves, since they will be fastened safely to the wall, and you can see the front covers of the books as opposed to just seeing the books spine.
If you have a very large collection of book, or maybe you do like to just see the books spine — you may opt for a regular bookshelf. You can get short bookshelves that run along the wall as opposed to the taller varieties, so that your child will easily be able to reach all the books on the shelves.
http://www.hellobee.com/2012/03/20/liams-nursery-after/#comment-23448 Source:HelloBee.com15. Double Duty Storage
Anyone can get behind something that serves more than one purpose. Functionality is key! A good example of this would be a storage bench, that serves as a bench for seating as well as a place for additional storage. These would be great in a child’s playroom. Maybe your child’s playroom will have an area for crafts. A bench seat with storage would be a great seating option for at the table — much more useful than a little stool or chair.
Additionally, maybe the table itself will have built in storage. This would be another multi-functional item that allows for much needed additional storage of all of our little ones copious amounts of stuff!
https://jamonkey.com/50-organizing-ideas-for-every-room-in-your-house/#_a5y_p=1169770 Source:JamOnKey.com14. Art Hanging Wire
Every child loves to show of their pieces of art work. Setting up an art hanging wire on a wall with close pins to hold up their art is another example of a double duty item when you think of it. Not only will it showcase their creative pieces of work, but it also would allow it to dry (if it was a painting) for instance.
There are hanging kits you can purchase, or this can be a very quick and easy DIY project for you or your handy significant other! You might even want to keep an additional storage tote close by for holding on to other pieces of art, so that they can constantly swap things out as they complete more pieces of art.
http://www.designimprovised.com/2014/02/kids-art.html Source:DesignImprovised.com13. Peg Boards
Anything to keep things off the floor, is a good thing in my opinion! Peg boards are great for this, and they allow you to really maximize the wall space in the room for storing things. Peg boards are great for kids craft areas — to hold all of their crafting supplies, or I have even seen them used to hang play tools or Nerf guns!
The options are endless. You can purchase pegs for hanging items up and even wire and other small storage items that can hold even more loose items. Buy some simple trim to fit around the peg board to jazz it up and make it look even more Pinterest-worthy! Super functional and can be surprisingly stylish too!
https://www.pinterest.ca/pin/462041242991780149/ Source: Pinterest.ca12. Open Storage Solutions
Open storage baskets are get for allowing kids to easily access the contents within, and equally easily toss them back in when they are finished playing with them. There are a myriad of product options when it comes to open storage items including rattan baskets, plastic bins, and canvas totes — to name a few. Another really neat and super inexpensive option would be to buy wire waste bins from your local dollar store. These are great for tossing in toys (that don’t contain super small pieces that will make their way through the wire mesh).
There are so many options that will satisfy whatever organizing style may be. If you do opt for something this is non transparent — you may wish to pick up some labels to say what is inside of each baskets. Or, even if they are transparent, you may still wish to label the storage item so that kids will know exactly what it is that goes back into that bin (in case the entire contents of it gets dumped out).
https://www.sunnydayfamily.com/2015/06/5-ways-to-organize-your-playroom.html Source:SunnyDayFamily.com11. Closed Storage Solution
Closed storage solutions are ever so slightly less easily accessible for kiddos, but the nice thing about them is that it forces kids to put thing away snugly inside so that the storage bin lid fits on top to conceal everything neatly within. When it comes to closed storage solution, I really like the look of clear plastic bins with lids on top.
Kids can see exactly what is inside, and should the container fall, the lid will still keep everything inside. It is also allows you to stack more than one container on top of each other neatly. There are also some really great closed storage options with lids that aren’t clear. You can really get creative and pick fun designs that add a pop of color to the room, but still keep all the toys out of site, and out of mind when they are not in use.
https://www.thesunnysideupblog.com/2015/02/organized-playroom/ Source:TheSunnySideUpBlog.com10. Large Canvas Totes
Stuffed animals! Every kids has them, and they can be quite big and bulky to store. I really like to us large canvas totes to store my little ones stuffed animals. They are easily accessible and they can quickly be tossed in when they aren’t playing with them.
These large totes are also a great place to store ball and other sporting toys and equipment that wouldn’t really fit into smaller storage solutions. Or, if your child’s playroom has a reading nook or media center, this is also a great place to throw blankets and quilts for when they want to get warm and cuddly!
https://abeautifulmess.com/2015/10/fabric-storage-bins-theyre-reversible.html Source:ABeautifulMess.com9. Binder with Plastic Sleeves
If your kids love to build with Lego, many of the specialty building sets come with instruction manuals. These instruction manuals often get damaged or lost in all the playroom chaos. A great way to keep instruction manuals contained (whether for Lego or any of their other toys) is by keeping them in a binder with plastic sleeves.
By storing them in a binder, they can easily be accessible as needed, and you will never have to go on the hunt again! Binders with plastic sleeves are also great for containing keepsakes like pieces of art, or even activity pages or card collections!
https://www.makelifelovely.com/how-to-organize-lego-instruction/#_a5y_p=1181707 Source:MakeLifeLovely.com8. Legal-sized Poly Expandable Envelopes
My little one has a selection of board puzzles. It was always a challenge to keep them tidy and keep all of the puzzles pieces together. I saw this idea on Pinterest and fell in love with this storage solution. Legal-size poly envelopes are perfect for keeping these board puzzles neatly contained and organized. Place the completed puzzles inside, and should they get tipped on their side or upside down, the pieces are all still contained, at least!
You can then store these sleeves of puzzles on a puzzle rack/shelf, or you can keep them in their own storage bin with all of the other puzzles you may have. Absolutely brilliant!
http://ramblingsbybrooke.blogspot.com/ Source:RamblingsByBrooke.blogspot.com7. Ziplock Bags
Another (slightly less expensive) option for storing items with smaller pieces would be to buy some Ziplock bags (of various sizes). These are wonderful for keeping toy sets with tiny pieces all together, and they often take up less space than the box or packaging the toy came in.
Label the outside of the Ziplock bag with the contents, and again, these bags can them be stored in their own bin with other similar toys. Hopefully this will put an end to missing or mismatched toy pieces thrown about everywhere!
https://keepcalmgetorganised.com.au/lego-storage-ideas/ Source:KeepCalmGetOrganized.com6. Tackle Box Container Storage
This is another fairly inexpensive storage solution for keeping toy sets with tiny pieces neatly contained. The think that I like most about these tackle boxes is that they are functional and not that bad to look at either. These boxes will lay flat, and you can stack more than one on top of another.
These are great for storing Lego, mini cars or toy trains, jewelry making or other crafting supplies, or even extra batteries for keeping on the ready for when your little ones toys run out of juice! Such a functional storage solution for a child’s playroom!
https://www.pinterest.ca/pin/201676889548490171/ Source:Pinterest.com5. Closet Shoe Organizers
Closet shoe organizers are another inexpensive storage solution that would make a great addition to your kids playroom. Whether you want to store Barbie dolls, action figures, or crafts supplies, these are perfect for the job! You can hang them on the back of a door, on a wall, or inside a closet, and they will keep everything neat and within arms reach.
I would suggest getting shoe organizers with a clear pouch so that kiddos can see what is inside, and which pouches are empty. It may be difficult to see shorter items that fall deeper into the pouch otherwise.
https://theorganisedhousewife.com.au/organising/kids-rooms/inspiring-clever-toy-storage-ideas/ Source:TheOrganizedHouseWife.com4. Plastic Food Storage Containers
I don’t know why but it always seems that cardboard puzzle boxes always seem to get banged up and look like garbage once kids get a hold of them! A really great alternative storage solution for these items would be plastic food storage containers. You can cut the box to keep the picture, or take a photograph of the box’s picture to keep with the puzzle pieces in its new storage container.
And for people who really don’t like the look of a bunch of random color and sized boxes, this will be a great way to make things look more streamlined! The plastic will also be far more likely to stand up to wear and tear than the cardboard box would,too. Win win!
https://www.pinterest.ca/pin/231091024613226277/ Source:Pinterest.ca3. Plastic Soap Box Storage
Much like puzzle boxes, playing card boxes always seemed to get ripped and damaged with frequent use too! Plastic Soap boxes are great for playing cards — another winning idea I picked up from Pinterest!
https://www.buzzfeed.com/mikespohr/75-insanely-clever-dollar-store-ideas-youll-wish-you-knew?utm_term=.bcMKJo7JQy Source:BuzzFeed.comPlastic Soap Boxes can be purchased at any local dollar store, and should stand up to wear and tear far better than the cards original boxes. You can then store these soap boxes inside another storage bin with all of the other cards your little ones may have!
2. Coat Rack
Many kids like to play dress up. Whether it is pretty dresses and costume jewelery, or super hero Halloween costumes — theses are things many of us can admit to having kicking around our house. Instead of throwing them in a lump in a toy chest, keep things neat and tidy by installing a simple wall coat rack or a small coat rack with hangers.
Little ones can quickly do wardrobe changes, and then hang things back up quickly and easily when they are done. This will help keep the outfits looking better and easy to find!
https://www.craftymorning.com/super-hero-wall-ideas-kids/ Source:CraftyMorning.com1. Wire File Racks
What kid doesn’t love to color? I know my little one does. I try to keep a selection of coloring books and activity books handy for him and when any of his little friends come for a visit. A great way to store these coloring books is in wire file racks.
If your child has a arts and craft area in their play room, these wire racks can easily be fastened to the wall near their crafting station. Or, if you use the peg board idea mentioned earlier, you can easily attach a wire rack to the peg board for easy access to all of their little coloring books! I hope that some of these storage ideas have inspired you to organize your little ones playroom. Get your little ones involved in the process, and hopefully this will help them stay motivated to keep it looking as beautiful as the day you finish it! Good luck!
https://www.pinterest.ca/pin/537195061797628567/ Source:Pinterest.com
