Storage Wars in the Rocket City
The holidays are behind us and if you are like me, the photo above is now your reality.
That was my playroom this morning. We have the double whammy of my daughter’s birthday three weeks after Christmas which means around here, it has been all Barbie, all the time. I am in the middle of my yearly Purge and Deep Clean, and it is s-l-o-w going.
Today, I am going to share a few organization tips that has made housekeeping a little less painful.
1. Storage Ottomans
Perfect for that surprise guest. Toss the Pet Shop in the ottoman and no one will ever know that just minutes before, your house looked like Toys R Us exploded inside.
2. Buckets
I am a big fan of the Lego bucket. The coat hanger idea is genius. I have also seen storage buckets hung from a curtain rod attached to the wall. Buckets can be used for any small toy. Is it just me or are toys getting smaller? What is a Squinkie and why is it the size of my fingernail?
3. Barbie Storage
$9 Target black shoe organizer + hot pink ribbon from Hobby Lobby = cheap and cute way to store Barbie dolls. My daughter and I are currently working on this project.
And what about those tiny Barbie shoes that you are always stepping on in the middle of the night? I have three words for you: Hanging Jewelry Organizer. It works like a charm. I can still hear my dad ranting and raving in our living room after stepping on miscellaneous items from my Barbie Dream House.
4. Hanging Bath Organizer
Don’t you hate it when your child’s bath toys get all moldy and funky? I usually do not realize that a toy has collected mold until bath time when I hear “Ewww gross, Mom! What is this black stuff?” Fantastic. This hanging basket will help wet toys dry out between baths.
5. Crate Storage
Even if your family is past the toy stage, chances are that your kids still collect a lot of STUFF. Sports gear, dance bags, lunch boxes…..you know of which I speak. If you are a crafty sort, these milk crates are a creative way of keeping track of shoes and bags and what not.
6. Creative Closet
If you are short on play space but have an extra closet—what about a makeshift closet fort? I love this idea. The possibilities are endless and it is relatively inexpensive to execute. If the closet is big enough you can still use it for toy storage, which would clear up living space.
So you have purged and cleaned and removed all of your children’s old, outgrown stuff. What to do now? If you live in the Madison area, the Asbury Thrift Store on Hughes Road will accept toys, household items, clothing… pretty much anything that is not broken, toxic, or hazardous to life. They even have a drop off area in which you can pull your car up to their dock and unload. It doesn’t get any easier than that.
Do you have any storage secrets? I would love for you to share them. Seriously. I need help.
All images can be found on Katie’s “A Place for Everything & Everything in it’s Place” board on Pinterest.
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Love the article, and love that closet/fort!! Good job organized one!!
Thank you, kind commenter who might or might not be my mom.
Love the Barbie storage idea! Thanks for the tips!
You are welcome! The organizer that I bought at Target will hold up to 48 Barbies–and it was only $10. 🙂
I like the crate idea, but don’t have the wallspace for it…
I do not know if I would be crafty enough to attempt it– attaching them to the wall looks to be a bit tricky.
I love the bath hanging storage idea. Our tub is always filled with toys and they do get gross. And 99% of the time we just leave them there as we take a shower.
The rubber duckies are the worst!!!
What great ideas! I especially love the Barbie storage idea 🙂
Thank you! I like it because it is such a space saver and makes Barbie clean up so easy. We also bought a matching black fabric box at Target for Barbie clothes–I think it was $10 and it holds a ton of stuff.
I love your ideas. I’m hoping it will help de-clutter my kids’ room.
Thank you, Mary! I am right there with you this weekend. My daughter has given me permission to sell her Care Bears so off they go! 😀
So glad I’m not the only one with clutter! I love the shower and doll storage; heading to lowe’s this weekend. 🙂
Great! They have some great storage baskets at Lowes. I spray painted them pink and green to match the girl’s room–easy and gives them a “custom” look. 🙂
These are some great ideas….now to put them in action!
Yay! I found a great storage ottoman for the boy at Ross–did not cost a lot and holds all of his action figures.
We finally bought a storage ottoman for our master bedroom. Got a lot of the stuff out of our tiny hallway linen closet and put it all in the ottoman. Now (after only six years) my vacuum and ironing board finally have a home. Yay!
Awesome! The ottoman we have downstairs has made life so much easier when I just don’t feel like carrying an armful of toys upstairs (which is often).
I just finished sorting/organizing our kid toys… we have 4 – 5 and under. .. needless to say we have tons of toys. My new method is a rotating selection: each type of toy was put in its own box (sterilite from Target); the older two kids got to pick two boxes and the younger two share one box of age-appropriate toys. Then they can exchange boxes when they are tired of a particular toy (or once per month if not exchanged earlier and not more than once per week). This keeps the amount of toys available at once to a minimum and also keeps the kids interested in their toys.
This is a GREAT idea and I definitely need to do this with my almost 5-year old. We have a new baby in the house and our older daughter is still getting used to the idea of sharing space. I like that we are just “storing” her toys rather than getting rid of them.
I really like this too–when they have not seen the toys in awhile, it is as if they are new again. Good idea!
Love these ideas can’t wait to try them
Awesome! Let us know how they turn out!
Love these, especially the crates. Too cute!!
I love Pinterest. I get the greatest ideas–I would have never thought to hang a storage crate on the wall!
Organizing is one of my favorite things! I love this article.
Thank you! I am an organization nut. I just color coded my closet. 😀
Thanks for this! Very much needed!!
YES! I needed to see some other storage ideas! I have done the hanging baskets in the shower one. It is great! Toys dry and no nasty mold/mildew smell. Love that one. I am working on the buckets from a rod one this month at some point…so many toys…
*entering comment for valentines day giveaway!*
Love the bath storage idea. We have the big frog storage but even that doesn’t hold all of her bath toys!
Nice summary of ideas. Always revamping our storage needs! Thanks!
Love your ideas! I’m always trying to figure out new ways to organize – and purge! My husband and I don’t remember having so much “stuff” when we were little kids.