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The best storage solutions from the professionals.
Toy storage can be an ongoing battle, as kids take out multiple games at once and never quite manage to put them away in the right place. That's why we've pulled together this guide to practical toy storage ideas and advice.
Maybe you have teetering stacks of board games, mountains of soft toys or hundreds of tiny LEGO pieces digging into the soles of your feet. Whatever your toy storage dilemma, we've found the solution by consulting the experts.
Professional Organiser Vicky Silverthorne (You Need A Vicky) has created a helpful video guide to getting all of your children's toys in order. “Declutter before you buy or think about buying any storage for your children’s toys,” she says.
Vicky advises clearing out anything which is no longer age appropriate or that isn't played with any more. “It’s time to get ruthless,” she says.
Kate Ibbotson, founder of organisation services A Tidy Mind, agrees. "It’s about quality over quantity," she says. "Create daily habits such as a tidy up time before a bath. If it’s done daily, it’s not a big task."
We also spoke to Jacqueline McLeod, founder of Bancrofts Organisation Services (and Communications Director of the Association of Professional Declutters and Organisers) to find out her top tips and advice on toy storage solutions.
"Labelling boxes or wallets develops their reading skills and organising by colour makes identifying items easy for your children," she recommends. "It also gives them the confidence to tidy up on their own as they will know where their toys go."
To help you get your home in order, we've pulled together a list of the best toy storage ideas which are inspired by our decluttering experts' top tips and recommendations.
"Multi-purpose furniture such as an ottoman, trunk coffee table or side table with drawers are a clever storage solution," says Jacqueline McLeod of Bancrofts Storage solutions.
Kate Ibbotson (A Tidy Mind),agrees; "Toys can be tidied away into them when children are no longer playing."
Kate also recommends Ikea's Trofast storage with removable boxes and trays for customisable configurations. This set come in a range of sizes and colours to suit your needs."Take it a step further," adds Jacqueline.
"Label the plastic boxes with the games in them which can be organised according to game type, age, size or even colour."
"I’m a big fan of vertical storage so this hanging storage net from Amazon is a fun option," says Jacqueline of Bancrofts Organisation Services. The netting can be hung to save on floor safe and is ideal for soft toys.
"For toys like, cars, dinosaurs, pretend food and Lol Surprises use coloured zip wallets," says Jacqueline. "They come in different colours, and can help children to easily identify where a toy should go when tidying up after playtime."
"Wicker baskets can act as toy storage in kitchens or dining rooms," recommends Kate Ibbotson. "You can still choose storage that you like and is in keeping with the style of the room."
Vicky Silverthorne (You Need A Vicky) agrees; “I use simple storage baskets, one category in each."This stylish set from Made ticks all our boxes.
"Smart furniture is definitely a good idea," says Kate. "So beds with drawers underneath in a child’s room work well."
This bed from Argos includes cupboards, shelving and storage spaces for individual boxes or baskets.
Kate recommends crafting trolleys as, "it’s useful to be able to wheel these into another room."
This rainbow model features 10 drawers which are readily colour-coded for easier organisation. The vertical structure also means it's narrower, saving space.
Jacqueline recommends this set of LEGO themed drawers for storing small pieces of the game, or another other bits and bobs.
"For generic Lego pieces, organise by colour and for specific sets, keep them in the set and label the container," she adds.
When it comes to children's books, Kate recommends using spice shelves to house and display them.
This set of four from Amazon can be wall-mounted in any configuration, helping to easily group and categorise their contents.
Vicky, Kate and Jacqueline all recommend multi-purpose furniture which looks "adult" but has plenty of storage. Everyday pieces such as sideboards, TV units and coffee tables can easily double up as space to store (and hide!) children's toys.
This Dunelm coffee table would make a stylish centre piece as well as provide drawers and shelving to store books, games and toys.