Organized TOYS

Hi all!  I’m am raring to go for the new year!  As much as I love the coziness and sentiment of the holidays, come January, I am ready for a fresh, clean start for the new year.  I spent Sunday and Monday getting all the Christmas decor packed up and put away and the house looks so simple and clean again:)

Although we only bought James a few gifts for Christmas, our family brought lots of presents and with all the toys he’s accumulated since birth, I knew that now was a good time to start getting his toys organized.

I started by gathering up all of the toys from the living room and putting everything in his room so I could put like toys and small parts together.  His big race car, tricycle, dump truck and wagon went into the garage.

I kept some toys in the living room, but I am happy that it doesn’t look like a toy box anymore (see below, the toy box version of the living room:)

Look at all those stuffed animals!  

I found a $50 organizing shelf with bins at Target along with a few big canvas bins and got to work organizing and throwing out the broken toys and books.  Are all kids this hard on books??

Little toys fit into these buckets and James has easy access to them.  
The bigger toys fit nicely in these colorful bins.

To my surprise, the stuffed animals fit into two bins.

Now here’s to trying to keep everything organized and clean!  We are starting the “put your toys away” routine before bath and bedtime now:) 
You can look on my “Organization” tab for more helpful organizing tips for toys and more!

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Meet Megan

Hi! I’m Megan, mom to a thoughtful teenager and spunky young girl. We call Houston home and recently moved into our dream home. I traded my lawyer hat to become a full-time blogger in 2010. I love sharing my passion for affordable fashion, home decor, organization, & fitness to help inspire you to take care of you!

45 Comments

  1. so… my family room looks like the "before" pictures. We do have a separate living room that is adults only, but we never go in there. You did such a great job with the toy organization.

    Sidenote- can you believe our little ones are going to be 2 in just a few months!?

  2. About to get in reorganisation mode today once I have taken my two children to school, I have the whole week to blitz the house!
    It is a very good idea to teach James how to tidy up, I did this with my children and I never have any fuss from them when I tell them its tidying up time before bed/going out/when I have had enough of the mess, and they are now 8 & 6!

  3. M-

    My kids are that hard on books. Well, really, just Moose was. Once James hits 4 like Moosey, the toy situation is colossal.

    I now have an entire closet dedicated to toys. So that way I rotate them, otherwise, my house looks like a sea of plastic crap.

    I have the expedit shelving from Ikea to house the kids toys in our frontroom, b/c I don't let them in their room to play.

    That's where boring timeouts happen. And they happen often.

    Happy nesting and organizing…I'm in that January mode as well…

  4. I had that same toy organizer in my son's room when he was that age! I believe if you make putting toys away easy on them they'll be better at doing it themselves. Good job momma!

  5. I am in total organization mode right now. I haven't touched my son's room yet though, slowly but surely… I am making my way back to that toy-explosion of a room lol.

    Happy new year!

  6. I love the reorganize bug! I have had it too for the last few days. I love those bins from Target. I was eying them yesterday when I was there. Hope you had a great New Years!

  7. You are so smart to start the "put things away" routine now while he still at the age where he likes to help and do things like that!! Love those bins on the floor.

    I got hardcore with the stuffed animals right after Christmas and am getting rid of ones that the girls haven't looked at or touched in months. Even if they were gifts…they're just taking up room. :s I felt awful at first, but they haven't really noticed and it made their room feel so much more open.

  8. Great job!! I do love your organizing posts 🙂 I was doing this today as well! I haven't really gotten serious in Jacob's room just yet though. Just banished the stuffed animals to make room for the big task. This year was especially crazy with toys, as my grandmother bought everything at the store in Jacob's age range!!! I have a job ahead of me!

  9. Aw his little toys are so precious : ) The bins look great and I'm sure little James loves them too… now he can see all of his toys and play with them easily! Great job!

  10. I MUST have those bins! Yes, my 20-month-old is VERY hard on books. I don't understand why, because it's just a book, but I've had to toss some because they were in poor condition to even give away.

  11. Oh goodness! I am going through the same thing. They have SO MUCH STUFF! I think the challenge is that we want it to be accessible, but still look organized. It looks great! Love all your new containers!

  12. I love the big toy purge every year!!! I made my kids donate more than they received…so everything fits in closets and cabinets. James' toys will get smaller as he gets older…but for now, the cubbies are great!!

  13. You did a nice job-the toys are still accessible and yet it still looks like a little boys room. Love the canvas bins. So cute.

  14. and you can now come over and work your magic here!! I am in major need of toy overhaul & organization.

    p.s. we need to get together soon & hit up the design center!

  15. I just scooped up some of those chevron bins in green and white. His room looks great. I heart bins in a major way so the kids can put it back themselves.

  16. Wow – what a transformation! I bet that feels good to get all of those toys organized. With three kiddos I feel like I am constantly corralling toys. We are moving soon and I can't wait for all of these toys to find a new home. You've done great job!

  17. I love those shelving units with the plastic bins when our girls were little!! I still can't believe how many stuffed animals our girls own(ed)!!! I have boxes of beanie babies in the basement!!! LOL

  18. Loves great! Ikea makes great storage options in the Trofast line, that way you can either do shelves for books and/or bins in the same unit and they come in so many sizes.

  19. This is so great. Just what I needed to read to encourage me to get my daughter's toys organized. I love the way everything is so tidy in your son's room! It looks adorable.

  20. Toys are so much work, and your organization is so easily dismantled. But doesn't it feel great! 😉

    He's darling and it looks like you had a fabulous Christmas.

    What I really need to know is where you bought your rug in the living room. I *need* to know! It's beautiful.

    Happy 2012!
    Abby

  21. I am loving this post. Organizing the chaos of the toys is my top resolution this year. I am so tired of stubbing my toe on a block or toy car. These are good ideas.

  22. He is such a cutie! That organization bin looks so helpful. I noticed you didn't have many wooden toys. If you ever wanted to give them a try, I adore everything by Plan Toys. Their ride on toys are even pretty enough to be displayed in the living room. Just a thought as wooden toys can add beauty to a space.

  23. Ok I seriously need to do this. I feel like we have toys everywhere in our house it stresses me out. and the ones with a million little pieces are the worst. I so wish we had a playroom I could just dump them all in. You have some mad organization skills girl!

  24. We had to buy more cubbies for toys as well. And yes, I have a 21 month old and he is just as hard on books. He likes to bend the books backwards and then pretend he is a montser and says rawr with it in front of his face!

  25. Apparently toddlers LOVE to destroy books. I had to stop getting mine those pop-up/fold-up books because she kept ripping them apart and putting the pieces in the trash. LOVE his room!

  26. Where did you get your dog plastic stackers? It's in your sons red toy bin tote from target. I remember that from when I was a kid and can't remember what the name of it is. Love your blog !!!

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