Affordable, durable, not hideous kid-space organization?

August 14, 2015 8:31 AM

We live in a small apartment and my kids' toys (Legos, Magnatiles, costumes, many small trucks, trains, and stuffed animals) are slowly driving me insane. Right now, they're in a random selection of plastic bins I've found on Freecycle, but we really need a more compact, attractive solution.

I'd like to find a freestanding, half-way decent looking, durable, and affordable bin system (or something similar) that we can use to pull all this stuff together, get it out of the way when it isn't being used, and stop our front room from looking like it's headed to being featured on "Hoarders". Help me, hivemind, before I freak out and start sneaking stuff into the trash in the middle of the night.

posted by ryanshepard to Home & Garden (13 answers total)

Ikea Expedit with storage bins!
posted by showbiz_liz at 8:46 AM on August 14, 2015 [5 favorites]

Ooo, and apparently Ikea also has a specifically toy-oriented bin storage unit called Trofast
posted by showbiz_liz at 8:47 AM on August 14, 2015 [2 favorites]

Are you teaching them to put one thing away before they start on the next? (Trust me, I know this is hard and ongoing.) It will help them to learn that when they want to move from Legos to trains, put Legos up first.

That way, you avoid explosion of toys that are either cleaned up every night or begin creeping towards your bedroom.
posted by heathrowga at 8:51 AM on August 14, 2015 [1 favorite]

My sister (parent of a two year old) just got a few sets of clear drawers from target , but I think they were a lot cheaper in store. Tons of back to school sales right now, definitely worth checking out.
posted by c'mon sea legs at 8:52 AM on August 14, 2015

We have this storage center from target and I really like it. Lots of space but still compact. It looks like this particular one isn't currently available, but there are many similar ones.
posted by Pardon Our Dust at 9:23 AM on August 14, 2015

We have something very like this for trains, playmobil, and smaller stuff, and a bookcase that holds puzzles, pirate ships, and other larger stuff. A lot of local parents copied us after so it seems like a good solution. :) The semi-open nature of the buckets makes it easy to toss things in easily.
posted by tchemgrrl at 9:26 AM on August 14, 2015

We've had this toy organizer from Target for a few years and it works very well. The bins come out which is convenient when using certain toys. They can be rearranged. It's all very durable and is relatively low profile against the wall. Searching target.com for "Toy Organizer" shows a bunch of other options.
posted by alms at 9:50 AM on August 14, 2015

We have this in our small house and it works great for containing small toys like Mr. Potato Head, Legos, Little People, etc... The bins are movable/removable and the whole thing is fairly sturdy. This particular one came with straps to secure it to the wall as well.
posted by suchatreat at 10:01 AM on August 14, 2015

Seconding the Expedit (I refuse to call it Kallax, damn you IKEA!) shelving. I like the Trofast system in theory, but I think this shelf is more versatile and more attractive if you need it to go in your main living area. I have the 2x4 shelf laying lengthwise in my son's room under his window, and it holds a ton of stuff and is the perfect height for children. You can use it for toy shelving, pile stuffed animals across the top, use it as a bookcase, buy baskets for small toys, or even buy little drawers to hold stuff like art supplies. I can easily see this being a functional part of my son's room until he moves out one day.
posted by gatorae at 10:09 AM on August 14, 2015

Expedit is now something else (slightly different design, same idea) but we did that and love it; as the kids get older the contents change but it doesn't feel like a toy bin. We have one upstairs and one downstairs so we can flip the bins around.
posted by warriorqueen at 10:13 AM on August 14, 2015

Trofast here. Works great.
posted by Eyebrows McGee at 10:17 AM on August 14, 2015

Hmm, would something like Lay N Go help out? Basically, a circle of fabric that lies flat and has a drawstring so to clean up you just turn it into a bundle and all toys on it get put away at the same time like magic.

Other more affordable options:

http://www.swoopbags.com/
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00WXLDSYY?psc=1
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00UYX0P7Q?psc=1

If you are crafty you can also make them yourself, here's one set of instructions I found:

http://www.instructables.com/id/Toy-Bag-and-Play-Mat-in-One/

I have a friend who makes one of these for new babies in her social circle, because they are so useful for low maintenance play storage.
posted by foxfirefey at 10:28 AM on August 14, 2015 [1 favorite]

Trofast. We made labels for ours, with pictures, so our (pre-literate) kids can see what goes where.
posted by linettasky at 12:32 PM on August 14, 2015