Toys are incredibly important for a child’s development. Kids’ toys can improve cognitive function and motor skills, while encouraging their imagination and creativity. Although getting the right children’s toys can help them flourish, parents will also want to invest in toy storage to maintain a clutter-free room.
Organization can be an endless challenge in a kid’s room, and finding quality organizers can minimize the mess while maximizing the space in a bedroom, playroom, or living room. From boxes, bins and hanging baskets to shelves, racks and wall-mounted solutions, learning how to organize toys can benefit parents and children alike, especially in small spaces.
To inspire the design of your kid’s room and keep the area neat, we’ve compiled the best toy storage ideas to jump-start your search. Whether you need an organizer for a dedicated playroom or cute options for a bedroom, you’ll love these easy, creative and DIY examples of kids toy storage.
Kids Toy Storage and Organization Ideas
Toy storage is important for families who want to maintain a clean, functional home that remains kid-friendly. The best toy organizer and organization ideas for kids make it easy and fun to clean up with simple solutions that follow a system.
For starters, kids storage should be well-made, decorative and accessible. Little boys and girls won’t want to put up their toys if the process makes playtime later more difficult or inconvenient. Toy bins and boxes are favorites because they are easy for kids to reach and allow access to dozens of playthings.
Shelving, corner units and built-in storage can be great for small rooms that have limited floor space. Whereas small spaces must be practical with design, large bedrooms and playrooms can incorporate bigger pieces and different types of toy and book storage for a complete solution. In these cases, a cubby with colorful baskets, a shelf with rustic crates, bins full of stuffed animals, and other furniture units are all on the table as modern ways to organize kids’ toys.
Whether you’re on a budget and need a cheap organizer or want DIY ideas for your next arts and crafts projects, you can find a variety of toy storage options for inspiration.
Here are 79 amazing toy storage ideas to consider when organizing your kid’s room.
Combine Open Shelving with Cube Organizer
Cube storage is always a great option in children’s rooms. You can find cute bins with handles to store smaller items and use open shelving for books and bulkier items. Open shelving above the cube unit draws the eye up and provides a place for you to showcase some of your cuter books.
Recessed Shelving For Usable Space
This wall features recessed shelving that has been tucked between the studs. The resulting shelving is inset and doesn’t take up any additional space in the room. Setting the bright white shelving into a colorful wall provides contrast and draws the eye in.
Use Vintage Storage Solutions
This children’s room features open shelving to display a collection of classic books. A vintage wooden crate on wheels underneath it holds puppets, stuffed animals, and other toys. Storage like this is both fun to look at and highly functional.
Mounted Baskets Make Unique Toy Storage Solutions
This children’s room cleverly features three wire baskets mounted to the wall. They almost look like hoops and make a great place to store balls and other oddly shaped toys. With something like this, parents can put toys in the upper baskets while kids can put things away in basket closer to the ground. It makes cleaning easy, fast, and fun.
Rustic Toy Storage Ideas For Little Boys
This room perfectly blends rustic and urban elements with this custom shelving unit. It’s made from reclaimed wood and reclaimed industrial pipes. When paired with giant metal letters on the wall, this room has a distinctly modern edge. Crates add additional functional elements that add to the look.
Cute Toy Storage For Little Girls
When two kids have to share a room, it can make already-limited storage space a precious commodity. This room makes the most out of limited space. Instead of two nightstands, the two twin beds share a cube unit that stretches out between them. They can rest their drinks and books there, but use the furniture for daily needs as well.
Classic Toy and Book Storage
This kids’ room features several different options, including a vintage waterfall shelf and open shelving that showcases children’s books. There’s also a little chest with three compartments. While all the furniture in this room is stacked with books, you can use these organizers to store toys as well.
Cubby with Baskets and Storage Trunk in Playroom
If you have a lot of odds and ends that need to be stored, get plenty of shelving, baskets and chests. This playroom features a large vintage test in the corner for storing bulkier items like sporting equipment. A cube storage unit provides organization solutions for smaller items like toys.
Small Light Color Cubby with Book Shelves
If you’re thinking of furniture that combines organization and decor, consider small floating bookshelves and a cubby system complete with fitted baskets. This example also features crates full of vinyl for music and a cute carpet made to encourage reading time. Towels and baby blankets are stored in a small fabric basket. Whether you build this small playroom space in your kid’s bedroom or create a nook within your living room, there are a variety of storage solutions that combine creativity and functionality for the perfect game area.
Adorable Baskets and Shelves with Animal Decor
If you’re looking for creative toy box ideas, look no farther than the laundry basket aisle. This soft-sided laundry hamper provides a great place for keeping stuffed animals and sports equipment, namely balls. Cubes featuring cute animals helps tie the laundry basket into the room’s theme.
Simple Woven Baskets For Stuffed Animals
Even laid-back parents who go with the flow appreciate proper organization. These colorful woven baskets fit in with the chill bohemian aesthetic of this room to create a clean, clutter-less space.
Outdoor Toy Storage
If you’re not careful, your backyard can begin to look like a toy graveyard. Even toys that are designed to be left outside can begin to look rickety and dirty. Often overlooked, outdoor toy storage can keep your yard clutter-free while keeping your kid’s playthings clean. A large weatherproof chest gives you a great place to organize and protect outside toys.
Use Stickers or Pictures To Label Storage
This bedroom uses fabric storage boxes to stash different kinds of toys. Small pouches on the front provide a place where you can label the contents of the boxes. This family labeled a picture of a box of blocks with a matching picture of blocks. A box of plastic dinosaurs features a picture of a dinosaur. This can help kids easily identify the right place to return their toys.
Repurposed Large Wall Storage
This neat and tidy playroom contains cube storage organizers in varying sizes. Two tall bookshelves frame a lower shelving unit. This creates a valley of space where larger toys can go. Wallspace above the low countertop can go towards alternative designs, like a bulletin board.
Decorative Boxes Add Character To A Room
A piece of furniture can look very different depending on how it’s styled. This room features two pieces of cube organization stored side by side. The bottom cubes display fabric boxes that toys can be stored in. As these are in a children’s room, the boxes feature whimsical illustrations of animals.
Stack Crates For DIY Toy Storage In Small Spaces
This bedroom is in an attic, which gives the ceiling a dramatic downward slant. It can be hard to find a piece of furniture that fits in such an unusually-shaped space. This room features shelving made out of crates. Each column is one crate shorter than the last, giving it a step-down effect. This provides plenty of storage for books and toys as well as decorative channel letters.
Create A Cute Hammock To Store Stuffed Animals In The Corner
As our kids start to grow up, we might realize that nostalgic items like baby blankets are no longer useful to have around. They may even just be taking up space. With some inexpensive hooks from a hardware store, you can turn crocheted blankets into little corner hammocks for your child’s stuffed animals. Your kid will be delighted over their animals having such a cozy place to hang out.
Ladder Shelving For Low-Profile Wall Organization
Ladder shelves can be great for adding functional toy storage. Large containers at the bottom hold oversized storybooks and stuffed animals. Medium-sized containers in the middle hold chapter books and soft toys. Finally, narrow shelves at the top hold playthings and decorative knick-knacks.
Princess-Themed Toy Box with Bench
One of the best ways to create extra storage is to adapt other furniture into pieces that offer organizational solutions. This toy box has been turned into an adorable custom bench. A wooden back and cushions have been added to the top of a traditional box. You can still keep items inside, but it also serves as additional seating for playdates.
DIY Treasure Chest Toy Box
If your kid likes to play outside, consider getting them a little box where they can keep their favorite outside toys. This will make it easier for them to go out and get fresh air and will cut down on the clutter you have to deal with.
Refurbished Wooden Box
There’s something very charming about older wood toy boxes. But they can feel very dated. This wooden box features the addition of a lid that’s been decorated in a bold orange and white print. Adding that bright color and pattern gives this older piece a fresh and modern spin.
Built-In Shelving with Painted Wooden Crates In Game Room
This playroom features large built-in shelves. But even if you have ample storage space, a room can get cluttered. Using white crates as containers can help minimize clutter and make the room feel neater.
Creative Playroom Storage For Small Spaces Within Your Home
This home features a cutaway under the staircase that could easily be seen as wasted space. Placing toy storage under there is a great way to use this unusually-sized area. It also provides framing to the wall so you can hang things up more naturally.
Organize Kids Room with Fun Storage
If you know your way around a hammer and a nail, you can add stylish and fun designs to your kid’s bedroom. This boho-inspired room features a reading corner with a tent and mattress. Someone has built a simple house-shaped shelf on the wall along with some wooden crates out of plywood. These make great storage containers for toys and books. Leaving the wood natural adds to the natural hippie-chic vibe.
Simple Bed Sling For Hanging Storage
Even if one piece of furniture is already pretty functional, there’s always room for improvement. This twin bed features handy built-in drawers for storage purposes. But you can make this go even further by installing a fabric pouch on the side. This makes it easier to keep books and stuffed animals nearby.
Convenient Hanging Bags Behind The Door
These linen bags are embroidered with the names of the items that go inside. It’s easy for kids to know where to find their Legos, blocks, and stuffed animals – and easy for them to put things away when they’re done. This is also great for kids who split their times between two homes and have certain items they like to take back and forth.
Superhero Inspired Toy Box
Even if you’re on a budget, you can bring in highly-personalized storage. Get an inexpensive piece of secondhand furniture online or from a thrift store. Get some furniture as well as some paint and stencils, and paint it in a way that will appeal to your child. If your kid is superhero-obsessed, this piece is a great example of something they might like and can be a simple cheap DIY project for you.
Customized Wooden Crates
It’s hard enough to keep just one kid organized. Multiple kids mean more mess to deal with. These parents have helped do an end-run around that by providing identically-sized rolling storage units with a child’s name on each one. This is a great way to encourage kids to be responsible for their own toys.
Stuffed Animals In Cloth Bin
Kids love stuffed animals, but they can quickly make a bed feel overcrowded. This room features a blue and white striped fabric basket that matches the curtains and bed linens. All the stuffed animals have been gathered up and they rest in the basket at the foot of the bed. It’s a great way to keep these comfort items accessible yet orderly.
Easy DIY Closet Organizational System
This home features ample open shelving. Bringing in baskets in different sizes only adds to the organizational capabilities of the space. Large baskets on the floor hold bulkier items like blankets and large stuffed animals. Smaller baskets organize smaller items like art supplies and musical instruments. When you have lots of items to store, mix up the size of your baskets and boxes.
Toy Shelf with Fabric Baskets In Playroom
This built-in shelving unit has plenty of room for smaller items like books and board games. But they were also careful to leave space in the middle for globes and larger model cars. Plan to accommodate items of every size when implementing an organizational system.
Tables and Boxes For Cool Organization
This playroom features plenty of table space for kids to play with games or do art projects. Storage boxes that fit under the tables give plenty of space to keep toys and other recreational items. Painting these rolling units with chalk paint gives kids another surface to decorate. You can also label the boxes so you know what’s inside each one.
Trendy Industrial Shelving in Kid’s Bedroom For Maximum Space
This room features stylish custom built-in shelving made with reclaimed pipes and wood. If you’re getting bulti-in shelving added, you can also get custom storage boxes to fit the space. This one features numbered crates with rope handles.
Hanging Mesh Baskets Provide Cheap Toy Storage
Many retailers are constantly selling inexpensive hanging mesh baskets that can be used for storage. They are suspended from the ceiling and provide low-profile organizational alternatives. Smaller kids can put toys in lower up, and parents and older kids can easily reach the top baskets.
Make Multi-Level Colorful Crocheted Hammocks For Toy Animals
If you’re the kind of person who likes to keep your hands busy, you should pick up crocheting. You can make little towels for eco-friendly house cleaning, and make colorful hammocks for stuffed animals. Hang them up in corners for cute decor.
Vintage Organizer For Baby and Toddler Toys
This old-school storage box makes the perfect place to keep bulky toddler toys. The size of the compartments is good for games that improve hand-eye coordination and fine motor skills.
Functional Hallway Storage
This home has a narrow window tucked into a hallway. Space this size can be difficult to make functional. This clever use of space brings in storage tucked away under a cozy window sweat. Now the room is both beautiful and usable.
Vintage Crate with Wheels For Portable Solution
Create storage with character by adding casters and wheels to a vintage crate. The resulting product is a cute wooden toy box that an industrious toddler can push around the house. They can practice their walking skills while keeping their favorite toys on hand.
Functional Toy Chest Table
This long toy chest features a semi-open front, which means there is no hinged top to swing open. This design allows practical items like a lamp, bookends, and colorful chapter books to be stored on top for a decorative touch.
Large Cabinet Full of Baskets
As you can see, these floor-to-ceiling closet doors feature a bold red painting of forest creatures. Putting storage behind bright colorful artwork is a great way to camouflage it while adding visual interest to the room.
Give New Furniture A Rustic Feel with Wood Stain
This console table has three compartments that are great for little kids who like Legos. Staining the top panel helps it feel more rustic and less prefab. Matching wooden crates on rolling caster wheels bring a rustic style that will keep the playroom looking trendy.
Repurpose Organizational Products For Your Own Purposes
There are all kinds of great storage ideas out there, so all you need to do is adapt them to your specific needs. This room features a fabric panel that is designed to hold 28 different pairs of shoes. Instead, each compartment holds a stuffed animal. Colorful laundry baskets on the wall provide more creative space.
Cheap Wood To Build Custom Shelving
If your kid collects a certain kind of toy, you can make custom shelving with just a trip to the hardware store. Strips of woods and wooden pegs have been assembled here to create custom shelving for a car collection.
Chic Storage Style For Playroom Decor
This kids’ room features cube storage where every other cube is enclosed by a small cabinet door and the empty spaces are filled with neutral boxes. Mixing two complementary colors can add visual interest to any room in your home.
Cute Upholstered Storage Bench For Little Girls
This bedroom is geared towards a pre-teen girl who is starting to grow out of childish things. An upholstered storage bench makes a great place for her to stash those stuffed animals that she’s mostly outgrown but can’t quite force herself to give away.
Removable Bins For Easy Access
This low to the ground storage unit features six identical removable bins. If you can pull the bins out, it might be easier for you to get organized if you have mobility issues.
Beautiful Cubby Organizer
Some designs can be complex with color-coded boxes and shelves for a sophisticated finish. This simple cube organizer is modern and upscale with a practical approach to organization. The practical white furniture contrasts nicely with natural wood storage boxes. This neutral color palette makes this playroom feel even neater and more organized.
Simple Storage For Small Toys
This cube organizer uses clear acrylic storage boxes to organize different kinds of toys. It’s very simple for kids to see where to find their cars, action figures, and dinosaurs.
Open Shelving with Cube Storage For Game Room
This family room features two rows of cube organization up against the wall. If the whole wall was made of built-ins like this, it would feel overwhelming in the space. Keeping the unit low and using open shelving on the top gives you ample room without making you feel too crowded.
Build A DIY Play Table with Storage Underneath
This train table is a great play space for toddlers to work on their motor skills. This design features built-in storage underneath with plastic containers that slide in and out. Labeled bins make it easy to identify the contents.
Mix Up Your Organizer For The Playroom
This room features a play table, a large bookcase, a cube organizer, and a play kitchen. All of these pieces can be purchased secondhand at thrift stores and through online retailers. Using several furniture styles gives you diverse and varied decor.
Complete Lego Organization System
When some people hear the word “organization”, they often assume the design will be staid and neutral. This example proves that misconception wrong as bold color-blocked plastic containers create flair in this 70s-inspired room.
Clean Wall Storage Solutions
This bright and cheerful playroom features a built-in wall organizer. This gives plenty of places to store dollhouses and toy trucks. Small bookshelves on an adjacent wall give additional room.
Padded Reading Bench Doubles As Organizer
This child’s room features a padded bench with labeled storage drawers underneath. This is a great place for a kid to stash clothes, toys, and books. It’s also a great place for adults to sit and play with their kids and grandkids.
Wall Mounted Kid’s Game Room Organizer
This bedroom features a cube storage organizer built right into the wall. A large section in the middle has been left blank and is currently used to display books and large toys. In the future, a TV may go there instead. Try to anticipate your needs so the room can grow with the kids.
Create Custom Shelves with Toy Storage Bins For Kid’s Room
If you know your way around a saw and some wood, you can build custom shelving for a kids’ room. This example features several spaces where you can slide in storage bins. It also features a little cozy bench where a shield can curl up and read. Something like this isn’t too expensive to make and can be customized for any home.
Make Charming and Practical DIY Shelving
If you’re handy, you can take time to make cute shelving that’s shaped like little houses. These make great places to put books and toys.
Use Similar Shades For Monochromatic Elegance
The cube organizer in this room features storage boxes in two different shades of pink. Contrasting colors that are on the same color palette adds an air of sophistication to this space.
Stylish All White Organization Set For Kids Room
This built-in storage is low to the ground and done in a natural wood that blends in well with the space. Using cut-out handles instead of affixing hardware contributes to the understated look.
Crafty Floating Cubes
People tend to like cube shelving and bin organizers because they look proportional and balanced in almost any space. This installation amps up storage by affixing floating cubes to the wall and policing detached bins underneath them, making this solution feel more custom and intentional.
Modern White and Grey Shelves with Top Space
If you have a minimalist outlook on life, you’ll want to camouflage your design with neutral colors and simple furniture choices. This cube storage is white and features neutral linen boxes that match the floor. The monochromatic color scheme can help make small spaces look bigger.
Design Built-In Shelving Under The Stairs
The area under a staircase can often feel awkward and clumsy. This home solves that with custom built-in shelving. Baskets on the shelves provide great places to stash toys out of sight.
DIY Toy Car Garage For Kids
If you have kids, the best way to get them interested in something is to get them involved. Next time you do an arts and crafts project, get your kids to build storage items. This one can be made with a wooden box, some PVC pipe that has been cut into equal pieces, paint, and duct tape.
Custom Colorful Woven Baskets To Store Toys and Stuffed Animals
Young kids tend to do their best learning in rooms filled with bright cheerful colors. These macrame baskets offer bright and bold storage containers for a kid’s room.
Luxury Baskets and Cube Storage with Shelves
Storage units are relatively inexpensive and easy to find. If you want yours to stand out, spend a little extra money on luxury baskets that can elevate the room and make it look modern and upscale. This Scandinavian-style decor is simple yet elegant for a stylish little kid’s bedroom.
Sliding Bins and Large Toy Basket
These built-in shelving units are done at different heights. This is helpful for little kids who may need to climb on things to reach higher objects. The sturdiness of these shelves helps them hold up to a shield’s weight.
Traditional Toddler Storage Box For Books and Stuffed Animals
Part of being a parent is teaching your kids why organization is so important. This little box holds everything in a spot where an infant can easily reach them. It helps them realize from an early age that everything has its own designated space.
Let The Decor Shine
This room features an adorable wall mural with a baby elephant lifting a baby panda up to eat some bamboo. Too much wall storage would compete with this. A low to the ground cabinet painted in a neutral color offers space without detracting from the decor.
Maximize Space with Corner Furniture
Much of this playroom is taken up by a sliding glass door that leads inside. Here, storage wraps around the adjacent corner. Building a cabinet into a corner maximizes your space without taking up too much square footage.
Transparent Baskets Give You Storage You Can See Through
Organizers provide you plenty of space to stash toys and these pink mesh storage boxes are see-through enough that you can easily identify what’s inside.
Cool Little Boy’s Game Room Design
This playroom features an accent wall that’s been painted with chalkboard paint. This means your kids can draw on that wall without causing long-term damage. Cube storage units against a chalk wall are a great place to store arts and crafts supplies.
Dichromatic Paint Can Complement Shelving
This playroom features walls painted in two colors. The bottom half of the wall is a neutral gray, and then the upper half is white. These color choices are paired with white cube shelving and a gray cushion on a small reading bench. Use paint to augment your furniture.
Scandinavian-Style Kid’s Bedroom with Baskets
This kids’ room features several elements of Scandinavian decor, including a rattan peacock chair and dried flowers. A woven basket with a rainbow on it brings in another unique element.
Easy Way To Organize Toys In A Basket
Even if you’re not particularly good at DIY, you can come up with great and simple kids’ storage. This soft-sided toy basket is flexible and can be used in many spaces for many items.
Clutter-Free Play Space
Even if your child hasn’t amassed a massive collection of toys, it’s never too soon to explore different ways to store stuff. This cube storage displays just one item per shelf, but it looks much more orderly than it would if everything were jumbled together.
Personalized Boxes Help Kids Feel Special
Children like feeling personally invested in a project. One way to get them excited about cleaning up is to put their name on the box. This sense of ownership will make them want to help keep the room clean.
Light Blue and White Wall with Shelves and Metal Baskets
This playroom features built-in storage that goes along an entire wall. Keeping the shelving white and pairing it against light blue paint helps the room keep a light, airy feel. Baskets on top provide extra space.