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...and I just can't take it anymore!!!!

My kids have WAYYYYY too much stuff. Aside from selling them off (the toys, not the kids) at a garage sale later this spring, what do y'all do to keep toys neat and organized? The toys are freakin' everywhere!!!!! If I step on one more Lego I'm gonna scream!!

I wanted to get 2-3 of these:

because they would surely do the trick, but at close to $60 a pop that's just more than I want to spend.

Any tips or tricks for making a make-shift something-or-other like that?

I've checked Craigslist, and haven't really found any deals either.

Thanks!!!

A friend of mine (when her kids were younger) used to put 1/2 or 1/3 or so of her kids toys in big plastic bags in the garage. Every 4-6 months, she would pack up the current toys and bring out the older ones. It's like they were "new" to the kids and they'd have a blast. It also reduces the amount of toys they have available to make a mess with...

Other than that, I've got nothin for ya. The wife and I bought like 2 of those doohickeys you've got in your post, they don't seem to help much. It does help a little for organization, each bin is labelled so the keets know what goes in them, but they've got so much other stuff...

For LEGO, we bought one of those large Rubbermaid deals that fits under the bed. Shallower is better for LEGO, makes it easier to dig for pieces, so they don't have to get so many out all over the floor.

We've gotten to the point where we'd rather our kids just get money for B-day, Christmas, whatever... They've got sooooo many toys, they don't play with them all.

Thanks!

This is mostly for our 'lil guy who's world right now is Legos and Matchbox cars. Older sister pretty much has a system that's all figured out, and her stuff is confined to her room. All the 'lil guy's stuff, though, is in our main living area since that's where he plays the most.

I think I'm gonna get a few of these to help out a bit:
http://www.spacesavers.com/stackingbins.html

I think if my kids get one more toy or stuffed animal I'm gonna go nuts! I'd rather have people give $ or toys to charity than get one more crazy thing for our house!!

Last count, my daughter had over 200 stuffed animals!!!!

Not sure if they still make them (it was many years ago) but Lego had a storage bin you could buy where the top of the bin was a flat lego surface to build on... it worked great for my lil bro.. again this was awhile ago.. he turns 17 today

I think it was one of these...

http://cgi.ebay.com/Lego-Lapper-storage ... otohosting

worked great!!!

Crzy wrote:I think it was one of these...

http://cgi.ebay.com/Lego-Lapper-storage ... otohosting

worked great!!!

That is pretty cool, but I need something more vertical-ish that stacks high, not wide. That is pretty cool, though.

Target has great big clear storage boxes on sale for 5.48 right now, and even bigger ones in plain blue. They were great for using to move, and stack pretty well, although they may be bigger than Tony is right now!

Coconuts wrote:Target has great big clear storage boxes on sale for 5.48 right now, and even bigger ones in plain blue. They were great for using to move, and stack pretty well, although they may be bigger than Tony is right now!

We need the smaller ones so that we can separate out all the little toys so he can see them and put them away easily.

We have several big Rubbermaid bins for all the big stuff.

Are these a little closer, Mal?

http://www.babybungalow.com/thebabybung ... toyor.html

Have you considered getting a big food storage set? They would be smaller, and the square ones would work on a shelf.

I use short bookcases (2 or 3 shelves). Then, I have baskets/rubbermaid containers that hold the small things, dress up things, etc. but there is still space for the big items like firetrucks, dollhouses to sit on the shelves.

The shelves were anywhere from $12-20. Big Lots is where I found the cheapest, but Staples has them on sale every now and then.

I am a big believer in rotating the toys. It also makes it easier to throw some out after they have been outgrown or not missed for 6 months.

We use our old changing table to store toys in bins. It has 3 shelves and we slide bins in each level.

Have a bin system like your picture, but homemade. It works as good as your childs ability to remember to pick anything up. So, in our Emily's case. IT DON'T WORK

shakerofsalt wrote:I use short bookcases (2 or 3 shelves). Then, I have baskets/rubbermaid containers that hold the small things, dress up things, etc. but there is still space for the big items like firetrucks, dollhouses to sit on the shelves.

The shelves were anywhere from $12-20. Big Lots is where I found the cheapest, but Staples has them on sale every now and then.

Ooohhh. Big Lots is an idea. I can hit it on the way home from work today.

We're also thinking about some of these, although I was hoping for something that looked a bit nicer.

http://www.simplastics.com/items.asp?subcat=3

SMLCHNG wrote:Are these a little closer, Mal?

http://www.babybungalow.com/thebabybung ... toyor.html

In an ideal world, yes, but not for $155!!

Cubbie Bear wrote:Have a bin system like your picture, but homemade. It works as good as your childs ability to remember to pick anything up. So, in our Emily's case. IT DON'T WORK

Matt has offered to make one, but I'd like to have it before Tony graduates from college.

PA PAR8 HED wrote:I am a big believer in rotating the toys. It also makes it easier to throw some out after they have been outgrown or not missed for 6 months.

We use our old changing table to store toys in bins. It has 3 shelves and we slide bins in each level.

Ooohhh!! That might work. Although, his changing table is also his dresser. It's not one of the open-shelf kind of changing tables.

I think I'm gonna look for a small, affordable bookshelf and get a bunch of rubbermaid containers. I like the idea of the containers being clear so I know what junk goes where.

buffettbride wrote:

shakerofsalt wrote:I use short bookcases (2 or 3 shelves). Then, I have baskets/rubbermaid containers that hold the small things, dress up things, etc. but there is still space for the big items like firetrucks, dollhouses to sit on the shelves.

The shelves were anywhere from $12-20. Big Lots is where I found the cheapest, but Staples has them on sale every now and then.

Ooohhh. Big Lots is an idea. I can hit it on the way home from work today.

We're also thinking about some of these, although I was hoping for something that looked a bit nicer.

http://www.simplastics.com/items.asp?subcat=3

http://www.staples.com/webapp/wcs/store ... D:SC2:CG31

I use the 2 shelf one. Big Lots has them cheaper. Plus, when they are done with some of the toys, Matt can use them in the garage or basement for storage!

shakerofsalt wrote:

buffettbride wrote:

shakerofsalt wrote:I use short bookcases (2 or 3 shelves). Then, I have baskets/rubbermaid containers that hold the small things, dress up things, etc. but there is still space for the big items like firetrucks, dollhouses to sit on the shelves.

The shelves were anywhere from $12-20. Big Lots is where I found the cheapest, but Staples has them on sale every now and then.

Ooohhh. Big Lots is an idea. I can hit it on the way home from work today.

We're also thinking about some of these, although I was hoping for something that looked a bit nicer.

http://www.simplastics.com/items.asp?subcat=3

http://www.staples.com/webapp/wcs/store ... D:SC2:CG31

I use the 2 shelf one. Big Lots has them cheaper. Plus, when they are done with some of the toys, Matt can use them in the garage or basement for storage!

Wow! That's about perfect!! We'd use it for forever too!

buffettbride wrote:

PA PAR8 HED wrote:I am a big believer in rotating the toys. It also makes it easier to throw some out after they have been outgrown or not missed for 6 months.

We use our old changing table to store toys in bins. It has 3 shelves and we slide bins in each level.

Ooohhh!! That might work. Although, his changing table is also his dresser. It's not one of the open-shelf kind of changing tables.

I think I'm gonna look for a small, affordable bookshelf and get a bunch of rubbermaid containers. I like the idea of the containers being clear so I know what junk goes where.

We even put pictures of what goes where on the boxes (clear plastic shoe boxes from Dollar General) It did not work