My Top 10 Tips to Organize Toy Storage for Toy Rotaitons

I am a Type A kinda lady, but also a bit of a collector…so organization is kinda a big deal for me. Our toy storage for our out or rotation toys is one area of my life that has had to evolve over time, but I definitely have a few items that are my tried and true tools for keeping our toy storage organized!

a pin image that reads the best organization tools for toy storage with an image of a variety of plastic bins and drawer units stacked on shelves

Toy Storage and Life Update

If you have been here for a while then you will remember my previous post about our out-of-rotation toy storage closet. Honestly, that system worked really well for us for quite a while but with baby number 3 on the way and that room due to transition into a nursery soon I knew we needed to move the toys.

We have been in the midst of a basement renovation for a few months now and I commandeered a wall in the laundry room for our toy storage!

Check out our previous toy storage closet

a pin image that reads take a peek inside our toy closet how I store out of rotation toys with an image of open plastic bins full of toys sitting on the ground in the background

I was able to expand our space a little and add more shelves to our system. Moving obviously meant this was a good chance to reorganize our toy storage and some things did obviously change, but a lot of what was working for us in the closet continues to work for us here!

a wall of toy storage with bins, boxes, drawer units and toys all stacked on the shelves

Favorite Toy Storage Solutions

This post contains some affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases. I may receive a small commission from if you follow and decide to purchase. There would be no additional cost to you!

Sort Your Toys by Category

I SWEAR by these bins for toy storage. They are the perfect size to hold a lot without getting too heavy or overwhelming!

This is what our bins currently have in them

Musical instrument box (holds everything other than the ukulele)
2 fine motor boxes (that honestly need to be purged a bit)
A transportation box
Character figures – think Little People dolls, small princess dress-up dolls,
Magnetic toys – magnetic dress-up, magnetic cubes, smartmag toys
Polly pocket
Barbies
Domestic Animal figures box
2 Wild Animal figures boxes
Magical creatures figures box
Dollhouse furniture (slowly replacing with calico critter style pieces)
Magnetic Ball run pieces

a close up image of some of the clear plastic bins that show the different kinds of toys stored within each

In addition to the big bins I also have a few shoebox-sized bins where we keep smaller categories or categories that see less action

Dance scarves
Felt board pieces
18in doll accessories
My Little Pony dolls
Squigs
Dinosaur figures

an image of smaller clear plastic bins with different toys in each one

What you keep in your bins and what categories you have in your toy storage is going to be highly personal and individual to your kids so I am using what we currently have as an example for you!

Try and Keep Sets Together

Within most of our larger toy storage bins, I like to keep sets together within their own bags. These zipper pouches are my favorite. Sturdy but slightly see-through so I can see what is in each. Don’t be fooled though we also make use of zip locks, pencil cases, canvas bags, crown royal bags, and really anything I can find that will help keep the toy storage organized!

Filing Cabinets are Good for More than Just Papers

I really love using filing cabinets for toy storage. The drawers are big, deep, and pull all the way out so you can access the toys at the back easily.

a large white metal filing cabinet with different toy storage in each drawer

We have a 4 drawer unit that I have each drawer dedicated to different kinds of toys. The top drawer is mostly older toddler/preschooler fine motor.

the top drawer of the white metal filing cabinet pulled open to show the variety of fine motor toys tetrised into the drawer

The second drawer is where I keep dramatic play toys (the doctors kit the cash register etc)

the second drawer of white metal filing cabinet open to show the different dramatic play sets within

The next drawer is baby toys and little toddler toys.

the third drawer of the white metal filing cabinet open to show the collection of older baby younger toddler toys filling the drawer

The bottom drawer is where I keep quiet time toys and travel toys

the bottom drawer of the white metal filing cabinet open to show our collection of travel toys or toys that are strickly for quiet time

Sometimes the Original Packaging is as Good as it Gets

There are some of our toys that are still in their original box, some companies just have it right the first time and it doesn’t make any sense to try and reinvent the wheel!

Drawers are Your Friend When it Comes to Loose Parts

I have been growing our loose parts collection for 3+ years now and I have also been slowly been growing my drawer unit collection as well! All of the drawers on our toy storage shelves have been thrifted but these are the ones I swear by! Sturdy and easy to get at when I suddenly need a loose part for a school activity or play dough tray.

You can see that in most of the drawers, I keep things sorted by kind and/or by color to make it that much easier to find what I am looking for.

a close-up shot of the drawer units that we use for loose parts toy storage. The closest drawer has rainbow lucite cubes and cups, the middle drawer has colorful sooned discs and things fade out of focus after that

We also have something similar to this drawer unit and honestly, I would like to replace it eventually but it definitely is serving its purpose and makes getting at our fidget collection easier in the meantime!

an image of a grey plastic drawer unit that holds our fidget collection, sitting on the ground in our toy storage

Big and Bulky Things Kinda Suck to Store

There are always going to be big and bulky things that just don’t box up well in your toy storage. This is especially true when you have toddlers and preschoolers. My best advice is to find a shelf and just line them up. That’s the only thing I have been able to figure out at least!

Our really big stuff goes on top of the storage cabinet around the corner or on the top shelf of our toy storage then below that I have a shelf where things that will stack a little nicer get to live.

large and bulky toys lining the top of a white storage cabinet

Gross Motor Toy Storage

Ball pit balls, stepping stones, fort kits, that kind of stuff… I keep these in large tubs that sit on the floor. I like that the bins keep things contained and looking a little neater. It also helps to keep little hands out of things.

Then there are the Legos…

This is the one section of our toy storage that I know is already doomed.

Until my kids get older and really and truly get into legos and creating their own builds I like to keep our sets separate. This prevents lost pieces and helps keep things organized when we want to build them again.

Currently, I have 6 shoebox bins dedicated to this toy storage; two are lego friends sets, one is a Disney castle, one is Frozen sets, and one is miscellaneous and that leaves us one bin to grow into.

six shoebox size clear plastic bins with a variety of lego sets within

Legos are tricky here, Bitty(5) loves them. Bean(nearly3) is still too little to build with them but enjoys playing with the built kits, then there is Bug(coming in March) who will need to be isolated from them for quite some time. So I really need a good lego situation both for toy storage and for active play. If you have a lego kid in your house what systems have worked well for your family?

Labels make toy storage so much easier for everyone!

I would be remiss to leave out my handy-dandy label maker from my favorite toy storage supplies. I have LOVED being able to make a label for the broader categories. It makes it easier for other people to find things when I need some help grabbing or putting things away. Also, the labels are easy enough to remove and reuse a couple of times when I need to change whats in a bin.

a pin image that reads how to organize your toy rotation storage with an image of our wall of toys and plastic bins and drawer units faded out in the background

Toy Storage Will Never be Fully Solved and I Know it.

I know that our toy storage will need to be ever-evolving, just like my kids are ever-growing and developing new interests. I don’t mind honestly. Like I said I love organizing and toy storage will probably always hold a special place in my heart!