Toy Storage Ideas After Christmas

Excited children the world over will wake up on Christmas day to presents of new toys… but come January, how do we find the space to store these new treasures?

 

It’s the bane of every parent’s New Year – that sudden influx of toys and where on earth you’ll store them all. There always seem to be more presents than you remember buying and an enthusiastic family member will turn up on Boxing Day with a plastic doll house that’s taller than its intended recipient. Where will everything go?!

 

If you’re feeling overwhelmed by the sheer amount of stuff that children accumulate after Christmas, it helps to take a step back and be thankful for loving friends and family. It’s a time to be together and appreciate each other, so remind your children that it’s the season of goodwill and presents are just a nice bonus. Hopefully that re-centres the real meaning of Christmas… but we also have some practical tips to help for your January decluttering, too!

As with most areas of family life, the key is to get organised. Taking stock of the toys you already have before Christmas really kicks in will help you keep on top of duplicates, sorting things into categories will encourage more creative play and if you can sneak in a toy rotation (see below), even better! And clever toy storage ideas will help you pack your slimmed-down collection away at the end of each day. 

If your children are lucky enough to have lots of friends and family who love to buy them presents, the number of toys in your house can quickly spiral out of control. It’s good to have conversations with relatives about being slightly more restrained – you could even encourage them to gift experiences over toys. 

 

Either way, categorising their toy collection and setting limits on how much they have of each thing is an important step in controlling things. Start by sorting toys into sections – dolls, vehicles, animals, teddies, puzzles, etc. Once you have everything in piles, find a home for each category – for small bits, food storage bags are great for keeping them together. 

 

For categories where you have lots of toys, let friends and family know you don’t need any more so the collection doesn’t grow further!

The concept of a toy rotation is simple – every few months, take stock of all your toys and remove the ones your children play with less. Store these toys out of sight and give other toys in the collection more space for play opportunities. 

 

After another few months, bring the stored toys back out and swap them for others, so your toys are constantly rotating. Children really benefit from this method as it keeps their options more manageable, encourages them to play with a wider range and means they don’t get bored of toys as quickly. 

Once Christmas hits and you’ve got a houseful of exciting new toys, the first thing to do is remove them from the boxes they came in. Big bulky boxes only contribute to the toy storage chaos, so decant everything into existing storage boxes and bags to really streamline the amount of space the toys take up. Don’t forget to keep any instructions before boxes head to the recycling, though!

In an ideal world, we’d all like our homes to be neat, even inside our cupboards and drawers. But in reality, that level of organisation is rarely practical (or even possible)! Sometimes, you just need to have a place for clutter to be quickly stowed away.

 

We all know what it’s like to be frantically rushing around in advance of house guests, or getting ready for school - taking the time to neatly store away toys just isn’t going to happen. Choosing a large trunk or chest like this stylish Scandi version gives you a place to quickly store toys and games out of sight, ready to organise properly later on.

Let’s be honest - childrens’ clutter is rarely confined to their bedrooms or playrooms. Finding toy storage for living room space is a balance between something that’s aesthetically pleasing but also practical.

 

Portable solutions mean you can take it with you round the house when you’re picking up after your little one, rather than struggling with armloads of toys. Or, for older children, a portable basket means they can carry their own items from room to room as they go then put them all away at the end of the day. This lightweight rattan basket is easy to move around and will work with your interior design, too. 

Mary Poppins certainly had the right idea - if you can make little ones think tidying up is a game, they’re far more likely to participate. For toddlers, choosing a product that offers storage as well as play is a great way to introduce them to the rules of clearing up after themselves, and will leave you with a tidier living space at the end. 

 

A walker on wheels with storage elements means they can push their favourite toys around the house without leaving a trail in their wake. We also love this soft playmat storage – it unfolds to work as a base for playtime, then toys can be left in place while the bag is pulled closed around them, ready to carry off for the next adventure. 

Choosing storage with colourful tones creates a cheerful environment that’s perfect for a fun kid’s bedroom. Colours can also be very helpful when it comes to organisation; if you choose storage with different coloured boxes, you can designate a different colour for each kind of toy - for example, Lego in the blue box, pencils in the yellow, jigsaws in the red, etc. These sweet pink boxes are just the ticket for a pretty princess bedroom. 

 

If your child loves reading, you may find their bedroom or playroom becomes quickly overwhelmed with books. Choosing a bookcase is a great way to keep these neat and tidy but still accessible… and it can be used to store toys, too. This beautiful mid-century bookcase has plenty of space for books, while the cupboard at the bottom is perfect for stashing small toys. 

Just because toys are ‘tidy’ doesn’t mean they have to be hidden out of sight. Many children like the comfort of having their favourite toys around them, particularly at bedtime. Cuddly toys are OK to bring to bed, but harder plastic toys like trains or dinosaurs might not be the ideal bedtime companions!

 

Adding a small shelf next to their bed at a reachable height is a great way to display favourite toys and keep them close at bedtime, plus it keeps them off the floor and looking tidy, too!

 

Another option is a bench-style unit that gives your little ones somewhere to sit, or a surface to lean on for colouring or jigsaws. The storage shelves or cupboards traditionally used for shoes become effective toy storage. This pine storage bench has a set of display shelves for their most-precious toys, a cupboard to store things out of sight and a handy seat/table/bench/stage they can use however they like.

When it comes to toy storage in smaller rooms like the bathroom, space-saving is the name of the game. 

 

Stackable boxes mean your child can select the one with the toys they want to play with, leaving the others set neatly aside for later. Stackable boxes are great for bathroom toy storage where toys are used only occasionally, and can be quickly packed away when bathtime is over. Go for a plastic style that won’t rust in a damp environment. 

 

For more fun storage ideas, take a look at our post on how to create a reading corner for your kids.