Playroom Organization: Tips for Getting All The Toys Under Control

This post contains affiliate links.

Our playroom is constantly evolving. We’ll create a system to make our lives easier, organize the toys, display the artwork, etc. And then we’ll revise it. We’ll change it to reflect our current needs and make it work more efficiently for our family. Today, I’ll be sharing with you all how we finally got the playroom toys in order. I’ll be discussing my process for sorting the toys into logical categories and how we’re displaying them all for maximum practicality & attractiveness.

Playroom Organization: Tips for Getting All The Toys Under Control

We had this 3-tier shelving unit for many years. I knew it would be the perfect solution for keeping the kid’s toys in order. Years ago, I placed random toys in random buckets and placed it on the shelves randomly. A lot of randomness, I know! Well, the result after years of this not-so-scientific method?

Not that pretty! Quite messy, too!

I knew I could get a better system in place! So I headed to the dollar store, which is the ultimate destination for solving all sorts of household organizational problems! And I came home with nine of these babies: Square dry-erase buckets in blue & green! You can find similar ones here!

I love that they’re square (as far as their footprint) in shape, because it means I can pack them close to each other on the shelf, making it look cleaner! I also love the fact that they’re dry-eraseable, so I can label the buckets directly and then re-label them in the future as the contents change! I have this set of dry erase markers and it’s fabulous! And to those of you wondering if I forgot… I’m well aware that I purchased green & blue buckets and that I have two daughters at home. Maybe it’s that I need a break from all the pink or maybe it’s the fact that I think green & blue are basically neutrals when it comes to playrooms!

As with most organizational processes, it tends to get worse before it gets better. So I laid out all the toys on the playroom floor and started to group them into logical categories: dolls, cars, puzzle pieces, etc.

Next, every organizational project needs a set of labels. These are from the dollar store! Is it just me or do labels really make you happy, too?!

Finally, I placed all the buckets back on the shelves! Here is the After picture! So much better, right?

This looks & functions so much better!

Here is a breakdown of the different buckets and what they contain!

UPDATE: Since taking the original pictures, I updated the labels on these buckets. I used my handy dandy label maker (the same one I used on making this DIY Rolling Filing Cabinet) to make big labels! You can find this label maker here, if you’d like to check it out! I also added a little picture of the contents to each label in order to help my daughters put toys back into the correct bucket!

While we’re speaking about the playroom, do you remember those Updated Dollar Store Clipboards I shared with you a few weeks ago? Well, here they are sitting pretty on our playroom wall. Five of these guys make a perfect little spot for hanging and displaying my kids’ artwork!

It’s so easy to change up the masterpieces on display! And I love the way it looks!

I hope these tips have helped inspire you to get your playroom in order! How do you keep the toys under control?

Ever wanted to learn Arabic online? Check out Arabic Road & learn Arabic on your own terms.

Disclosure: Engineer Mommy is a participant in the Amazon Services, LLC Associates Program, which is an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to amazon.com. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. For additional details, please see our full Disclosure Policy. Any link may be an affiliate link. All opinions are exclusively my own.