Designer Sarah Baeumler's Smart Tips For Optimizing Toy Storage

If you have a large family with young children, you most likely also have lots of toys lying around your home, which can create a number of problems. According to Organizing Junkie, without a clear organizational system for children's toys, kids can feel overwhelmed and not have any space to play. On top of that, an excess of toys can make cleanup frustrating and your home appear cluttered.

This is why having a plan and a place for your children's possessions is so important. Sarah Baeumler has some great advice on keeping your children's things well organized. On top of being an interior designer, Baeumler is also a mom to four kids. Because of this, she has developed some creative storage solutions to keep her home from appearing chaotic with piles and piles of toys (via Vancouver Mom).

If you feel like you're short on storage space, Baeumler has some creative places you could store your children's toys, as well as some great tips for keeping their play areas organized.

First, she suggests using under-the-bed storage. According to Vancouver Mom, Sarah Baeumler says, "I wouldn't purchase anything for my kids that doesn't fit under the beds! For my daughter, we had a queen bed, lifted it up and had shelves built for underneath her bed, and she fills them with all her stuffies ... I'm happy because they can all be tucked away at the end of the day." By creating under-the-bed storage, either with shelves or bins, you can save wall and floor space in your child's bedroom. Additionally, this could also work if you have bunk beds by using the space between the beds for storage. 

Another place you could store your children's toys is in the garage, especially if they love to play outside. According to Garage Living, Baeumeler's garage has a fall with PVC tongue and groove slats that hold shelves to keep everything off the floor. Using garage walls for storage helps store toys efficiently. 

Finally, you could keep your child's belongings in baskets on a tall shelf. This simple solution is a great way to keep all the toys off the floor. Baeumler points out via HGTV that it's easy to throw items into labeled baskets, which makes cleanup extra fast.

According to Sarah Baeumler on HGTV, many procrastinate cleaning their children's toys and shelves. However, this job is fairly simple and shouldn't take much time — she even says it can be done in under five minutes. To begin, you'll need to gather some cleaning supplies, such as a duster, a cleaner, and a cloth. Next, you'll need to organize your kid's toys either by type or by child and place them in coordinating bins. To clean the shelves, you should move from the top to the bottom and take the bins completely off the shelves.

If your toy containers are out in plain sight, like in your living room, choose ones with decorative designs that match your aesthetic. When purchasing bins for storing things like crayons, TV remotes, and other items, Baeumler chooses ones with closed lids, per Calgary Herald.

Additionally, Baeumler knows how hard it is to stay organized when you have an excess of belongings. Therefore, she says to have your kids declutter their possessions often. To do this, place items they no longer play with or that are broken in a bin for storage. Baeumler explains her process by saying, "After six months, I revisit the bin and if they haven't requested any of the toys in the bin, I know they can be donated or discarded."