Home Organization 101 – Overview
If you would like to join our organizing challenge, sign up (here) on the event page. Once you are signed up, join the Home Organization 101 group page on Facebook (HERE). On this page, you can ask questions, post pictures, and support each other during this 14 week process.
Week #14 – THE PLAYROOM
This is it! We are at the end of the challenge. The room where our kids play with their toys can become a war zone if we dont get control of the clutter. Find a system that works and utilize it. Below I will share some tips on what you can do to get your playroom organized!
THE PROCESS
1. Take a picture of your space “before” you start & share it with the facebook group here. One of the best rewards of organizing a space is seeing the before and after pictures side by side.
2. Gather up 4 baskets: Keep, Donate, Trash, Other Room.
3. Start sorting & purging! At this point go through everything on all shelves, floor, drawers, etc. Divide it all into the 4 baskets (or more if needed).
4. Once you have sorted through everything, you are ready to clean your play room. Dust, wipe down, vacuum, windex, etc. Make it shine and smell good.
5. Now its time to organize. Get baskets, bins, use drawers, etc… The point is to containerize so the room doesnt look “messy”.
6. Categorize like items. Similar toys can go into the same basket or bin. Use baskets for everything.
7. Label the bins so the kids know where their toys go.
8. Now take an “after” picture. You’re done! Come back here to share your hard work.
OUR PLAYROOM
The Expedit shelf from Ikea is the perfect organizer for a playroom! My children keep a lot of their toys in their bedrooms so the playroom only has their board games & game systems, barbies, and baby dolls.
I found these bins at Walmart. They are stackable and come in different sizes.
Puzzles can get out of control & the different size boxes can be a pain to organize. I purchased these boxes with lids and transferred all puzzles to them. I then cut out the (small) picture from the box and threw it in with the puzzle peices.
I store my 5 year olds barbie clothes in a file box with a handle. She can carry it from room to room, to play with her barbies.
My favorite organizing tip for playrooms is to use a dresser with drawers to organize your dvd’s, games, and accessories. I purchased this one at Ikea.
I organize our movies in acrylic dvd organizers from the Container Store. I threw out most of the cases. The boxes are organized by categories.
Box 1 – Kids movies
Box 2-4 – Mom & Dads movies
Games & accessories are kept in the second drawer.
Guitar hero things are kept in the third drawer.
Loose toys that the kids play with regularly are kept in these bins under the coffee table. The kids use them to clean up and carry their toys from room to room. You can find these at Thirty One (here).
MY SPONSOR
Please welcome our sponsor this week… Jessica Akers, an independent consultant for Grace Adele. I will be hosting a giveaway for one of these cute bags next week! Visit Jessicas website to see their adorable handbags and accessories (here).
LINK UP YOUR PLAYROOM or Bonus Room BELOW…
Tags: home organization 101, playroom, toy organization
Blog, Home Organization 101, kids, Organize, Other Spaces, our home, storage, thirty one, toy organization, Toy room Posted in
42 comments
42 comments on “Home Organization 101 – Week #14 The Playroom”
Those awesome Mini Utility Bins from Thirty-One are even on sale this month! For every $31 you spend, you can get a Mini Utility Bin (or 4 other fabulous items) for only $5! Thank you for the link Toni!
Looks so great! I love the dresser idea as a TV stand. It can hold so much and makes the room look cleaner.
How did you make your Utility Bins from Thirty-One stand up so nicely? I would love any tips. Mine always slouches down.
Bri, They just do. Im not sure if you need to have them filled but mine are pretty stiff. 🙂
Try measuring and cutting the thick posterboard or cardboard and using them as the sides. That should help keep the bags from slouching.
Im gonna copy that bins under the table idea! 🙂
Very nice! Where did you get your white coffee table? Something like that would be nice in my living room!
We are so similar with our ideas it is scary. haha. I did however get a new idea! 🙂 I have one of those file containers in my office I am not even using. I was thinking about buying one of those over the door organizers for Audrey’s barbies. But you are so right that she loves to take them from room to room, so that would just not work. Thanks for the great idea! Erin
Beautiful pictures and I love how you used the shelf for all of the games. Wonderful ideas as well…I am a huge fan of using drawers for toys!
I wish I had this organized play room when my girls were young!! It is beautifully organized!!!
Where did you get the containers for the puzzles? I need some of those, I’ve been dying to figure out what to do with all of my sons puzzles!
Emily they are from walmart. They were about $1.65 each.
I saw an idea on Pinterest to use zippered pencil cases for puzzles. Just another idea if you can’t find the boxes 🙂
Hi,
I’m wondering where you purchased your sofa and/or what brand it is. Is it a Lee?
Thank you!
Its from Ikea. 🙂
Hi! Where do you store the actual barbies?
What did you use to line the drawers of the media dresser?
They came inside of the dresser when purchased at ikea. 🙂
Where did you get those dvd file folders? I’ve looked around but haven’t really found any that look like what you have. I have a ton of movies and cds but not a lot of space so this might be very helpful for me. Thanks!
They are from the container store. 🙂
Oops! I’m feeling dumb, I just saw that you posted it above the picture! Ignore me!
We use an Expedit too. Perfect size! I’m sure it is but make sure your dresser is securely attached to the wall. We had a TV on a dresser in our room and the bottom drawers had movies as well and my son had the TV fall flat on his face because of the heaviness of the drawer. We could have lost him that night. We only hang TVs now. Just wanted to share for anyone who has TVs sitting on dressers. I love your blog btw!!
I love looking at other’s organization ides, so I find myself on your site many times from Pinterest. This time, I have to ask about the DVD storage. I bought a couple of video store browsing racks and painted them for our game discs, but I can see them, so I was okay with getting rid of the cases. How on earth do you find a movie in those boxes? I have tons of movies, and we have them in alphabetical order (when the kids are feeling nice enough to follow this!), but I cringe at the thought of having to hunt through the “slips” to find a movie that has been moved! Hoping you figured out a solution so I can perhaps adopt this and gain some room back!
Tina, I have them alphabetical and I have a printed out list of each movie and what slot its in. They are numbered. 🙂
I am having a hard time finding the plastic bins at Walmart. Do you know the brand name or possible what section of the store you found them in? Thanks!
I saw you bought the small puzzle containers from Walmart, but where did you get the larger ones that hold those? They fit in the Expedit nicely! My husband and FIL are in the basement as I type this putting ours together. 🙂
Nevermind! I just found them on Walmart too, oops 🙂 Thanks so much, love your blog, you’re a lifesaver!!
which ones are they? what are the dimensions?
Great job … Too much stuff though. Your kids are spoilt.
This website is truly fantastic! It is SO motivational! Your Style is impeccable and your house is gorgeous, something we cannot afford but thanks to you we can try to come close to the beauty you’ve created in our own homes. And Please ignore negative comments like “spoilt” children. There are SO many of us who are truly grateful for what you have done to help us improve our lives!
Need help with Nerf Gun storage!!! They have taken over my playroom, small,medium and large with tons of accessories! I’m talking like 30 of them…..They are played with regularly by 2 boys so I need easy access and easy clean up 🙂
Any Ideas? Help! 🙂 !
I have two tween boys, an arsenal of Nerf guns, and enough LEGOs to build an entire adult-sized house. Any suggestions for good LEGO storage, especially when they don’t want to dismantle their creations after they’re done??
We have a ka-billion LEGOs over here too and we have developed a system for clean-up that makes play the next day easy, so hopefully it will work for you too! We have three different bins for LEGO clean-up. 1. LEGO guys go in a large Tupperwear container with a lid (the kind used for leftovers). 2. All loose LEGO pieces go in a rubbermaid bin (or two) that fits in our toy cabinet. The LEGO guy bin usually fits in one of those. 3. The creations go in one of those under the bed rubbermaids (they are extra long and pretty shallow), and then we just slide that under our armoire til the next day. It’s not completely out of sight, but keeps it all contained and keeps everyone happy!
I reallyy love this organized toy space! I am now working on organizing a mini toy space that I’ve created for my kids upstairs (I am converting a hallway into a fun media /study space for my kids), but I also have to organize the basement, where the bulk of their toys are! I have my work cut out for me — I will be looking to see what other moms are doing!
I love your storage ideas! So what did you do with the DVD cases?
What size bins do you have for expedit shelf
Love your organizing ideas! I just told my husband that we need to buy those Expedit shelves for our basement playroom and then saw your pictures.
Anyone have any tips on storing dress up clothes? Seems like that is always the messiest area of the basement no matter what I do.
Love this!! Can you please post a link for the container/drawers you have in your expedit shelf? Thanks.
Absolutely love IKEA. Playrooms can be such a clutter. The clear bins and shelving give such a clean look. Thanks for the great ideas!