toy storage

i desperately need some sort of toy storage system for all the girls' strawberry shortcake itty bitty pieces, the tinkerbell pieces, doll clothes, furniture, etc... i want to spend under $50. i'd like the shelf with the bins, but dont' know if they are big enough.

what do you have, and do you love it? and is it under $50? seriously, i'm not going over that price.

 

What about putting the pieces in cheapo ziplock containers or glad containers, and then stacking them up in the closet, or into a storage thing like this: Closetmaid storage shelf.

Or would something like this be too big? Storage bins. We have this type of thing in our living room and I love it, so easy to toss all the toys into it. Every few weeks I go through and re-organize...Little people in one, cars in one, trains in one, jewelery in one, flashlights in one...etc. But when the kids just need to clean up, they just toss it all in the top ones

 

the second one! i was looking at that one, and almost ordered it... how tall is it? do you love it? how big would you say the bottom boxes are? i need it to hold a small princess castle and a strawberry shortcake cafe

their closet is already full of toys :gah: so i have no more room in there!

 

This is actually what we have , with 4 rows of baskets, but our baskets are canvas not plastic.

The other one looks like the bottom baskets would probably be big enough for a castle and cafe. If it absolutely won't fit, I would be okay with them sitting right beside it, or stacked on top That's just me though!

Looks like walmart has that top one available Storage with bins with free site to store shipping, or this Princess storage is cheaper, with a big bottom basket, but not as many smaller baskets on it!

 

i did look at the princess ones, but i think i'm sold on that other one. unless someone can top it
thanks for your help!

i should point out that we live in a condo, and there's no "playroom", tho we have a large living space, and we do have a designated area where most of their toys stay.

 

We have a couple of these... http://www.walmart.com/ip/Tot-Tutors-Toy-Organizer/5983466?findingMethod=rr
I drew picture labels for the front of each one... cars in one, blocks in a couple (we have lots of blocks), barbies in one, barbie clothes in another, etc. The only thing I don't like about it is how easy it is to just grab bins and dump them all out. A couple of little ones can make a big mess very quickly. But it's a pretty easy way to sort and store a lot of little toys.

 

We don't have a play room either...or, I should say, my living room IS the play room! :lol: We have ours in the living room and I do love it. I agree when they dump a couple of baskets it makes a huge mess but it makes it so easy to clean up too! They like to compete to see who can gather the most toys.

 

How about something like this?

http://www.target.com/p/ClosetMaid-6-Cube-Organizer-Black-Ash/-/A-13217323

They have other colors and some bigger ones... and canvas bins to fit in them, so you could get a few... Not sure the Princess castle would fit, but they usually have some in store so you can see how big it is... The 3x3 might be more than $50 though.

I really like what the others posted though! We have the one with all the small bins, it's been put away for a while until they are older though, they just dumped everything and it was driving me nuts.

 

We have what Fran posted but in white, several of the 9 cube and 6 cube-you can get them cheaper than that Target price. I got a 6 cube for $25 the other day at Fred Meyer. Then we have Sterilite storage bins (cheapest kind, white lids) that just fit in each cube. Over the last few years we have built up quite a supply of them. We don't use lids, they are clear so they can see what's in there and if we are cleaning they know exactly where things go. With our almost 4 yr old boys we have graduated to PLaymobil things and they find a tiny red fire extinguisher and they know just where to put it. I like our system and it hasn't cost too much and we've been able to grow as we go. Our dining room is our playroom so we do have a designated area but they don't look too bad either if it was to be in your living room. I think the key is being able to see what is in each bin as opposed to the cloth collapsable bins that they sell to go in these shelves.