16 Toy Storage Ideas That Make Cleanup a Breeze (and Cost as Little as $8)

So your in-laws send a teddy for every holiday, National Static Electricity Day included (which is January 9, BTW). This is the fix. It’s essentially a bean bag cover without the bean filling. You can stuff a boatload of stuffed animals inside of it, then zip it up and use it as a chair. When your kids want to swap out toys, they can unzip it and grab the ones they want.

OK, so a bean bag chair made out of stuffed animals isn’t your kid’s vibe. How about a hammock? This budget-friendly wonder expands to five-and-a-half feet long, and it makes use of the upper corner of a room, which—let’s be honest—otherwise goes untouched. Plus, kids can make a game out of trying to throw stuffed animals into it. Win-win.

Every playroom needs a place of calm and quiet amid the crazy toy storm, and this nifty bookshelf provides precisely that. Its six open compartments are sized to accommodate even the tallest and bulkiest picture books in your kid’s library, and the amply cushioned seat in the middle ensures your little one won’t leave a trail of books throughout your entire home on their search for a comfy place to read.

Beyblades are the Gen-Z Pogs: round, highly collectible, battle-able…and seem to get lost everywhere. This carrying case keeps every piece in place, and it’s just small enough to tuck under the bed or tote it to a friend’s house, the next time your child needs to fight for the family honor at ye olde Beystadium.

These tilted shelves make it easy for little kids to see what’s inside each box—and put things back easily. Plus, with 16 bins in varying sizes, you can organize a wide range of toys: a bin for action figures, one for dolls, a couple for outdoor toys (like baseballs, footballs and soccer balls), and so on. Whether you take the extra step to label what each bin is used for is your call.

OK, you can’t spring for a Carrie Underwood-caliber closet for your kid (or yourself…yet), but this open armoire is a great stand-in. With storage boxes underneath, a shelf on top and hanging space in between, all of your son or daughter’s dress-up clothes can be kept in order. Bonus: It has mirrored sides, so it’s like a vanity and closet in one.

These LEGO-shaped storage bins are stackable, just like their beloved toys. And, beyond looking Honey-I-Shrunk-the-Kids-caliber awesome in any room, there’s no confusion about what should go in them, making it easy for kids to tackle cleanup. (More so than those plastic bins that just get filled with anything and everything that will fit in them.)

This organizer is really a three-for-one deal: It combines a coat rack, storage cubbies and a bench seat in one compact piece of furniture. If you don’t like the visual clutter of cram-packed shelves, you can always stick woven or cloth bins in the cubbies.

For big, bulky toys, you can’t beat a classic toy chest. This modern style fits with almost any kind of décor, and kids will love the fact that they can wheel it wherever they want to play. The one downside of this style? It can become an abyss where toys disappear, only to be dredged up when you can’t fit another thing inside.

If your kid’s got a serious car collection, this is the ultimate way to show it off. This Etsy seller customizes the multi-tier organizer with your child’s name across the top, and the whole thing can store up to 50 toy cars of varying sizes. It also features two ramps that kids can drive their cars up and down on, making the organizer double as a toy itself.

Finally keep all of those tiny collectibles—and can’t-part-with-‘em Happy Meal toys—in one place with this organizer, which boasts four, generously-sized mesh pockets for all your storage needs. The best part? It makes use of that often-overlooked spot behind the door…so you really will be able to see the playroom floor again.

Art easels can often take up a ton of precious square footage, but this one stands out for its two storage bins underneath, which can hold all kinds of craft supplies. Plus, the easel itself features a paper roll on top and a dry erase board underneath, making it useful for a variety of creative projects.

This may not be the chicest basket you’ve ever seen, but you’ve got to admit, it’s pretty ingenious. Unfurl the play mat from the basket and spread it out, then pour all of the toys right onto the mat. When playtime’s over, you simply tighten the drawstrings on the play mat and everything is tucked back into the basket. Easy as that.

At some point, kids’ toys often encroach into the living room, den and just about every other communal space. If you want to keep some toys close at hand—without turning the room into a primary-colored playland—these boho baskets are the way to go. The texture and pattern are luxe, and they’re just sturdy enough to hold all kinds of toys without flopping over. Oh, and when your kids outgrow their toys, you can use them to hold throw blankets and pillows.

Behold, another oft-underutilized spot in kids’ rooms: the corners. This three-shelf cubby system puts that neglected nook to good use. It features six cubbies, which you can fill with bins to keep small toys contained, and three angled shelves for displaying prized possessions (like that third-place karate trophy…or algae-covered rock unearthed during your last family vacation).

If your Thomas the Train fanatic has acquired hundreds of BRIO train track pieces for you to trip over, this wooden activity table will be a serious game-changer—namely because the large table top will keep tracks off the floor when they’re in play, and the roomy storage drawer beneath can house them when another activity (like coloring on the whiteboard side of the table) is underway.