Pretty Toy Storage Tips & Cube Organizer

It’s week 2 of the One Room Challenge, yippee! This week I will be sharing tips for pretty toy storage with a budget friendly cube organizer. Our dining room doubles as a playroom, so it is important to me that it is both beautiful and functional. I did a mini refresh of our toy storage about a month ago and shared a bit on Instagram, but never got around to a blog post. This space is not finished, but I wanted to share my process, toy organization tips, and my favorite shelves and bins to corral the toys in your home.

By the way, if you are a new friend, a very warm welcome to you 🙂 For last fall’s One Room Challenge I made over our modern traditional guest room, and this spring I am tackling our dining room. I love beautiful, livable, budget friendly style. You can see my design board and before photos in my week 1 post HERE.

Toy Storage Before

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Here is shot of our toy storage up until about a month ago. I had just purchased the wall baskets, which is why they have tags on them! They were a seasonal Hobby Lobby find, but these round bamboo baskets are similar.

This layout was functional for a while. My one-year-old daughter Ladybug could grab toys easily! But the colorful plastic toys stressed me out, and the dining room felt messy. Additionally, the beige bins were too close in color to the shelves. I wanted a cleaner, simplified look.

Pretty Toy Storage Update

I made a few simple, budget-friendly updates, and now I love this wall of our dining room! First I added these white storage bins in place of the old beige ones. The contrasting color is much better for this shelf, and I like the modern look.

Here is our affordable cube organizer. This color is discontinued, but “natural” or “rustic gray” are similar. I am also linking more shelf options below!

Next, I shopped my home for a vase and greenery, and rearranged the decor. I’m still working on this space–I don’t love the look of the rectangular boxes on a rectangular bookshelf–but it is a huge improvement 🙂

Tips for Pretty Toy Storage

Here are a few tips to keep your toy storage pretty and organized:

1. Go through toys frequently. Either donate unused toys or rotate some into storage. I like to include my four-year-old son in this process; he helps me choose which toys to keep and which to donate. This may not work for every family, but it has been a good way for us to talk about giving and not being too attached to things.
2. Use large, opaque bins to corral toys by category. Are things organized within the bins? No! But each bin has a theme, and we try to stick to that so we can finds things. Examples are: balls, vehicles, Little People, puzzles, stuffed animals, etc. Everything has a place.
3. Keep storage simple and functional. I love cube organizers because they are budget-friendly and easy for kids to use. They can even bring the bin with them into another room!
4. Style the shelf with decor that you love. Candlesticks are perfect for a dining room (similar), and a vase is always pretty. Other options are stacked books, decorative objects, a bowl or tray for small items, or a lamp. Bonus tip: anchor the design with a few large items so it doesn’t feel cluttered.
5. Make it a habit to clean up at specific times throughout the day. When possible, we try to clean up before lunch, outdoor time, dinner, and bedtime. Basically, whenever we are making a transition, we pick up. It helps SO much at the end of the day!

Favorite Shelves and Bins

In case you are also working on a toy storage refresh, here are some pretty options I found while researching ours:

IMPORTANT: Be sure to check the width and height of your cube shelves and bins when ordering to make sure they will work together. Some cube organizers have 11 inch cubes, and some have 13 inch cubes!

Cube Organizers

Other Shelves

Cube Bins

Other Baskets

Getting this space organized and prettied up was a good first step for our One Room Challenge makeover. Excited to share more next week. In the comments below, tell me: what is your favorite toy organizing tip? XO,