The following is a guest post from regular contributor, Rachel at Useful Beautiful Home.
Unfortunately the pictures for this post were lost and unable to be retrieved. I apologize for the inconvenience.
Parents and caregivers know a little something about the power of stuffed toys in a child’s life. They make boo-boos feel better, provide comfort at bedtime, and attend many household tea parties.
The trouble is, they can multiply to the point of fluffy chaos. If these beloved critters aren’t given a proper home with confinements, they can get out of control pretty quickly.
If you’re looking for an organizing solution, I dug up a little inspiration for you.
Some suggestions include the Ikea’s PS FÅNGST (had to laugh at myself trying to pronounce that out loud). These mesh containers made the list because they’re budget friendly, allow for easy child access/clean-up, and inside contents are readily visible. I’m not 100% satisfied with this option because many of the bins are out-of-reach for little children. However, it’s a great solution if space is limited and narrow vertical storage is needed for your child’s stuffed friends.
In the past, we used this giant tub from Target. While it did provide contained structure and easy clean-up, the over-sized bin ended up being emptied out and used for play rather than what was inside. As a result, stuffed toys were dumped everywhere like a cuddly bomb had exploded.
If you go the route of a large open container, I like this barrel-like bin for children to see toys all the way at the bottom. However, it could be considered a little cluttered looking, if that is something you’re trying to avoid.
Toy hammocks are another common kid-friendly option designed for corner display. If you have an abundance of stuffed animals, you could always hang two or three of these vertically in one corner for additional storage.
On the high end of the price spectrum are these adorable hardwood frames (pictured below) called Lachlan’s Ark I found on Etsy.
Similar in nature (but considerably cheaper) are wall mounted planters. I love how these are placed at perfect height for little kiddos.
My final suggestion and personal favorite is to arrange them on low shelves. We have a little closet under the stairs that we call “The Castle” where downstairs toys are kept.
Our builder customized 2 small shelves in “The Castle” for stuffed toys.
Do plush friends always end up on these shelves perfectly arranged… NO. But, are they easy for her to keep organized… YES! I especially love shelf storage for stuffed animals because they display toys nicely for young eyes and double as an “audience” for other imaginative play.
If you can’t install built-in shelves, a similar alternative is to hang the same Ikea picture ledges I used for our Library Books. I tested the ledges and found that only the larger animals wouldn’t cooperate (the two sitting on the floor in the picture below). Most of them sat neatly in place.
The extra edge that protrudes upwards keeps the animal’s “bottoms” from slipping off. In some ways, these ledges are better than flat shelves.
Regardless of what you choose, look for what will best develop your children’s organizational independence, fits your space, and keeps you from tripping over Beloved Bear in the middle of the night. 🙂
In the professional world, I’m a nurse by trade. But, around our house, I’m known as Mommy to our young daughter. My two worlds collided and began shaping into a blog. Useful Beautiful Home represents the hours I’ve dedicated to managing my household as efficiently as possible. I offer you motivation to keep your home healthy, organized, and welcoming. My goal is to share what I’ve implemented in my home to inspire you with fresh ideas and to encourage you to keep up the good work in yours!
Carrie says
Last weekend, I got a couple of empty beanbags from the local Walmart. We put all of the stuffed animals in them. Now they have accessible storage AND comfy squishy reading spots.
Rachel@Useful Beautiful Home says
Cute idea! How creative! 🙂
Bronwyn MayB says
Great ideas! If I had kids, I would use it. Instead, I will spread it around to friends who could use the knowledge!!
Rachel@Useful Beautiful Home says
Thanks! 😉
Stacy says
Here is my DIY version…
http://pinterest.com/pin/133911788892545442/
I started with shelving from Ikea and added a few 1 by 2’s and just a couple other boards to the end.
I love it!
Rachel@Useful Beautiful Home says
Oh how creative of you! I just love the little sign too. Thanks for sharing! 🙂
Rebekah Villanueva says
My problem is that I have three HUGE STUFFED TEDDY BEARS. For now I have hung them on my wall by their “bows”.
Rachel@Useful Beautiful Home says
Hanging on the wall is a creative idea! If you don’t like them as wall art, you could try something like the DIY “The Zoo” I pictured above. It looks like they also have a GIANT teddy bear way at the bottom.
Sheena says
Yes there is a giant Teddy bear in the bottom of Addies Zoo, there is also a giant stuffed dog in there that you cant seen in the picture :)- I have about 3 giant stuffed animals in there today along with tons of smaller items, as you pile more in it they shift down and squish to allow for more items 🙂
Adelaide says
I love the one the picture of the frog hanging out of the cage.
Sheena says
Thank you so much for featuring Addie’s Zoo on your page!
Sheena @ http://thekeeperofcheerios.blogspot.com/ says
If you like Addies Zoo you might also like our newest version of it, Caydens Farm Stuffed Animal Storage @ http://thekeeperofcheerios.blogspot.com/2013/12/caydens-farm-stuffed-animal-storage.html
James Mooneyham says
Loving this article! Thanks for sharing this!