Simply Organized: Toy Organization

I remember when Bella was a baby and we would visit friends and family members who had kids; I would look around their house and think "We'll never have this many toys."  Flash forward 3 years and ... we have that many toys - and then some!!  We decided that this year for Christmas, we were going to scale back on the amount of toys that our kids receive (don't worry - they still got plenty) and buy them organizational solutions to help keep our house more tidy and teach them about taking care of their possessions instead.

I wish that I had thought to take "before" pictures, because you would have DIED just looking at them.  But, I have plenty of "after" shots for you - just know that however badly your toy organization is now; mine was probably worse - and you can achieve these same after results!!

We bought them a storage bin organizer and loved it so much (and filled it so quickly), that we decided to buy another one!!  The best part of these bins, besides the obvious, is that it makes teaching our kids about putting toys away so easy!!  They are only allowed to play with one bin at a time.  When they're done with that bin, they must clean up its contents, put it away, and then they may get out another.  My kids picked up on this rule very easily - no begging, no shouting, no frustration involved.  Plus, when the girls have outgrown the need for these in our family area, we'll put one in each of their rooms to hold socks, shoes, more toys, etc, etc.

We also bought them a kid's sling bookshelf to help keep all of those beloved books off of the floor.  I love it because they kids can just toss the books in and take them out easily.  I don't have to worry about Gigi pulling all of the books off of a shelf or Bella not quite being coordinated enough to put them back on a shelf.  We rotate the books in this shelf often, so that their favorites for that season are always readily available.

We also have a specific "ball bin" in our house, so the kids can easily take the balls out and toss them back in!  Yes, there are two small balloons in there, too - they were part of the girls' Christmas stocking stuffers.

Finally, we converted our storage ottoman from a "catch all toy bin" into a stuffed-animals-only container.  I know there are better solutions for storing stuffed animals (like this stuffed animal tree), but our girls play with their stuffed animals a lot still, so I wanted them to be able to easily get them out and put them back in.  Plus, since they're squishy, they always fit and I don't worry about using the foot rest for its true purpose!

Our last big project during this process is to install a custom wall design in the living room/office area; to help divide the space.  I created a park scene, thanks to HP NickWalls who are allowing me to review it, and am just waiting for it to arrive.  I'll definitely post "after" pictures of that once it is up!  Here is the before shot ...

... very bland.  This is necessary to us since we technically have to "living rooms" - one we call the living room and the other we call the family room, and we want to convert half of the living room into a play room, while leaving the other half as a work space for my husband.  I'm really excited for the wall art - I think the girls are going to flip!

What great toy organization tips do you have?