I mean let’s be honest…
Is my playroom white and pristine and Pinterest perfect?
No. But, it’s really cute (check out my recent redecorating adventure) and super functional. It’s a space where my daughters can imagine and play and just be kids. In a couple of weeks it will also dually function as a virtual learning space and a place to create fun art.
Are my kids special little snowflakes who live for order and tidiness and never wreck havoc on my playroom?
Not a chance! I’ve got two rough and tumble wildness, one of which who’s known for her tendency to be a total hurricane leaving a wake of mud and destruction in her path.
My kids aren’t perfect. My house is far from perfect, but it’s manageable and usually at least relatively clean and largely in part to the playroom organization and toy rotation system I use.
I’ve tried a hundred different ways to create a system that actually keeps our playroom looking like less of a disaster zone and I FINALLY found something that works!
Cue the angel chorus singing, “Hallelujah.”
I’ll preface this post by saying I’m the quintessential American consumer. I feel like my mail guy probably grows a little concerned on days when no packages arrive. However, in my defense a substantial amount of the toys we own were either gifts, or come from consignment sales.
Where ever they came from, there are a ton of them. I can’t be the only Mom in the world who struggles with this, so I decided to share my secret hack for toy organization that absolutely saves my sanity!
The secret to being organized is actually getting organized.
Here’s how I accomplished that in the chaos of my own little playroom!
Playroom Organization
I started looking at our toys and determining ways to store the smaller pieces so everything wasn’t drug out all at once and dumped in the floor. I individually listed things I knew we had multiples of and started thinking of how big a storage item I’d need.
We keep several larger, and frequently played with, toys in the playroom. My daughter is horse crazy and had a giant barn that was passed down to her from friends. This, as well as her collection of horses, stays in the playroom. 
We also have a cute little princess dresser that holds all their clothes. I got this old TV console when my oldest was just two and converted it into this adorable wardrobe! Unfortunately, that was before my blog so I don’t have a detailed step by step, but it was a fairly self explanatory project. I just sanded, painted and applied a gorgeous shelf paper liner to the inside.
The result is a beautiful place to hang our dress-up pretties and storage beneath for all our other play odds and ends like crowns, shoes, wands and costume jewelry.
We also have a baby care/doctor center where our baby dolls are cared for and given routine checkups. It also functions as a vet care center for my oldest.
This play center was another consignment sale score. You can buy it on Amazon, but in truth it’s not very sturdy. It functions for our purpose but pieces are constantly coming off and having to be re-applied. While a baby care center is a must in a little girls playroom, in hindsight I’d shop around and find a better design.
My husband built this awesome stuffed animal zoo. He loosely followed the instructions in this post but intentionally made it much bigger.
I love how it’s easy for the girls to access their favorite furry friends. It also makes cleaning up a cinch! The girls like to use it as a makeshift basketball goal tossing their stuffies in one by one.
My daughter’s L.O.L house and glamper are of course left out. I generally keep the L.O.L.s in the close though because her sister loves to pull the heads off of them when they’re just out and about.
She’s got quite the L.O.L collection and has a ton more on her wish list for Christmas! She’s really wanting to replace furniture so she’s been eyeing these sets.
This Kaplan bookshelf was a Facebook Marketplace score. As a former teacher, my collection of books is a bit embarrassing. The books in the playroom are just the tip of the iceburg. Both girls have full bookshelves in their rooms.
I love the design of these bookshelves and how they make everything accessible without having to spill all the books just to pull one out. They also help keep everything visible so it’s easy to find favorite books.
We also have what will soon become our digital learning space but not functions as an Art area.
This cute little desk was also a Marketplace score and has functioned perfectly for our needs. It’s got plenty of storage, but keeping loose markers around my toddler is a nightmare. To prevent her from creating her brand of art on the walls, I hung some shelves I got a great deal on from Amazon.
The shelves are cute but also functional in that they hold all of our magazines and sticker books. I also added a fun little chalkboard where the girls can write messages or draw pictures
Anything that doesn’t fit in one of these areas then goes to live under jurisdiction of the “Toy Closet.”
The Toy Closet
Our playroom is actually a bedroom that we’ve converted for the time being. I’m fortunate to have a pretty decent sized closet that I can store toys in. This is affectionately referred to as the “Toy Closet” and it is my toddler daughter’s sole mission in life to get in there unattended and reek havoc. So much so that we installed a small lock at the top of the door.
In this closet, I took all the toys that had a million tiny pieces and sorted them and organized them. On the shelves I used larger bins to hold larger toys. In these we store Little People Toys, Play-doh sets, Peppa Pig playsets and Mr. Potato head stuff.
We also store board games on the shelves. I’ve spent a hot minute collecting these and grab new ones at consignment sales all the time. Family game night is a tradition that I hope will become a staple in our family as our girls get older.
For smaller toys I looked around for awhile trying to decide what might work. But then, a friend randomly posted this amazing toy organizer from a friend for super cheap. It is PERFECT for storing and organizing small toys and I’d gladly pay retail for it!
It holds so, so, so much stuff and provides a way to keep it all organized! Just few of the things has held include: Legos & Playmobil sets, Barbies, L.O.L toys, play kitchen food, a Chubby Puppy collection, a million Minnie and Daisy dress up dolls and so much more!
We also have a 3 drawer plastic shelf and additional bins for storage. I love using the drawers to store arts and craft stuff, puzzles, and other school supplies!
So we have all these great organizational tools right? Awesome, but we all know the real challenge is keeping stuff organized with kids, right?
Through the years I’ve tried and epically failed a thousand times at teaching my kids to return things where they belong
The answer was so simple it almost hurt when I realized it. A $3 set of Popsicle Sticks
Inexpensive, simplistic and utterly game changing!
Stick System
So here’s how it works. My girls have things that are expected of them daily. They aren’t very old, and can’t do a ton of chores, but I do expect them to do a few things daily. This is also how my oldest barters for tablet time. The checklist below was what worked when school was in session.
I even have a cute one for myself to help me stay on track during the day. I’ve written another post where I share my cleaning schedule and how we use these checklists to help us accomplish school stuff daily without losing our minds.
Part of their list includes picking up toys throughout the day and returning them to their proper spots. This cuts down on a lot of clutter. I find it we do it a couple of times a day it’s much easier than waiting till it piles up.
In addition to tablet time though, keeping the floors tidy after playing also earns the girls another coveted prize. Access to the Toy Closet.
The number one rule about the Toy Closet is that the playroom must be picked up. When everything is tidy they get a our container full of popsicle sticks. On these sticks are all the toys that are kept in the closet. I also have 4 sticks with Free Choice written on it. They are allowed one stick out (each) at a time. They are not able to get a new stick until the previous toys have been cleaned up and put away in the closet.
It’s like a check-out system for toys. So stinking basic, but so incredibly brilliant!
This simple system has resulted in my children playing together better and more frequently; in me having more time to work or clean; and also in my house being just a bit easier to clean! I’m telling you… You’re gonna want to give this a try! You can thank me later!
Also…don’t forget to Pin this for later!
Once I was done organizing, I had to make it cute! I’ve got an entire post dedicated to that venture! In it you’ll find free SVGS and printables to help make yours adorable as well!
And if you’re interested in my checklist system that I use to maximize daily productivity, don’t forget to check that out here!
Be sure to check that out, but in the mean time be sure to follow me on Pinterest where I’m pinning organization and decor ideas and so, so much more!
