A Resolution for 2012: Getting Toys Organized

Thanks to everyone who left comments and sent in e-mails yesterday, both welcoming me back (so nice to know you missed me!) and sharing your goals and resolutions for 2012!  I loved reading all of them.

One of the e-mails I received was from Amanda, a mom of three in Tyler, Texas, who, like me, wants to be more organized this year, especially with her kids' toys.  The problem?  Their play space currently has no closet or shelving so she's looking for inexpensive but attractive ways to store all of their stuff.  Well, Amanda, here are a few suggestions.

If you've got boys with lots of toys, this super idea from Sugartot Designs is sure to get them excited to clean up!

And they're simple to make too.  Just use the free printable patternss from Sugartot Designs to cut out felt Superhero logos and hot glue them to store-bought bins.  You'll be done in a flash!

I'm totally stealing, I mean borrowing, this fun idea from Landee See, Landee Do.

She used her Silhouette to make vinyl labels for the drawers on an Ikea TROFAST storage unit (just $39!) so her daughter always knows what goes where.

Don't have a Silhouette?  No worries!  It's easy to make chalkboard labels like these using the tutorial from Lil Blue Boo:

Or you can download these free printable toy bin tags from Lily Jane.

Need a spot to keep books organized?  Cory Connor Designs picked up a $4 wagon from Goodwill and uses it as a bookshelf.

It's cute and wallet-friendly!

Speaking of wallet-friendly, think outside the box (or bin!) when it comes to organizing toys.  Most of them are actually kind of cute, so why not put them on display?  Hit up your local home improvement store for some garden baskets to mount on the wall and you've got instant - and easily accessible - storage.

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Whether at child height, like the ones above, or filling a whole wall like this:

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Wire baskets are a unique way to keep toys neat - and show them off!

Last but not least is a project that I'll be attempting, thanks to all of the fun dress-up clothes my girls got for the holidays.  Natalie from A Turtle's Life For Me took an old dresser and transformed it into a dreamy dress up closet.

And if all else fails, let your kids make a piece of art like this one from Play Dr. Mom, and hang it by the door.

For more ways to keep your playroom perfect, check out my Planning the Playroom Board on Pinterest.

Do you have a storage solution for toys that's worked for you?  We'd love to hear about it!  And keep those e-mails on goals and resolutions for 2012 coming!

CRAFTASTIC: Reading Re-do!

I recently found this amazing DIY storage project from Kimberly at Raising Olives and had to share it.  If your kids are anything like mine, they have TONS of books.  We've always kept them on a bookshelf but now that they're getting older, I think they'd enjoy seeing the covers to they can choose the books they want to read.  You know, kind of like this:

The problem is that a lot of the floating wall shelves I've seen are either super pricey (yeah, Pottery Barn Kids, I'm talking to you!) or don't have a "lip" that will keep the books secure against the wall.  But Kimberly found a terrific - and inexpensive! - solution to those problems by using rain gutters to create book shelves.  That's right.  Rain gutters!

You'd never know from looking at them, would you?

As you can see in the picture above, you can use them to store stuffed animals and other toys too.  Find the full how-to at Raising Olives.

Images: Raising Olives