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When it comes to organizing the playroom, nothing presents a greater challenge than your children’s toys. But there are a lot of great ideas for organizing toys, especially with the aid of plastic storage boxes for toys. In Part 1, I went over the following tips for toy organization:

1. Use color coding for different children or different types of toys.
2. Use tip-out bins for small parts.
3. Use clear bins for younger kids.

Now I will share a few more ideas for how you can make the most of plastic bins while organizing toys.

4. Label bins with what is inside them.

Even if you are using clear plastic bins for toys, it is generally helpful to put labels on the boxes which say what is inside. This is just one more way to cue your children to remember what is inside each, which can be especially helpful when it comes time to put things away. It also can help to teach younger children the meanings of different words.

5. Put pictures on the labels for younger children.

Of course, young kids who are still working on their vocabularies may struggle if the label only contains a word—especially if the bins used are opaque. For that reason you should consider putting pictures on the labels along with the words. Look for clipart or other simple images which you can print out. Alternately, you can make simple drawings. Just make them as clear as possible so that there is no confusion about what is inside each bin.

6. Customize the bins—or let your children customize them.

Another thing you can do with plastic bins is decorate them. You can even personalize them so that they are a good fit for your children’s playroom and personalities. There are a lot of materials you can use for this—colorful paper, fabric and more.

Children who are old enough to have fun crafting may enjoy decorating their own bins. There is no better way to get kids involved in organizing. A child who loves the toy bin he or she has customized will be proud to use it to keep toys tidy.

7. Get children involved with organizing the toys.

Finally, as a parent it is easy to forget that we do not always know best. An organizing system that would work great for you may be confusing and unintuitive for your child. That will never work out, and you will continue to find toys outside their designated storage areas. If your kids have their own ideas about how to organize, work with those ideas, not against them. If the playroom is organized in a way that makes sense to your children, they are more likely to keep it in order.

Keeping children’s toys organized is no easy task, but it can be done. Now you have quite a few tips and tricks which can help your kids keep their toys neat and organized in plastic bins.