How to Declutter + Organize Toys Inexpensively In Kids' Rooms

I can hardly believe we’re four weeks into the Clear the Clutter Challenge, yet here it is! If you caught last week’s theme, I shared all about how to declutter and organize your master suite – the bedroom, bathroom and closet. On this week’s agenda is something even more exciting (if you’re a mom!) – kids’ rooms and toys! I love my kids dearly, but sometimes I just need to declutter and donate some of their toys for my own sanity…and because I’m tired of picking up the same dollar store toy every.single.day. that ends up on the floor but they never play with it. That’s why I’m really excited that this week’s challenge focuses on the kids’ toys and their bedrooms! Below, I’m going to share how to declutter your kid’s room and playroom and organize toys inexpensively to really help them enjoy what they have even more.

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Tips to Declutter and Organize Toys Inexpensively

1 – If your kids are young, find some time alone to go through their toys and clothes. Inevitably, little kids don’t want to part with anything, so it’s best to set aside toys they don’t play with on your own time and then you can have a chat with them about the value of donating some of their toys to kids in need.

2 – Include older children in the process of decluttering. It teaches them responsibility and also gives them a say in what should be donated vs. kept.

3 – Make several piles – keep, donate, trash, and a ‘maybe’ pile for things that are undecided. My girls have some toys that I know are special to them and I wouldn’t dare give them away. Then, they have others that they rarely, if ever, play with and could make another kid happy. They also have so many random things that they collect that I end up throwing away when they’re not looking – I’m looking at you, old Starbucks cards and broken dollar store toys.

4 – When we go through toys and find some that they no longer want to play with, depending on the condition, I will either sell them on Facebook Marketplace or donate them. I’ve found that some of their toys in great condition – like all of the Little People playsets they’ve been given over the years but never play with – are really popular and sell quickly on Facebook. It’s a nice way to put a little extra change in your wallet – especially if holidays or birthdays are coming up!

5 – One of the biggest problems we had with toys and clutter was a lack of proper storage. They have a nice big area in our hearth room for their play kitchen and kids’ table + chairs, but they had ALL of their play food and cooking tools spread all over their table so they couldn’t actually use it. We could never keep the area clean and functional. We finally went to IKEA and picked up a Kallax storage unit and baskets for this room and it made a world of difference! They could finally enjoy playing in their kitchen and I appreciated the fact the storage bins hid all of the clutter out of sight when they weren’t playing with it. We also have a larger Kallax storage unit upstairs in the playroom that doubles as an entertainment center and toy storage. And, last but not least, we have another 4-cube version in my oldest daughter’s room for more toys and books. These things are life-changing and a really great way to organize toys inexpensively!

6 – Another problem area in my daughter’s room – all of the dress-up clothes! They have all been stuffed into her bottom dresser drawer in disarray and she can never find what she wants to play with. It was either that, or hang them in her closet, but the closet rod was too high for her to reach for things herself. I haven’t done this yet, but it’s on my to-do list: buy a cheap adjustable shower curtain rod and hang it in her closet at her eye-level to hang up all of her dress-up clothes. That way, they’ll be neatly hung up and she can access them herself!

7 – My girls love to read, so we also have book overload – which I’m certainly not complaining about! Books are something I’m always happy to buy them, no matter how many they have. We used a simple hack to build bookshelves out of IKEA spice racks in both of their bedrooms. Not only is a practical way to store their books, but it also adds a decorative touch to a kid’s bedroom. This is probably my second favorite way to organize toys inexpensively – the whole project runs you $15 per room. You can also use the Kallax storage unit as a bookshelf – we have several of the cubes in the playroom filled with books (organized by color, because, why not?!).

8 – A cute apothecary jar is a fun way to store hair bows for girls. My oldest daughter has had one on her dresser since she was a baby and it adds a feminine touch to her room decor. We also have a pretty big collection of bows, so this is a nice way to contain them in one location!

9 – Another IKEA find that I love – we got this Dignitet curtain wire to hang the girls’ artwork in their playroom. They are constantly making cute artwork at school or at home, but we had no way to display it so it was ending up in a pile. We hung this wire up on one of the walls and also got the mini hooks to hang their most special pictures up for display!

10 – The last thing I have to add about decluttering and organizing kids’ rooms is this – it’s most definitely an ongoing process and something I do at least every couple of months. They are constantly bringing new things into the house or a holiday or birthday happens and things start to pile up again! I like to take a day every so often to focus on just decluttering and reorganizing their clothes, toys and books room by room. Trust me, maintaining a schedule like this helps it from becoming an overwhelming process. And if you need more storage ideas, hopefully these tips to organize toys inexpensively will help you!