Unique and Simple Toy Storage Unit
for Stuffed Animal Storage

Having a proper stuffed animal storage system in place is mandatory if your child owns a large amount of stuffed animals like I did.

When I was a child, I and my sister had 50 medium-size stuffed animals of various sizes plus dolls. When our parents asked us to choose a few of them to play with, we just couldn't decide because we played with ALL of them all the time.

If your children are like me, I guarantee that it will almost be impossible to reduce the number of the stuffed animals your children have without tears and struggle. The only thing you can do is to curb its growth "firmly".

But how about the stuffed toys your children have already accumulated ? Well, you just have to deal with it and try to find a a proper stuffed animal storage unit to contain all these toys.

So, what is the best way to contain the stuffed animal ?

There are several ways you can store these items and this depends on

• the number of stuffed animals your children own, and
• the size of these stuffed toys.

If your children own more than 20 stuffed animals, here are some ideas on how to organize them:

• Toy shelf or cubbies. This is one of my favorite unit for stuffed animal storage and it works great especially if your child has a lot of stuffed animal. With toy shelf or cubbies, it is easy to take the stuffed animal off the shelf and then to put them back again after play time. I suggest you to buy a big shelf which has three sides covered (i.e. at the back, and at the right and left side). This way, the stuffed animals will not fall down from the shelf. Some ratan or wicker shelves do have three sides covered, as well as wooden book shelves. However, you may want to get a customized wooden book shelf if you can, since most book shelves are too small for storing stuffed animal. We find that cubbies are great for this purpose, too.
  
  
• Toy chest. Toy chests are great for quick clean up and storage, since it's easy to just dump all the stuffed toys into a chest. However, with this stuffed animal storage unit, you child will have to dig into the toy chest to find the stuffed animal s/he wants to play. This can create a mess. Not to mention that your child's stuffed animal can be forgotten if buried inside a chest together with other toys. Therefore, think twice before you invest on it.
  
  
• A cage like The Zoo. This is my most favorite toy storage unit for storing stuffed animals and I highly recommend this unit if your children have a lot of stuffed animals (in fact, this unit holds up to 90 medium-size stuffed animal). The unit looks like a zoo cage in which all the stuffed animals can be kept. The elastic bars of the cage and the top lid enable your child to take the stuffed animals out and to put them back in easily into the cage. In addition, this unit can also act as a decorative piece in your child's room. If you are interested, this unit is available online and can be seen and bought here.
  
  
• Hanging the stuffed toys onto a pole, like Toy Tree. This unit allows your children to hang up to 52 stuffed animal onto a pole by using elastic bands which are attached to the pole. The good thing about this unit is that it takes only small space, the toys are accessible (no digging through a chest) and it blends well with any room decoration. However, it'll take a while to clean up all the toys, since each of the stuffed toy needs to be secured into an elastic band. Your children also need to have dexterity to do so, and therefore I recommend this stuffed animal storage unit for older children (at least 5 year old).

If your children own less than 20 medium-size stuffed animals, consider yourself lucky, since it is pretty easy to organize them. Here are how to organize small amount of stuffed animal:

• Display on shelves, bookcases or cubbies.
  
  
• Display on wicker or ratan baskets.
  
  
• Decorative toy box made from fabrics. This kind of toy boxes looks like a big bin but is generally smaller than toy chest. However, with this stuffed animal storage unit, you will encounter problem similar to using a toy chest, i.e. your children need to dig through the box to find her favorite toys.
  
  
• Laundry bag, hang on the closet door.The disadvantage of using this system is that your young child will need you to hang the laundry bag or putting that down.
  
  
• Hanging the stuffed toys onto the pole. Since there is only a few toys to hang, you can make this unit yourself. Get a pole and put several L-hooks along the length of the pole. Sew a ring or put big safety pin on to each stuffed toy. Now, hang the pole vertically or horizontally and hang the ring (with the stuffed toy) to the L-hook. If you don't want to make it yourself, you can get a Toy Tree where your children can hang the toys to the pole via elastic bands attached to the pole.
  
  
• Toy hammock. Toy hammock is great for storing small amount of stuffed animal. Just make sure that your child can reach for the stuffed animal easily once put on a toy hammock.

Here are some ideas on how to store small size stuffed animal:

• Plastic bins, like Rubbermaid containers. This stuffed animal storage system provides an easy access to the toys and works great for small stuffed animal.
  
  
• Plastic drawer for bean bag animals, or small stuffed toys. This stuffed animal storage system provides an easy access to the toys.
  
  
• Display on shelves, book cases or pretty wicker baskets.
  
  
• Shoe bags, or any pocket organizer like: 15 Pocket Organizer or Over The Door Pocket Organizer with 16 Pockets . Hang on the closet or room door. However, your young children may need an adult to reach for the shoe bags.
  
  
• Hang on a Chain Gang with clips. Stuffed animal chain or stuffed animal hanger is great for small stuffed animals. However, only use the stuffed animal chain with clips with older children, since a young child may not be able to clip each stuffed toys to the chain.
  
  
• Toy hammock . Stuffed animal hammock is a good unit for storing stuffed animal. Be sure not to load to many of the stuffed animal onto a stuffed animal hammock since this unit is not as strong as for instance, a toy shelf or basket. And make sure not to hang the hammock too high, so that the stuffed animals remain to be within an easy reach.

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Related Links and Articles

Toy Storage System:

• Unusual and unique toy storage system solution
• Toy shelf system for storing child toys
• Toy chests system for storing toys
• Choosing and buying toy hammock
• Toy storage bins buying tips

Ideas for storing different type of toys:

• Creative toy storage solution for kid board games
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• Toy storage ideas for small-size toys: toy cars, theme-play set, art supplies and more
• Creative kid's toy storage for big toys organization: ball, big cars, and more
• Child toy storage suggestion for lego storage and storing building blocks
• Bath toy storage tips

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