9 Toy Storage Ideas Your Kids Will Actually Use

The IKEA Trofast Storage Combination is what several Wirecutter parents use to keep their kids’ bedrooms and play areas organized. The frames come in multiple sizes and configurations, so you can easily customize the system to fit your space. The drawer bins are available in four sizes (and a few colors), so you can choose a shallow bin to hold smaller items and deeper ones to fit larger toys or to hold more. When building with Lego, for example, kids can easily pull a drawer or two out to use on the floor, and then — ideally — put them away when they’re done. (Trofast systems are among our recommendations in our dedicated guide to the best Lego sorting and storage tools.) Other drawers can hold things like action figures, Hot Wheels, and costumes. And, of course, there’s the all-important miscellany drawer.

Wirecutter staff have devised some creative ways of putting the Trofast to use. You can combine two (or more) Trofast units, anchoring them together and into the wall — a critical safety precaution you should take for any large furniture. Adding a lid makes the bins stackable, which makes it simple to store toys that aren’t getting much love or that you want to set aside for a younger sibling. We’ve found that if you hide away the toys your kids are tired of playing with and bring them out again a year later, they often feel brand-new.

Writer Jackie Reeve has used Trofast bins on bookshelves instead of slotting them into the frame. She then slaps on labels and pictures of what’s inside on all the bins, and says her kid is pretty good about keeping everything sorted and organized. In a larger play area, it’s also possible to mount the Trofast frames under a sheet of plywood, creating a large table for trains, Legos, and other toys, with all the drawers below to keep the toys close at hand. And once your kids outgrow them, you can repurpose them for tool storage.

A similarly flexible system but without the plastic, the IKEA Kallax Shelf Unit can be customized with drawers, doors, hanging organizers, or fabric or rattan bins. You can also put the shelves on casters, but for kid use, it’s best to anchor them into the wall to keep them safe from tipping. (And to be doubly safe, orient them horizontally on the ground.) We like that the Kallax frames come in four-, eight-, and 16-cube configurations, so it’s versatile enough for different uses and lengths of walls.

The cubes are big enough for most kids books or even large toys. Editor and father of three Harry Sawyers has a four-cube and an eight-cube, both of which are roughly 10 years old. He says that they’re no longer in perfect condition, but they have withstood a lot of abuse and have survived three moves. Best of all, as the kids outgrow their toys, the Kallax can pull double duty as a bookshelf.