Most kids have stuffed animals, and once a person walks into the house, stuffed animals multiply at an alarming rate. Without realizing it, you are faced with an ever-shrinking footprint and a sea of stuffed animals. There are some clever storage methods that can help you keep your child's stuffed animal collection organized, and some steps you can take if you want to store some toys for the long term.
1.Display them on a shelf
Storing stuffed animals doesn't always mean storing them for long periods of time, and sometimes you just need a solution to help you organize and store toys so that they are off the floor and out of the way. Built-in or book shelves are a great way to get the animals off the floor and display them, and if the shelves are low enough, your child can still reach all of his/her favorite toys.
When toys are displayed like this, be sure to dust and rearrange toys often, as dust, dander and allergens can quickly deposit on immobile toys.
If you have multiple shelves, place your child's least favorite toys on the top shelf, and her favorite toys where she can reach them.
2.Use the toy cage
Toy cages or toy pens are tall, open crates that can be used to store up to 100 stuffed animals at a time. The toys are stacked on top of each other, and the open slats or bars that keep the animals contained also allow children to reach the toys and put them back in their place.
For small animal enclosures, you can use a large basket with wide spaces between the fences. For a quick DIY animal menagerie, remove the shelves from the bookcase and tie string or twine horizontally or vertically around the bookcase, just like a bar. Fill the bookcase with stuffed animals and secure them with string.
3.Store them in a hanging organizer
You can use an out-the-door shoe closet or hanging closet to store stuffed animals. Out-the-door organizers are usually better for smaller toys, while closet organizers will be able to accommodate larger stuffed animals.
4.Use toy chests
Toy crates come in all shapes and sizes, they make excellent and beautiful furniture, and they can be used for a variety of storage as children get older. Old crates can also double as rustic toy chests, and crates on wheels make excellent portable toy storage units.
5.Hang your plush friend on a clothesline
Use the hooks on the opposite wall to lay a clothesline along the wall of your child's room. Then, you can use clothespins to attach the stuffed animal to the line.
For the clothesline itself, you can use yarn, thin rope or twine. Make sure to hang the line in a place where your child won't accidentally touch it.
6.Use stuffed animals as padding for bean bag chairs
You can buy or make a bean bag chair shell, which is simply a fabric with a zipper designed for padding. Instead of using cotton wool or other stuffing, fill the bean bag shells with stuffed animals. In this way, the stuffed animal is contained, easily accessible, and turned into a functional piece of furniture.
7.Vacuum seal them
For stuffed animals that your child won't be using soon, stuff the toys in a vacuum bag. Then, use a vacuum cleaner nozzle to suck the air out of the bag, thereby reducing the amount of space the animal takes up.
Because this method squeezes and deforms the stuffing, do not use the vacuum bag for precious stuffed animals or vintage stuffed toys, as they may be damaged by this process.