11 Best Toy Storage Organizers, According to Pros

Available in pinks, blues or multi colors, this 12-bin organizer is a classic used in many preschools — and you shouldn't hesitate to use this toy storage furniture at home, too. The bins sit at an angle so you and your little ones can easily peek inside and see which toys are where. The open design also guarantees (well, almost!) that kids can help put toys away.

Rachel Rothman, the Good Housekeeping Institute's former chief technologist and mom of three kids 7 and younger, loves that you can easily pop the bins in and out of the wooden shelves for play and clean-up time. One occasional complaint from online reviewers is that sometimes a bin can fall down if it gets too heavy or is put away incorrectly, so you do need to treat it with a little bit of care. Also give yourself about 20 minutes to build this when it arrives.

While you have to refrain from putting anything too heavy in these mesh bags that can hang from a ceiling hook or a closet rod, they're perfect for stuffed animals and small toys. One of our analysts used one bag for over five years and it never showed signs of ripping or strain. The lower tiers are easiest for young children to access while the higher tiers are perfect for stuffies they may only play with once in a while. Because they're made of mesh, it's easy to see what's stashed inside.

"Vertical storage worked really well in my kid's room, which had high ceilings but almost no floor space," says another one of our Good Housekeeping Institute Lab parents. These come in a huge array of colors as well as black and in white.

Wrangle all those plush animal friends in these two suspended net hammocks that are popular with Walmart shoppers. Hanging storage is more for displaying toys then for daily play, but we all know that cute Squishmallows and other plush are mostly good for gazing anyway. Only a chosen few sit on your child's bed! Note that this is a delivery-only item so you can't reserve these from a store.

Throwing toys in a basket is probably the fastest way to clean them up. It's not our favorite method, since you can't see what's inside, but when you use a storage basket such as this one from Target, it is easy to move toys from one room to another or to hide the whole thing away in, say, a closet. The wooden handles on this popular quilted basket look cute and make it easy to carry.

This comes in teal or yellow and in two sizes, and you can pick up in-store or order it for delivery. Online reviewers say that it's cute enough to live anywhere from the living room to the laundry room to the nursery. Though the outside is soft quilted fabric, the interior is durable polyester.

IKEA's wooden Trofast storage furniture is a best seller for a reason. The simple pine frame with sturdy plastic bins looks great in any room (even the living room) and it's strong enough to hold all kinds of toys, with additional surface space on top.

The low storage means that kids can help out during clean-up and can easily slide the bins in and out. "I use the IKEA Trofast system in my own home as a solution for Legos," MacCannell says. "When paired with Trofast storage trays, you get a removable sorting solution that helps when kids are building and then it's easy to put bricks away at the end." This organizer can also grow with your child, she notes. "It's a furniture piece they can use into adulthood."

Our parenting pros and online reviewers all say this is easy to assemble and stores toys out of sight when not in use. Rothman loves that it's available in a variety of configurations with different bin sizes so you can choose the one that fits the needs of your space. Plus, the bins are available in a variety of fun colors to offer an added pop. Most of the pine frames are more than $100 but there are some small Trofast options that come in under $100 before you buy bins.

If you've got the room in the back seat, this 7.5-inch-wide toy organizer can help you keep some toys, snacks and books off the floor of the car — and will also hold two sippy cups in insulated pockets.

There are actually nine total pockets, including mesh ones on the sides that can hold a teether for your baby or earbuds for your teen. The fact that this will be useful for years is maybe our favorite thing; we can see it being equally handy for teddy bears or kids' tablets. If there's a time when you don't need it, just fold it flat and stash it out of sight.

You strap this in with a lap seat belt to keep it from shifting around. A few online reviewers feel it's too small; there is also a Travel Pal XL if you have more space.

Get all the bath toys in one place with this. It's easy to scoop up all those rubber duckies in seconds by running the white bin through the bathwater, then leaving it in the tub to drain. Once the toys air out, you can set this bath caddy back on its base and out of the way of adults who want to get clean — and because it's not suction-cupped to the tiles, the toys won't get re-soaked every time someone turns on the shower. This gets more than 8,000 five-star reviews on Amazon.

"Keeping bath toys and holders clean and dry is key to preventing mold from growing on and inside them," explains Carolyn Forte, the executive director of the Good Housekeeping Institute's Home Care & Cleaning Lab. To clean bath toys and the caddy, she says, "Soak them for six minutes in a mixture of 1/2 cup bleach and one gallon of water. Rinse and air dry. Do this at least once per week, and between cleanings, drain as much water as you can from them and let them air-dry thoroughly." It's worth noting that this toy caddy is also dishwasher-safe.

The Montessori method of toy storage calls for open and low shelves that kids can reach independently, and for displaying only a select few toys so kids don't get overwhelmed by choices.

Lift the hinged lid on top of this to reveal a hidden storage compartment with bins that's behind the front shelves; this allows you to easily rotate your child's toys in and out to inspire play. While your child sleeps or is at school, you can pick a few key pieces to put out for that day or that week, keeping options fresh. "In most playrooms, I recommend using toy rotation to prevent boredom and keep toys feeling new," MacCannell says.

Rothman has had success getting her three kids engaged with the toy-rotation idea. The modern birchwood toy organizer is extremely sturdy and durable, but it's heavy and the brand gives a head's up that it takes two people about an hour to build this with the help of directions on an app. We feel it's worth it; the design seems to elevate anything you put in inside. Plus, it can grow with your child and be used to store books when they outgrow toys.

Snag this classic toy chest to store bulky dolls, big balls or oversize action figures that seem to find their way all over your floor. Made from sturdy wood and available in white, blonde or gray (shown), this chest also features a safety-hinged lid that protects tiny fingers from getting caught while opening and shutting. It's the perfect two-foot height for preschoolers to reach so they can help put their toys away themselves.

This will hold 4.5 cubic feet of toys, then you can close the lid and keep them out of sight. Some online reviewers say that building it is tricky, especially if pre-drilled holes are out of line, so take your time and use the brand's excellent customer service if needed.

With this organizer from Walmart, you get four handy 13" x 18" x 13" cubbies that sit beneath a cute padded bench. Add any storage cubes to hold toys, and as they grow older, kids can use this as a bookshelf and reading nook. Rothman found that most 13-inch canvas cubes fit perfectly, like the ones from 3Sprouts on our list, with room for toys to stick out of the top.

Available in black, espresso, gray, weathered wood or white (shown), this timeless piece is great to grow with your little one and offers them a comfy place to sit while they engage in make-believe. Each cube can hold up to 30 pounds (that's a lot of action figures) and works with a variety of design aesthetics. It is a fairly long piece of furniture though (about 5 feet wide), and weighs a little more than 60 pounds.

The adorable 13-inch-square fabric bins from this brand come decorated with any of 20 different animals, from this kangaroo to an elephant to a penguin to a puppy. The handy pull tab on the front of the cube is great for helping you slide them out of storage cubbies and they're the perfect size to fit in many toy-storage shelving units.

The felt animals bring a pop of color to any room and are a great opportunity to let your child personalize their storage space by picking their favorite animals. The sides of the bins are reinforced with cardboard so you don't have to worry about them collapsing in on themselves. Rothman notes that these bins can either be stored freely in your home or fit perfectly in an assortment of shelves and cubbies like the storage bench on our list. Our only caveat: The fabric can get dirty and is not quite as easy to clean as plastic bins.