Toy Bins for Children's Rooms

Large Toy Box

• If there is ample room in your child's room, a large, wooden toy box is an ideal place to store toys. If you have a workshop and are skilled with woodworking, you can make this box so that it fits precisely in one corner of the room. The box should have a hinged lid and can have removable or solid dividers inside it. Build or buy a box large enough to house not only the child's current toys, but the toys he'll accumulate over the years. If your child is young, make sure the box has slow close hinges to avoid smashed fingers.

Under Bed

• If room in your child's room is at a premium, storage bins that slide under a bed are an ideal space saver. These bins are typically made of plastic or rubber-coated wire and are large but not deep. If your child has carpet in his room, the boxes will slide out with ease. If the room's floor is laminate or hardwood, you can buy bins with wheels that make them easy to retrieve.

Stackable

• Stackable toy bins are ideal for children's rooms because this style of bin doesn't require substantial floor space. You can place these bins in a corner, along a wall or in a cupboard, depending on the setup of the room. The bins should be stacked only to a height that is accessible by the child, and the child should be reminded not to try to climb up the bins. It's possible to buy toy bins displaying themes such as movies or TV shows for your child, or you can decorate them yourself, if desired. There are also toy baskets designed to be stored on shelves, like the stackable toy bins, but with a more open design.

Safety

• While your child may desire toy bins with locks, avoid getting this style of receptacle because of the potential safety and confrontation issues it could create. For example, a large, locking toy box could be dangerous if a young child climbed inside and got locked in. A less dangerous problem to locking boxes involves the key. If a child loses the key to the lock, you will have to find a way to open the bin, perhaps damaging it beyond repair.