1) Toys are more visible and enticing. When children can easily see their toys, they can grab their attention. Toy boxes really limit how many toys children can view at once, and can seem chaotic and overwhelming. Imagine that instead of opening your refrigerator to see your food displayed, all of your food was in one big box. It’s kind of the same theory. I used to store our books in a drawer that was at ground level so Drew (3) and Kelsie (13 months) could both access it. However, the first day that they came over with the books in our Whitmor Toy Organizer, Drew asked me to read to him 3 times (he doesn’t usually ask me to read at all unless he is sick or tired, and he was neither). He also said “Where did you buy these books at?” when they were in fact books I had owned for weeks. It was clear that having them displayed in the bin made them more noticeable for him and encouraged him to want to check them out. He’s asked me to read at least one book every time he has been over since.
2) Toys are more accessible. Toy boxes have to be fairly tall and large to fit a lot of toys. Toy organizers allow toys to be closer to the ground making them accessible by young toddlers and even babies who are crawling or just sitting up.
3) The bins are multi-purpose. Kelsie likes to stack the boxes and I have used a bin or two at a time to fill them with pasta, rice or other materials to create sensory boxes. I also plan to put a little bit of water in a bin some day for water-play outside. They can even be used to discuss and learn colors. “The legos go back in the big pink bin.”. There are three bins in each color so you can even have a row of a single color to create further discussion of colors and organization.
4) Encourages organization. With our toy organizer, we now keep the blocks in a single bin so I have noticed they get played with more. When we had a toy-box, the legos would end up all over the place so it took a long time just to gather the individual pieces before setting down to play. Most preschools have organized shelves that are at children’s heights, so teaching kids that their toys and supplies have a “home” can even help prepare them for preschool.
5) Makes toy rotation easier. You’ve probably heard of the idea of toy rotation – it stems from the problem where many children will play with the same toys regularly, almost forgetting about other toys that they have. As I mentioned above, using toy boxes leaves only a few toys on display so I think in part this happens because children don’t ever dig down deep enough into the toy box to see what else is in there, and keep playing with what is towards the top. Using a toy organizer will likely lessen this problem, but if you have more toys than what fit in your organizer, you can choose to pack up the rest or leave them out. Even if you leave them all out, you can rotate which toys are in the bins on display so that when children grow bored of playing with one set of toys, you can swap them out so they wake up to new toys being visible the next day and hopefully stay occupied with the newly displayed toys.
I have really enjoyed having a toy organizer and have no plans to ever go back to a toy box. I love how excited Kelsie gets when she eyes her toys and makes a bee-line straight for them every time she is over. I spend less time trying to entertain the kids and they seem to enjoy the ability to be more independent in picking out and putting away the toys as well. To learn more about the exact toy organizer that we have, check out my Whitmor 12 bin toy organizer review
Do you have a toy organizer? Why do you prefer it over a toy box?
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Hi there! I am Emily Evert, the owner of Emily Reviews. I am 28 and live in a small town in Michigan with my boyfriend Ryan and our two pugs. I have a large family and I adore my nieces and nephews. I love reading memoirs, and learning about child development and psychology. I love watching The Game of Thrones, Teen Mom, Sister Wives and Veep. I like listening to Jason Isbell, John Prine, and other alt-country or Americana music. I created Emily Reviews as a creative outlet to share my life and the products that I love with others.
This post currently has 10 responses.
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Pingback: Whitmor 12-Bin Toy Organizer Review | Emily Reviews
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I’m crazy about my toy organization and I’m in the process of reorganizing. My friends all wish I would do their toys. I’ve found that it makes pick up time easier and getting toys out easier….kids quickly learn where toys should be so it cuts down on the mom will you find my such and such. So worth the investment in some shelves and bins 🙂 side note, I have the set you have pictured ( it holds play kitchen stuff) but I use the bins for other stuff too…like as serving dishes for birthday parties 🙂
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I completely agree with you! I think the toy box is equal to the junk drawer in the kitchen. It’s an abyss and you can never find what you want. Love the toy organization.
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I REALLY want a few of those for my kids’ room. Maybe even one for our living room. I agree, ditch the toy box.
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Toy organizers are a must-have in our house! I love the ones that let you see exactly what is in them. My son was known for dumping out every bin just to find one item.
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Awesome post! I will be sharing this with my daughter in-law the kids need to have their toys more organized and I think this is a great solution for them!
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Cassandra Roy
I am all for toy organization…but I HATE these things. I have one now that I am about to sell off. It was great for a couple months when my son was younger, but as soon as he figured out the bins were removable he would dump every single one out in a big pile. Re-sorting these bins every day ate up time away from bedtime reading or mommy recuperation time before bed. I have found reducing access to as many of his toys is working better. Sets/blocks/small toys are put in separate containers and put away out of sight until I bring them out for him to play with. More natural toys and bigger items are displayed for his enjoyment as they don’t result in the big pile issue. Limiting the toys also keeps them fresh and interesting for him…with too many accessible he was having trouble playing constructively with one or two and would end up with a dis-interesting pile of many. Maybe it would would better if the bins were attached!
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Deb E
I love the organization with these bins, but the big problem I have is things get so dusty living in the city, near the bus line, road, and airport! I think something with covers would be better and they wouldn’t spill all over either. I do like the different colored bins though.
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I want to do this so bad, except I wanted to build our own.