Our kids have more dolls and stuffed animals than I’d care to admit. But, as much as I’ve been tempted to downsize the collection in the past, they truly do love each and every one of these dolls very dearly. The problem isn’t so much the darling dolls, it was the constant mess of them ALL OVER the floor. I’m more ok than most are with untidiness, but there are breaking points. I tried every solution I could think of. And every solution I could find on the Internet. I tried stackable bins and big baskets. Shelves, drawers. I knew the hammock thing would never work, but I thought it looked cute. These animals are a part of daily life around here, and when our daughter wants one, she will dig to get it, with no second thought whatsoever to the other ones she’s thrown every which way in the process. (I know you non-parents or those with “neat” children are thinking, “Just make your kid clean up the mess.” Spend a day with our creative whirlwinds, and then we’ll talk.)
But, finally, one day a couple months ago, I woke up with a solution. Huzzah!! We have a ton of moving boxes in our garage. I know we’ll need them again soon, but hopefully, hopefully, we won’t need as many when the time comes. So, I grabbed six (was it six?) medium-size U-Haul boxes and set to work. It was important to have the dolls be at a level the kids could reach and see easily, so I knew I wanted them off the ground. The bonus benefit to this design is the storage for all those miscellaneous trucks and doll houses underneath. I was so excited about this solution finally being “the one” that I didn’t take many photos along the way, but hopefully these give an idea of it, if you, too, have been looking for a stuffed animal storage solution.
I folded the side flaps inward on the three base boxes for support. The top flaps went up to form the barrier for the animals. The bottom flaps were cut and taped to the far side barrier walls, if that makes sense…
We were lucky to have a free corner in the room where this could go, but it could definitely work as a straight line too. I think I used extra boxes laid flat across the top for more support. Then I covered the doll area with fabric. And, for good measure, I laid down some old baby blankets as well. I am NOT a “Pinterest-perfect” type person, so the basic idea was more than enough to make me happy, but I suppose this idea could be taken to the next level by those up for the task. Since these photos, I’ve taped some scrapbook-type paper on some of the bottom sections for less of a cardboard look, but that’s sort of an afterthought.
Dolls and stuffed animals are blissfully simple to put away now, and when the kids want a specific one, it’s fairly easy for them to look through without dragging all the others out. I love LOVE this solution. I get to REUSE cardboard, it’s simple and portable when we move, and best of all, it works! So SO glad I figured out what works for us.