The Best Ways to Store Stuffed Animals
This is a gift from so many well-meaning people. They are soft! They are fluffy! They are cute! But before you know it, your child has about 147 stuffed animals – toys that cannot be stacked, that can really only be piled up until the slightest shock makes the entire mountain fall into an avalanche.
Storing plush toys isn’t fun, but it’s a necessary part of parenting. So, we have found several ways to ease this storage pain.
Use a curtain rod
We’ll start with our favorite way of storing stuffed animals: install a curtain rod on the wall in the nursery. Pinterest user Stacy Cruz shared the idea by showing a rod attached to the middle of the wall – low enough for a child to reach – and stuffed with animals in a row. They look like they’re hanging out at the bar, but cuter than most regular patrons.
Remodel seeder
Aubrey Howell of the Organize It Challenge blog did something similar with hanging planters. She wrote that because her daughter’s room was small, placing the animals along the wall was a big space saver.
The same is with hanging planters. Dina Wolf of DIY Inspired blog used a hanging basket as a chandelier for an outdoor party and hung it in the center of the tent. Wolfe wrote:
I didn’t want to throw it away, so I ended up hanging it in my daughter’s room to store stuffed animal toys. My daughter loves it and calls it her hanging zoo.
Put them in a beanbag chair
Soft animal storage bags are basically just a chair cover that you can stuff with stuffed animals. At Kathleen Bartels, have offspring member Facebook group, there is one for your children. “It’s more comfortable than it sounds,” she says. But she makes sure that none of the harder animals are inside.
You can choose from a variety of patterns and styles – look out for the especially adorable sleeping unicorn and monkey heads .
Instead of a beanbag, Facebook member Muddy Bray stuffs a storage bag. A similar concept, a different form. It takes a little bit of work to fit all the insides so that the bag is comfortable, Bray says, so she added some pillows and blankets inside.
Canvas bags with crank arm on the wall
Before Bray discovered the magnificence of a handy storage bag, she used three canvas bags hanging on the wall. As your baby grows out of their stuffed animals or shrinks from their collection, these bags can be multi-purpose, great for storing other toys or even blankets or burp clothes for the next baby.
Use a hammock or make one
Descendant of Facebook group member Steve Julian suggests a toy hammock that helps lift a ton of animals off the floor, but admittedly can make toys a little hard to reach, depending on where you put the hammock. You usually see them in the corner. Better yet? Lower this hammock slightly so that your child can reach their animals, or at least so you can reach them.
Hammocks are available all over the place, from Target to Amazon, but if you’re looking for a cheaper option, Dina’s Shady Tree Diary recommends using a tulle length and a few 3M hooks to build your very own hammock.
Make a stuffed swing
If you like tricky options, you can try the It’s Always Autumn Stuffed Animal Multi-Tier Swing. It removes animals from the floor while keeping them visible so your child can find what they are looking for.
This is a great way to help your child narrow down their collection. Blogger Autumn says each swinging staircase can easily accommodate eight bear-sized animals – but that’s about it. She writes:
Boys know they can keep as many animals as will fit on their shelf, making it easy to know when it’s time to clean up the clutter and donate a few.
Warning: this swing might be the best idea for older kids. The urge to turn the swing into a staircase can be overwhelming.
Donate to them
And finally, the best storage solution: get rid of them. However, many charities do not accept used stuffed toys, so the trick is to find locations that are willing to accept the “lightly used” varieties. Here are a few places that need them:
Stuffed animals for emergencies
Stuffed Animals for Emergencies accepts new and carefully used animals and distributes them to children in traumatic or emergency situations. His volunteers will even clean up the animals for you. There are currently only locations in five states, but you can send your animals anywhere .
Backpack start
The Backpack Beginnings welcomes new and sustainable animals through the Comfort BackPack Program, which provides backpacks full of goodies like stuffed animals, hygiene items and school supplies for children who have been displaced by injury. You can collect your backpack or donate only animals. Send them to 1852 Banking St. No. 9024, Greensboro, NC 27408.
Humane societies
Several humane societies and the ASPCA accept stuffed animals for their live animals, including theMichiana Humane Society in Michigan City, Indiana, which specifies donations must be free of beans, sand, or pellets; The Chautaqua County Animal Welfare Society in Jamestown, NY, which will sell clean, undamaged animals in its store for resale; and the Chemung County SPCA in Elmira , NY, which uses stuffed animals for play.