There is nothing like good storage and a well-organized space! I have found that one of the hardest places to organize has been my toddlers bedroom. With the ever-growing toy collection, it seemed like there was no hope!
We purchased a toy box over a year ago but I quickly found that it was more of a black hole than anything else. Besides being big and dark, my son would throw half of the toys out before he found what he was looking for. After I had finally had enough, I started searching for toy organizers online. I found this one from Land of Nod and loved it!
One thing I did not love was the price. $199 for one bin . . . ouch! J and I knew we could make it on our own for way less and we did. We were unable to find plans for exactly what we wanted. We wanted a three stacked shelf instead of two. It took us a week or two to hammer out the plans. Here they are!
We made the toy bins from one 4×8 – 3/4″ sheet of plywood. We used a separate 1/4″ sheet that we already had for the backing. Feel free to click and print the photo below which has the cutting measurements for everything.
Tools needed:
Table saw, Miter saw, Kreg Jig, Nail gun, Drill, Sander
Materials needed:
1 4×8′ – 3/4″ Sheet of plywood
1 1/2″ Pocket hole screws
1 1/4″ Pocket hole screws
Wood glue
Sand paper
Brad nails
Paint/Primer or Stain of choice
Use a table saw to cut out the larger pieces and the miter saw for the sides/dividers. Using the table saw cut a 45 deg. angle along the bottom side of the bottom piece (12″x30-1/2″) and cut a 45 deg. angle along the bottom side of the ledge piece so that they aline and are flush. Make all your pocket holes on the bottom sides of the top and bottom pieces.
Apply some glue and screw in the bottom piece (12″ x 30 1/2″) to each side using 1 1/4″ pocket hole screws.
Attach the top (10 1/4″x30 1/2″) the same way.
Now attach the ledge piece to the bottom, making sure each edge is flush. We used 1 1/2″ pocket hole screws. We also added a couple brad nails on the edges.
Your first box is done! Now just repeat 2 more times.
Next, we put our dividers in place and nailed them in. Make sure to measure that each cubby is the same width. We left the bottom shelf open, one divider in the second shelf and two dividers in the third shelf.
Once each box is finished, you can stack them! We cut a sheet of plywood to the correct size and screwed it onto the back. This will hold each shelf in place.
I chose a paint color called Serious Gray by Sherwin Williams. I first saw it in a PB Kids catalog and have wanted to use it every since! I bought a paint and primer mix. I sanded the shelf and then applies 1-2 coats of paint/primer. The easiest way to paint this is to brush on all the +corners and then roll all the wide areas. This will give you a smooth finish!
We let it dry overnight and moved it into place the following day. There you have it, a fun, three shelf toy organizer for only $55!
This project had a lot of prep time involved. I tried my best to stay patient through all the cutting. My heart was so happy when we started to put it all together! I love how it turned out, color and all! You could certainly use individual pieces of plywood on the back if you chose to down stack them in the future. This was just a more cost efficient method.
Charlie hasn’t wanted to leave his room since we built it. He loves looking through all of his toys and clean up time has become much more bare able too. Less time looking for a certain toy means more play time!
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