Dear Simplified by Sarah:
My toddler's toybox is always a mess. It's hard keeping toys organized within one big box. I would like to find assorted-sized mesh bags in which I could grouped his toys by type. This should make it easier to find various items within the toybox. Sounds like a good idea, right?
Unfortunately, in doing a quick search on Amazon, I come up empty-handed; I'd rather not spend more than a dollar or two per bag. I suppose we could do zip lock bags, but he won't have much chance of opening and closing those on his own.
Do you have any tips on where we might find sheer/mesh organizing bags on the cheap?
Thank you!
A Loyal Reader
Unfortunately, in doing a quick search on Amazon, I come up empty-handed; I'd rather not spend more than a dollar or two per bag. I suppose we could do zip lock bags, but he won't have much chance of opening and closing those on his own.
Do you have any tips on where we might find sheer/mesh organizing bags on the cheap?
Thank you!
A Loyal Reader
This is a great question and I would love for you parents out there to offer your own solutions in the comments.
In the meantime, I'll give it a stab.
To recap, the reader is looking for some sort of storage containers that are:
- cheap ($1-2 each)
- preferably mesh bags of assorted sizes
- easy for a toddler to open and close
- transparent (I added this! Clearly the parent and child would want to see the contents of each storage container.)
My first thought: mesh wash bags. These come in various sizes and are typically used to launder delicate clothing. The example to the left comes from Anna's Linens and includes two bags for $3.99.I then did a Google search for "mesh storage bags" and got several neat (but expensive) results:
- Equinox Mesh Stuffed Bag ($6.85)
- Three mesh travel bags ($12.98)
- Large mesh bag with drawstring ($4.43)
- Mesh duffel bag ($13.78)
- And then I found these 18"x24" bags:
Intended for use by coaches, these bags are color-coded and tabbed for each player on a team. However, this would be a great way to keep like toys organized. Unfortunately, they cost $5.46 each.
Although mesh bags seem like a great and easy idea, I could not find inexpensive bags, nor do I like the thought of having to order multiple unmatched bags from various websites.
Instead of mesh bags, I'd recommend purchasing various sizes of big Ziploc bags. They're cheap, durable, and come in L, XL and XXL. Purchase gallon sizes and under with the easy zip feature for smaller toy groupings.
If bags are not your speed, I'd go for plastic totes with a hinged lid. The ones I found on Amazon cost $20.80 for a dozen.
Ideally, though, you'd find plastic boxes that stand vertically and have a lid on top, which would allow for easy access to the toys inside. Kind of like this but bigger:
Or how about clear stacking bins that fit snugly inside of the toy box?
Perhaps I could interest you in not-terribly-cheap IRIS storage bins of assorted sizes intended for pet food? (Casters can be removed.)
Although there's no one solution, I hope some of the above leads help. And I might even suggest placing smaller Ziploc bags into plastic storage containers to further organize items as needed; this is a step beyond the simple notion to keep like things together.
