Toy storage- Use what you have!

The kids' toys and how to store them has been a problem for me since Zach was a baby. It seems like I am constantly trying to figure out how to organize everything so that they play with what they have. Over the years, we've accumulated quite a stash of toys and things that the kids just had to have, and things I had to have for them. Every year I get rid of so much stuff, but it still seems to be too much. I feel that I am getting close to having the right amount, but organizing is still an issue. A couple weeks ago, I went through the kids' rooms and took out everything they are not currently playing with. I took 2 HUGE rubbermaid totes of things to the basement to be sorted/sold/donated. The kids knew I was doing it and have not even asked for anything back! It is so much easier to clean up and keep it neat (although it is still a struggle to get them to pick up their toys- I don't have any tips for that!!).

In the past, I have put their toys in totes and toy boxes, only to have endless toys disappear at the bottom of the container and never played with. It just didn't seem like an easy way for them to have access to their things. For Katelyn's room, she has a 12 bin shelf that she puts all her little pieces in like polly pockets and ponies. It has worked pretty well for her except that the bins get all mixed up. It doesn't really bother her, and she seems to be able to get to her stuff pretty well now that there is much less of it. One good thing is that it is in the closet so its out of sight! (: She also has a bench toy box but it holds the bigger items that don't fit in the bin. So far it works but I am sure I will be continually tweaking this system.
For Zach's room, I didn't want to have to go out and buy storage containers or even another bin shelf so I was looking around the house for things I could use. In our family room, we had a bookshelf that held all the kids' books (well, a small fraction of them!) but it was constantly messy and the kids couldn't see what books they had. From my teaching days, I had a spinning book rack that holds the books face out so they can see the covers. I decided to use that for the family room books and use the bookshelf for Zach's room! It worked out great! Zach had just enough room on the shelves to put his toys, and I used shoebox totes for the smaller items and put them on the shelf as well. He has a few things to the side of the shelf, like his Hot Wheels car cases but it is stacked neatly. He also has a small basket that holds some other misc. toys. Everything takes up less than half of one wall in his room. It's great. His room is probably the least cluttered of the whole house, which is good because he is the hardest one to get to clean up! (;
In the family room:

For Luke's room, I got even more creative. He has outgrown his changing table so I thought I'd use it for toys! It works perfect to hold all his bigger toys, and he can reach them on his own (except for the top shelf which I get for him). It has a drawer too but I still use it for diapers. For his smaller toys, I have always kept them in two baskets that fit under his bed. I just pull one out when he wants to play and he can go through it. It was cute to see his face when he saw all his toys on his changing table. He wanted to get everything out and it was like they were brand new toys again!

Well, I just thought I'd share some of my ideas for toy storage. If any of you are like me, you can't have too many ideas for organization- especially for toys!! (: