Do you have a daughter who loves to play with Barbies and has a lot of Barbie stuff? The Barbie collection can feel like it is growing on its own and finding a way to store everything can be challenging. This blog post contains easy Barbie storage ideas that will provide a new look and unique ways for how to organize Barbies, from the Barbie dreamhouse to the little pieces.
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How to Organize Barbies in 6 Easy Steps
When it comes to the best way to organize Barbies, I recommend breaking it down into a few easy steps. You will need to:
1) Find all Barbie items around your house and collect them in one place
2) Determine the best place for a Barbie play area for your child
3) Display the Barbie dreamhouse or other large play item that will be the central focus
4) Set up any other larger items
5) Place the Barbie dolls in a storage container
6) Organize the smaller items and little pieces
Step 1: Find all Barbie items around your house and collect them in one place
The first step to Barbie organization is to figure out just how much of a collection your child has around the house. Depending on the size of the Barbie mess, this may take a little time. If there are just a couple pieces in your daughter’s room, this will go faster.
Regardless of the size of the clutter, do not skip this step of the process. You will need to see how much you have to determine the sizes and number of containers you need to organize the collection.
While you are gathering all the different things, it would be a good idea to look over the items to make sure things are not broken or damaged.
Step 2: Determine the best place for a Barbie play area for your child
After you have all the Barbie items together, the next step is to decide where you want to set up the Barbie play space in your home. Keep in mind that it is ok if this moves to different places over time based on your particular situation.
My daughter started getting Barbie toys the Christmas after she turned 2. At the time, we were in a different house and she was our only child. We decided to set up her Barbie play area in our upstairs bonus room of our home. There were still some small items, so we were not comfortable with her having it in her room alone at 2 years old.
We also kept the very little pieces stored away until she was a little older. At 2, she did not know how to use the teeny tiny forks and spoons anyway, so it was not an issue.
When we moved to our new home last summer, our daughter was 3 turning 4, but our son was an infant at the crawling stage. We knew we did not want it out in the main playroom for his teething hands to access.
Since our daughter was no longer putting toys in her mouth, we knew we could put the Barbie items in her room safely at this time. However, her massive collection was going to create huge Barbie clutter and take up a lot of her bedroom space. The kids do not have large bedrooms, so I did not want it take up too much room. I also did not want my son to never be able to go into my daughter’s room because there were Barbies in there.
In comes our perfect storage solution. Our daughter had a decent sized bedroom closet and all of her clothes were either hanging up or in dresser drawers out in her bedroom. When looking at the closet floor one day, I realized we could put all of her different types of Barbies in the closet and create her own play space in there! She would have easier access to her Barbies without worrying about her brother accidentally getting into them. When she was not playing with her Barbie collection, she could just shut her closet door!
Step 3: Display the Barbie dreamhouse or other large play item that will be the central focus
The third step is to display the largest Barbie toy as the focal point in your play area. Whether it is a Barbie dreamhouse, a Barbie jeep, or an ambulance, you will want the largest piece set up first. Then you can organize all the other toys around it. For us, she has this Barbie dreamhouse set up in her bedroom closet.
Step 4: Set up any other larger items
After you have displayed the largest item, you will want to set up any other larger items around it. For my daughter’s room, this includes Barbie cars, a Barbie ambulance, a Barbie swing set, and a couple doctor’s office/dentist’s office stations. If you have a lot of cars and vehicles, a shoe organizer shelf would be a great way to display them.
Since we have our daughter’s set up in her closet, we just have them surrounding the larger dreamhouse in a way that makes sense, almost like a little village.
Step 5: Place the Barbie dolls in a storage container
This step is one of the simple tips, yet one of the easiest ways to make a big difference in the Barbie clutter fast. I don’t know if it’s just me, but it is something about all the Barbie dolls lying around on the floor that makes the space look so disorganized.
Depending on the size of your child’s Barbie doll collection, there are a couple different options to store Barbies. My daughter has quite a few, but not a massive, doll collection. I did not count when I was setting this up, but I would say she probably has about 10-15 regular size dolls and a few smaller ones.
With her collection being on the smaller side, I was able to store all of her Barbie dolls in a large plastic storage basket. If your child has a larger collection, a rolling cart or drawer unit would be a great option.
What is nice about the basket or drawers is that it makes it really easy for kids to help with cleanup. If you set up a complex way of displaying the Barbies, kids will have a hard time managing the space. And your goal should be not to have to be the one to clean it up every day. My daughter can easily throw all the dolls in the basket along with any Barbie clothes that have somehow made their way around.
Step 6: Organize the smaller items and little pieces
The sixth and final step is to organize the smallest items, what I like to call the little pieces. This is all the accessory pieces that are included in every Barbie toy. It may be extra doll clothes and Barbie shoes, kitchen items, balls, doctor supplies, etc. You name it and Barbie probably has a little piece for it.
There is something about these little pieces I can find very overwhelming. When my son first starting crawling, I was terrified he was going to choke on one of the pieces. Now he is 2 and less likely to put something in his mouth, but now I am more likely to step on them or vacuum them up.
A great storage solution I have found for the little pieces are small craft organizers. They are a clear bin with adjustable dividers to hold different little things. These craft organizers are a great way to safely store the little pieces in a way that is visible and kids can maintain. They do not take up much space at all and kids can see what is inside since they are clear storage.
I bought mine from Amazon here, but I have also sometimes seen smaller options even at the dollar store.
I personally keep the little pieces stored in the craft organizers and put away where my daughter cannot get to them on her own. I have found that at her age, she still finds having all the little pieces at once overwhelming and it just turns into a huge Barbie mess. She will come ask me for them and I will give her one container at a time and she knows to put them all back up when she is done playing. Now keep in mind that she is 4 years old and we have a 2 year old also. If your child is older, you may not feel the need to put a restriction on the little pieces.
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There are your 6 easy steps to organizing Barbies, from the largest items to the little pieces. I hope this gave you some creative ways to think about easy storage ideas for your child’s Barbie collection, even in smaller spaces. Remember that the goal is to set up a space that your kids enjoy and can maintain on their own.
Comment below and let me know how you have organized your child’s Barbie collection.
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