Realistic Barbie Storage Ideas That Will Tame the Doll Mess

These realistic and simple Barbie storage ideas will help manage the mess in your playroom! If you’re sick of stepping on tiny plastic shoes, these four Barbie organization ideas are easy enough for your daughter to maintain.

I knew I’d eventually give in because after all, my six-year-old self desperately wanted one back in the day.

So when Barbie’s Dream House appeared on my daughter’s Christmas list for the second year in a row, Santa delivered.

My “formal” living room hasn’t been the same since, and it’s time for some easy organization ideas to tame this mess.

Because my daughter’s bedroom is small, Barbie’s new neighborhood is our “formal” living room (a sitting room no one uses because there’s no TV).

And you and I know that Barbie’s a bit of a shopaholic.

Between the dolls in my daughter’s bedroom, and the house, accessories, and even more dolls in the living room, I had to figure out how to organize Barbie stuff quickly and easily.

Creating a Barbie Storage and Organization System Kids Can Use

Just like when I organized LEGOs in my son’s room, I knew we needed to keep it simple. So even before the Dream House moved into my house, I worked with my daughter to find a way to clean up her Barbies fast. As her collection grew, so did our Barbie storage and organization systems.

Before setting up a toy organization system, ask yourself:

• Does my child clean up her toys willingly? (If so, I’m totally jealous.)
• Does she like to sort items in a particular way, like by type or color?
• Will it be easy to maintain this system?

When I asked myself these questions, the answer was NO to all three, therefore, I focused on making it super easy for her to clean up her Barbies. Then, I stopped worrying about keeping pairs of shoes together. If she doesn’t care, then I don’t care, either!

Now, I’ll show you the different Barbie storage ideas that we use in our house.

4 Barbie Storage Ideas That Are Easy to Implement

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Barbie Storage Containers to Buy

These are the storage bins and containers that we use to organize Barbie dolls and accessories in our home, and that I show you in detail throughout this post:

• Plastic under bed storage bin
• Portable art box/tackle box
• Rolling cart
• Overdoor shoe organizer
• Small plastic drawer organizers (check your local dollar store for these)

Under-Bed Barbie Storage

A plastic under-bed bin is a great way to quickly store Barbie, her friends, and larger accessories.

It’s the same approach I used to organize my son’s LEGOs, and I like it because when playtime’s over, all you do is dump everything in the bin and push it under the bed!

If you’re uber-organized, this approach isn’t for you. But if you want to get the job done quickly, buy a plastic bin.

Alternatively, you can try an under-bed shoe organizer to store Barbies, which will keep the dolls neatly organized.

Related Reading: Declutter Toys in a Day Without Yelling at Your Kids

Portable Barbie Accessory Storage

Since Barbie’s shoes and accessories can easily get lost in the big bin, I found this old art supply tackle box in my basement to keep all the little bits and pieces together.

The small compartments are perfect for shoes, purses, and other random things, while the large section works well for clothes.

Plus, the box easily closes up and my daughter can carry it downstairs when she wants to play with her Dream House.

Rolling Cart Barbie Organization

If you don’t have a Dream House in your life, let me just tell you that the thing is HUGE.

The house alone takes up a full corner of our living room, so when my daughter plays with it (which she’d better do since it’s so friggin’ expensive) there’s Barbie crap everywhere.

Our house cleaner comes every other week, and the woman shouldn’t worry about Barbie’s shoe collection clogging up her vacuum. So, we needed a Barbie storage solution that would hold a lot of stuff and not look terrible.

A rolling cart works perfectly because it offers a bit more organization than the under-bed bin, holds a lot, and is easy for my daughter to move around without scratching the wood floor.

Since taking this photo, I added some cheap plastic baskets from the dollar store to the top drawer to make a half-hearted attempt at keeping shoes and accessories together.

Hanging Barbie Doll Storage

Lastly, my daughter has a hanging shoe pocket organizer on her bedroom door to store even more dolls.

Can you spot my old Jem doll below? Truly outrageous! 😉

See the cute pompom trim on the organizer? That’s not just for looks, but to make the pockets a bit tighter to keep Ken and his ladies from flying out.

Standard shoe organizers like this one work fine, but check out this tutorial if you have time to make one with a custom fit.

Sensible Barbie Storage and Organization Ideas

A lot of the Barbie storage ideas I found online were too difficult for my six-year-old to maintain on her own, so I’ve found that simple is best when I just need her to clean up fast. Like every other Wednesday night before the cleaning lady comes.

And I’m not gonna lie – there are still lots of tears (because cleaning up sucks), but these easy systems take much less time to use than if we tried sorting all the accessories into tidy categories.

Although having Barbie’s Dream House (and her boyfriends, squad, pets, vehicles, etc.) in our living room is definitely not ideal, at least we’ve figured out ways to put it all away quickly.

And, my little girl’s happy to play pretend for hours!

More ways to organize toys and kids’ stuff:

• How to Declutter Toys in a Day Without Yelling at Your Kids
• 10 Clever LEGO Display Ideas That Will Show Off Your Kid’s Creations
• How to Organize Kids Crafts So They’ll Actually Use Them

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