Project - stuffed animal containment

My son is no different than most kids.  He has a TON of stuffed animals that have been collected over the years.  He may have a few more than average since his mom was a stuffed animal addict as a child.  I had tried to contain them, but they continued to multiple and had taken over a corner of his room.  Although I said I needed to get it organized, other projects were always more pressing (clean laundry anyone?).  As usual, something will happen that moves that project to the #1 spot on the to do list.  So, take chaos with the stuffed animals and add an elderly cat who takes up residence in the stuffed animal pile and what you end up with is a project that is being done NOW.

First thing I did was take an opportunity to weed out those stuffed animals that needed to move out....the ones from amusement park games, Chuck E Cheese, and many from unknown origins.  That left us with a pile about 60% of what it had been.  While I spent 2 days washing and drying the stuffed animals that were left, I started planning how to get them organized.  I looked at a few of the "hammock" style organizers, but wall and corner space is limited in my son's room because of the mural on his walls.  

I finally settled on dividing them among two style of organizers.  The first, and largest, is simply a large metal trash can I purchased at one of the big home improvement stores.  I also bought some high gloss spray paint in a dark blue to match my son's room.  I coated the trash can and lid with 3 coats of paint, waited for it to dry, then filled it with stuffed animals.  It sits in the corner that was formerly overrun with the pile of stuffed animals.

I love the trash can because it will be easy to re-purpose when it is no longer needed for stuffed animals.  It cost about $30 total, but can be used for many years.

 

I also had found some "space" fabric that coordinated with his room.  I used no-stitch iron-on tape (one of the best inventions in my opinion) to create a bag that fits on my son's footboard.  I used one yard of fabric, folded in half.  Working with the fabric wrong-side out, I folded a hem on the front and back sides, using Stitch Witchery to fasten them.  Then used the same tape to close the left and right sides.  Flip the bag right-side out.  Then I tied ribbon from the top two corners and tied it onto his footboard. 

We filled this with some of his favorite stuffed animals and let them peek out.

This project cost $6 with the fabric and Stitch Witchery.  If you like to sew, it would be even cheaper.  Just search through the clearance section for coordinating fabric.

I'm not brave enough to say that this has solved our problem because I know more stuffed animals are already planning their adoption into our home.  At least they will have a home when they get here.