16 Outside Toy Storage You Need to See

Last July, I stepped barefoot onto a rogue plastic Stegosaurus hidden in the crabgrass. Figuring out outside toy storage is literally a matter of protecting your feet. I’m not exaggerating when I say that sharp plastic spike felt like stepping on a rusty nail. My backyard looked like a colorful plastic explosion. I tried piling everything into a giant mountain in the corner for months before figuring it out. That just created a disgusting breeding ground for spiders and black mold. If you’re drowning in heavy water guns, cracked chalk buckets, and deflated soccer balls, I’ve been exactly where you’re standing right now. I’m going to show you what actually works. No exaggeration.

1. Invest In A High-Capacity Resin Deck Box For Outside Toy Storage

Let’s talk about the heavy hitters first. You need something massive to swallow up the really bulky stuff. I personally swear by the Keter XXL 230 Gallon Resin Outdoor Patio Storage Deck Box. It costs exactly $249.99 at Costco and it’s worth every single penny. I bought one last Tuesday after realizing my old storage method was failing miserably. The texture of this thick resin is slightly rough and incredibly sturdy. It won’t warp in the blazing afternoon sun. Before this, I bought a cheap, flimsy plastic bin from a discount store. Huge mistake. The lid warped within three weeks, leaving a massive gap where rain poured right in. I opened it one morning and found a putrid soup of dead bugs and soggy Nerf darts. Skip the cheap stuff. It tastes like wet cardboard, figuratively speaking. Another incredible option is the Suncast Extra Large Deck Box 170G. It usually runs about $199.00. These massive boxes easily hold four oversized pool floats, six basketballs, and a stack of outdoor cushions without breaking a sweat. The heavy lid drops down with a satisfying thud. It completely seals out the elements. If you’re serious about protecting your expensive yard gear, you absolutely need a giant weatherproof box.

2. Utilize Vertical Storage With A Compact Shed

Sometimes you simply run out of flat patio floor space. That means you have to build upward. I highly recommend the Rubbermaid 2FT X 2.5FT Compact Vertical Shed. The exact model number is FG374901OLVSS. You can usually grab it for $329.00 at Walmart. I picked one up last month because I was sick of tripping over long-handled water blasters and kid-sized metal rakes. This thing is tall and skinny. It fits perfectly against the side of my house right near the hose bib. The olive green resin blends right into my overgrown bushes. Inside, it boasts a surprisingly deep 17 cubic feet of storage space. I used to just lean my kids’ metal baseball bats against the brick garage wall. They would constantly crash onto the concrete floor with a loud, ringing clatter. It drove me absolutely crazy. Putting this tall shed in the yard solved that annoying problem instantly. You just slide the tall items right in. The heavy doors snap shut tightly. It keeps the morning dew and heavy rain completely out. If you’re dealing with a tiny courtyard or a narrow side yard, this vertical shed is your best friend.

3. Hang Mesh Bags For Sopping Wet Or Sandy Toys

Water toys are the absolute worst things to store. If you toss them into a dark plastic bin while they are still soaking wet, you’re asking for trouble. I tried this wrong for months before figuring it out. I threw a pile of wet diving rings into a closed box. Two weeks later, I opened it and the thick smell of sour mildew hit me like a physical punch. It smelled exactly like a wet dog wrapped in a dirty gym towel. You have to let these things breathe. I bought the Intex Pool Mesh Caddy Storage Bag. It measures exactly 59 inches by 13 inches by 28 inches. It costs $24.99 online. You just hang it right over the edge of your above-ground pool or a sturdy wooden fence. The white mesh material lets the breeze blow right through. The dirty water drips out the bottom onto the grass. For smaller items like sandy beach shovels, I buy generic mesh drawstring bags. You can get a 3-pack for $14.99. I make my kids dump their sandy buckets into the mesh bag right on the driveway. I spray the whole bag with the garden hose to wash the grit away.

4. Choose Multi-Functional Storage Benches

I’m a huge fan of making patio furniture do double duty. If a piece of furniture takes up precious space on my patio, it better hold toys inside. The Keter Westwood 150 Gallon Deck Box is perfect for this exact purpose. It costs $189.99 and features a dark brown faux-wood paneling that actually looks decent. The best part is that the lid is reinforced with thick steel bars. It easily supports the weight of two full-grown adults sitting on it. Last Sunday, I sat right on top of this bench drinking a $3.99 iced latte from Sprouts while watching my kids run through the sprinkler. You couldn’t even tell I was sitting on a messy pile of 15 plastic dump trucks and a giant bag of sidewalk chalk. Most people get this wrong by buying flimsy hollow benches that crack the second a teenager sits on them. I’ve literally fallen through a cheap hollow patio seat before. The sharp broken plastic scraped my leg terribly. You really need to check the weight capacity before you swipe your card. The Keter Westwood bench holds 660 pounds. You can toss a couple of $12.00 outdoor pillows on top and it looks like high-end patio furniture.

5. Create A Kiddie Parking Garage For Wheeled Toys

Scooters, rusty tricycles, and giant plastic ride-on cars take up an absurd amount of space. They never stack neatly. They just roll around and block the main walkway. I solved this by creating a designated parking garage right on the edge of the concrete driveway. I used bright yellow heavy-duty masking tape. A roll costs $6.49 at the local hardware store. I taped out three distinct rectangular parking spots on the concrete. I also sliced up a $1.25 bright pink pool noodle and glued the foam pieces to the brick wall behind the spots. This stops the kids from smashing their metal bike handles into the brick and scraping their knuckles to bleeding. My kids actually think parking their bikes in their official spots is a fun game. Before I did this, I was constantly kicking scooters out of the way just to walk to my car. The metal decks would spin around and smack my shins. It hurt so badly. Giving these bulky wheeled toys a specific, taped-off home stops them from migrating all over the front lawn. It’s a completely free organization method that works instantly.

6. Prioritize Easy Access With Open Bins Lower To The Ground

Professional organizer Megan Arthurs gave me this tip and it completely changed my yard. You have to use open bins placed directly on the ground. If you use tall bins with heavy lids, your toddlers simply won’t put their toys away. The lids are too heavy. The latches pinch their little fingers. I learned this the hard way. I bought these massive locking trunks. My four-year-old couldn’t even reach the bottom. He would just drop his toys on the grass next to the trunk and run away. Now, I use wide, shallow rope baskets. I grabbed a set of three heavy-duty woven bins for $12.99 each at Target. They sit right on the edge of the patio stones. They don’t have lids. The kids can just toss their dirty baseball mitts and jump ropes right in as they sprint past. Yes, they get a little dusty. But I’d rather rinse out a dusty bin once a month than pick up 40 individual toys every single night. Making the cleanup process frictionless is the only way you’re going to get your kids to actually help you clean. You might also like: 15 Clever DIY Easy Home Decor to Inspire Your Next Project

7. Implement A Brutal Toy Purge And Rotation System

You can’t organize pure clutter. If your yard is full of cracked plastic buckets, faded frisbees, and cheap water guns that don’t shoot, you need to throw them away immediately. I do a brutal purge every single spring. Last weekend, I bought a box of heavy-duty black contractor trash bags at Kroger for $8.49. I walked through the yard and threw away anything that was broken or sun-bleached. The rough, chalky texture of sun-rotted plastic is disgusting anyway. Once you clear out the garbage, you need to rotate what’s left. I take half of the good toys and pack them away in the dark garage. I only leave out a highly curated selection. Kids get completely overwhelmed when they have 50 different toys staring at them in the grass. They end up playing with none of them. When I swap the garage toys with the yard toys halfway through July, my kids act like it’s Christmas morning. They completely forgot about the yellow plastic excavator. Rotating toys keeps the play fresh. It also cuts the amount of plastic tripping hazards in your yard in half. You might also like: 20 Brilliant Indian Home Makeover Ideas for Any Style

8. Label Storage Clearly With Pictures For Toddlers

If you want your kids to clean up, you have to show them exactly where things go. Words on a label don’t work for a three-year-old who can’t read. I started printing out actual color photos of the toys. I took a picture of the soapy bubble wands, a picture of the fuzzy tennis balls, and a picture of the plastic sand molds. I printed them on regular printer paper and ran them through my home laminator. A pack of 100 laminating pouches costs $15.99 on Amazon. I used heavy-duty clear packing tape to stick these picture labels right onto the front of the plastic bins. Honestly this changed how I handle cleanup time. I used to yell across the yard, asking why the chalk was soaking in the water bin. Now, my youngest just matches the toy in his hand to the colorful picture on the box. It’s foolproof. The laminated plastic protects the paper from the sprinklers and the heavy morning dew. The photos eventually fade in the harsh sun after a year, but printing new ones takes five minutes. It’s a tiny visual cue that saves me hours of frustration. You might also like: 15 Inspiring Aesthetic DIY Home Decor You Can Try Today

9. Build A Wall-Mounted Bungee Cord Rack For Sports Balls

Basketballs and soccer balls are infuriating to store. They roll out of shallow bins. They take up way too much floor space. I finally built a custom wall-mounted ball rack. It took me exactly 20 minutes. I bought two cheap wooden planks and four heavy-duty bungee cords. The supplies cost me $18.50 total. I screwed the planks horizontally to the wooden fence, about three feet apart. Then I stretched the bungee cords vertically between the two planks. You just shove the basketballs behind the tight rubber cords. The cords stretch to let the ball in, then snap back to hold it tight against the fence. It holds six large balls securely. I also love using pegboards for smaller sports gear. I bought a heavy-duty outdoor pegboard kit from The Creativity Exchange for $45.00. I mounted it right next to the sliding glass back door. It has metal hooks for heavy jump ropes and small wire baskets for tennis balls. Keeping the round, rolling items up off the concrete patio makes the whole yard look instantly cleaner. Plus, you don’t have to chase a rolling basketball across the yard while carrying heavy groceries.

10. Ensure Superior Weather Protection With HDPE Materials

The material of your storage box matters more than anything else. You absolutely must buy bins made from High-Density Polyethylene. We call it HDPE for short. It’s a specific type of industrial-grade plastic. Brands like Suncast and Lifetime exclusively use this stuff. I learned this painful lesson after wasting money on a cheap polypropylene bin. The cheap plastic literally baked in the July sun. It turned incredibly brittle. When my son accidentally kicked a hard soccer ball into the side of it, the plastic shattered into sharp, jagged pieces. It was incredibly dangerous. HDPE doesn’t do that. It has UV inhibitors mixed right into the plastic. It flexes slightly when you hit it. Suncast offers 5-year to 10-year warranties on their HDPE deck boxes because they know the material won’t crack. A good Suncast 99-Gallon Resin Wicker Deck Box runs about $149.00. The dark brown woven texture looks exactly like real rattan, but it feels thick and rubbery to the touch. It repels water instantly. You can watch the rain bead up and roll right off the lid. Don’t waste your money on anything else.

11. Hide Things Away With Integrated Under-Trellis Storage

If you hate the look of bulky plastic bins, you can hide your toys in plain sight. I love integrated storage. My husband built a beautiful wooden trellis against our back fence for climbing jasmine vines. He added a 24-inch deep wooden bench right at the base of the trellis. The top of the bench is actually a hidden lid on heavy metal hinges. Inside, it’s a massive cavern for storing ugly neon plastic toys. The stained wood blends perfectly with our landscaping. The sweet smell of the blooming jasmine completely masks the slight rubbery smell of the pool floats stored inside. You can also buy pre-made wooden garden benches with hidden compartments if you aren’t handy. A solid acacia wood storage bench costs around $215.00. Just make sure you line the inside with a heavy plastic tarp. Wood isn’t naturally waterproof. I staple a $9.99 waterproof tarp to the inside walls of the wooden box. This keeps the sharp splinters away from the toys and keeps the ground moisture out. It’s a gorgeous, sneaky way to hide a mountain of neon water blasters.

12. Opt For Portable Rolling Carts For Dynamic Play

Sometimes the kids want to play on the hot driveway. Sometimes they want to play on the cool back grass. Carrying armfuls of toys back and forth is exhausting. I solved this by buying a heavy-duty rolling cart. I specifically bought the Tis Your Season Rolling Pool Toy Storage Cart Bin. It measures 24 inches long, 24 inches deep, and 36 inches high. It costs $59.99 online. It has four heavy-duty caster wheels on the bottom. The sides are made of a tight blue mesh. When my kids want to set up an obstacle course in the front yard, they just push the whole cart down the driveway. The hard wheels rattle slightly on the concrete, but they roll smoothly. When they are done, they toss everything back in and roll it right into the garage. I used to carry six heavy buckets of chalk and foam blocks by hand. My arms would be burning by the time I made three trips. Putting everything on wheels is a total lifesaver. You just roll the mess to wherever the kids are, and roll it away when they finish.

13. Group Like Items Together Into Specific Play Zones

Throwing every single toy into one giant box is a recipe for disaster. Your kid will dump the entire 100-gallon box onto the grass just to find one specific matchbox car resting at the bottom. The loud clatter of a hundred plastic toys hitting the patio is a sound I know too well. You have to group like items together. I create specific play zones. I keep a small, 30-gallon bin exclusively for sand toys right next to the wooden sandbox. I keep a tall mesh bag exclusively for pool noodles right next to the water hose. I actually use cheap reusable grocery bags to sort things first. I grabbed five heavy-duty canvas bags from Trader Joe’s for $0.99 each. I put all the dusty chalk in one. I put all the green bug-catching nets in another. Then I drop those sorted bags into the main storage bench. When my daughter wants to draw on the driveway, she just grabs the specific canvas bag holding the chalk. She doesn’t have to dig through wet diving rings and dirty tennis balls to find it.

14. Prevent Water Accumulation Inside Deck Boxes

Water always finds a way in. Even the absolute best deck boxes get wet inside when soaking wet kids reach in to grab a toy. If that water just sits at the bottom of the plastic box, it turns disgusting fast. I opened a bin last August and a thick cloud of aggressive mosquitoes flew right into my face. The bottom two inches of the box were filled with murky, stagnant rainwater. It was a massive mistake. I learned that the hard way. Now, I only buy boxes with proper drainage built in. Many Suncast models feature tapered stop blocks in the bottom corners. These tiny slanted channels force any trapped water to slowly drain out of the bottom seams. If your current box doesn’t have drainage, you need to make your own. I took a heavy power drill with a 1/4-inch drill bit and punched six holes directly through the bottom floor of my resin bin. It took exactly two minutes. Now, when I throw soaking wet foam water guns into the box, the excess water simply drips out the bottom onto the patio stones. The toys dry out. The mosquitoes are completely gone.

15. Choose Lockable Options For Security And Safety

Safety is a massive factor when you leave storage boxes outside. You don’t want curious toddlers getting into things they shouldn’t. I keep my heavy metal gardening shears and concentrated chlorine pool chemicals in a deck box on the side yard. I absolutely can’t risk my kids opening that lid. I specifically bought a Keter deck box because it has a thick steel padlock loop built right into the front latch. I bought a heavy-duty Master Lock brass padlock for $14.49. The heavy brass feels cold and solid in my hand. It clicks shut with a loud, secure snap. Knowing that lid won’t open gives me total peace of mind. Even if you just store harmless toys, a lock is incredibly useful. We live in a neighborhood where teenagers occasionally wander through yards at night. Locking up the expensive remote-control cars and the $100 leather baseball mitts is just smart. Most large Keter and Suncast boxes come with these lockable loops standard. Don’t buy a box without one. You’ll regret it the second something expensive goes missing from your patio.

16. Repurpose Heavy-Duty Planters For Quick Outside Toy Storage

I’ll leave you with my absolute favorite secret trick for the patio. You don’t always have to buy items labeled as outside toy storage. I actually use massive outdoor planters. Last Tuesday at Whole Foods, I was walking past their floral section to grab some groceries. I saw these gorgeous, deep charcoal resin planters on sale for $45.00 each. They measure 20 inches across the top. They are completely weather-resistant and already have drainage holes drilled in the bottom. I bought two of them immediately. I didn’t put a single plant inside. Instead, I placed them right next to my back door. One holds all the long plastic baseball bats and foam swords. They stand straight up, completely contained. The other planter holds all the dirty, muddy rubber boots. The sleek charcoal finish looks incredibly high-end. It totally tricks the eye. Guests just assume they are modern architectural planters. They have no idea they are staring at a bucket full of neon plastic weapons. It’s a brilliant way to keep the daily clutter contained right by the door without ruining the aesthetic of your carefully decorated patio.

Getting your yard under control doesn’t have to be a nightmare. You just need the right gear and a ruthless purging habit. I’ve tried all the flimsy bins and cheap hacks, and I promise you, investing in heavy-duty, weather-proof storage is the only way to go. Your bare feet will thank you the next time you walk across the lawn. If you’re tired of tripping over plastic trucks, pick one of these systems and set it up this weekend. Pin this article to your favorite home organization board so you have all the exact measurements and brand names ready when you hit the store!