As a mum of three, no matter how many storage hacks I try, my kids’ stuff seems to multiply overnight – soft toys, tiny socks, mysterious plastic bits... it’s like a toy shop exploded in our house.
I’ve long been on the hunt for toy storage ideas that fit into their bedrooms without being a massively oppressive or expensive storage system, and hallelujah: I’ve finally found a game-changing storage solution that's helped me to conquer toy chaos and fits into a small children's room perfectly.
It's this Striped Underbed Storage Bag from Dunelm, and I couldn’t believe the price when I saw it. Yep, it only costs £14, and it's proving ideal for keeping my kids' bedrooms tidy and adding extra storage to their rooms.
I love this fun yellow ochre colourway, but there's also a muted beige striped option.
This storage solution is seriously affordable, and as a bit of a sceptic, I was slightly dubious about what the quality would be like as a result. But when the sunny little storage bag landed on my doorstep, I was immediately impressed.
It’s a roomy 76 × 46 × 20 cm but still slips neatly under most beds, and the storage bag is seriously heavy-duty. It’s made from a blend of cotton, polyester, and breathable viscose. The zip on it is robust enough to withstand having items crammed into it – believe me, I’ve lived to tell the tale – and there are handles on the side to make dragging it out from under the bed easy.
Plus, I love the egg-yolk yellow stripe design. It'll fit perfectly into most children’s rooms, and it's gender neutral. The design won’t be something they grow out of the moment they stop calling you “Mummy” and start calling you “Bruh”.
The bag is ideal for storing loads of items, but especially perfect for bedding and clothes. It beats a plastic box hands down when it comes to how to store a duvet correctly. That's because this bag is breathable, which prevents mould from building up in your stored fabrics.
Yes, a word of warning if you utilise the space under your bed for storage. Cramming stuff under your bed with no airflow should be avoided if you want to avoid mould in your mattress or even your bed frame – ottoman beds can become mouldy, too, without adequate ventilation and the proper storage materials. This bag will help prevent this from happening under your kids' beds.
Plus, this is storage your kids will actually like and *want* to use too. My kids love these storage bags – when told to tidy their room, they can drag them out and fill them with teddies and Beyblades and then slide them back under their beds using the reinforced handles.
I always try to opt for products that my kids can use independently. I aim for a day when they can do most jobs without me intervening.
Well, a parent can dream... but at least they can manage these bags without help. The fastenings are easy to use for little fingers. No tricky clip locks or places to get hands trapped.
The storage bag is also surprisingly roomy. I filled one of these storage bags full of kids' wetsuits, beach shoes, beach towels, DryRobes, and all the other unexpected kit that my kids need for the beach. I kept filling and filling and was able to squash the air out a bit to slide it under the bed.
What's more, I love the fact that if or when this storage bag isn’t full, it takes up less space under the bed than a rigid plastic container.
When it’s not in use, the storage bag folds down really small, so you can scale up and down easily. This is great for houses that have limited storage space or if you don’t want to have to find storage for empty storage boxes (surely a modern-day problem we’ve all encountered?).
The final seal of approval? After ordering one of the Striped Underbed Storage Bags and being thoroughly impressed, I went out and bought four more for other bedrooms in my house.
There are multiple colour options to choose from, so each room can have its colour-coded storage (if you're that way inclined!).
I’ve now chucked out all the plastic under-bed storage I used to use, which has had lids snap and wheels get jammed with dust. I’m a total convert to this super affordable storage solution – and I bet you will be too.
