Shoes, Brushes and “Where is Ken?”: Organizing Barbie Clutter

You may have a corner of a bedroom (or playroom) that looks like ours did.

It had a gravitational pull – but for only one thing: Barbie clutter.

Shoes, brushes, tiny plastic dogs… they’re all there. And they’re a hot mess.

This was our corner of chaos. It was two boxes of Barbies (and other bits and bobs from different toys), that just wasn’t working. Lila – my Barbie-obsessed daughter – had to make a mess before she could even start playing.

We were walking through the aisles of our local big-box when I stumbled upon a set of plastic drawers.

I have a couple of these in the craft room. They’re great for keeping little things sorted…

And then it hit me! We would use this for Lila’s Barbie mess.

‘Scuse the mania in the background. The craft room has been a dumping ground in our new home. It’s going to be tackled this month, I promise.

Using my Silhouette Cameo machine, I cut out some labels out of adhesive vinyl. If you don’t have a cutting machine, you can use peel and stick letters – or even paper and packing tape – to label the drawers.

Once the labels were on, it was as easy as filling the drawers.

And suddenly, the corner of Barbies became a lot less stressful.

Shoes have pairs, and dolls aren’t strewn about.

And it’s made play that much more meaningful. Lila doesn’t have to dig through a box to try to find a hair brush or that veterinarian coat. It’s all right there, waiting for her imagination.

It’s amazing what a little bit of organization can do!