I need ideas. Dd loves her stuffed animals. We started cleaning her room and she has gotten rid of at least 4 boxes of good toys that she says she has outgrown (she's only 6). But I realized as we were cleaning just how many stuffed toys she has and that is just the ones that are important to her. She has names for so many, can tell you where she got or who gave it to her and why. I want to put shelves along 1 wall to put them on. Dh wants to put up multi colored netting and put the animals up there. I'm just afraid that will be too hard for her to retrieve them. She picks a different one to cuddle with every night. (They all need special attention and time alone with her, she says).

But anybody got any other creative ideas. I would like for them to neat and retrievable.

By Cat on Wednesday, July 4, 2007 - 01:40 am:

You can get a plastic chain link chain and attach colored camping clothspins to it, and then clip an animal to each pin. You should be able to get the chain by the foot at Wal-Mart or somewhere like that. It can either be attached to the celing or wall at both ends or to just the celing on one end and hang straight down. I did that when my kids were babies and enjoyed looking at the stuffed animals, but couldn't really play with them. I'd put the most beloved towards the bottom or lowest point so she can reach them easier.

By Bobbie~moderatr on Wednesday, July 4, 2007 - 09:45 am:

Cat that is how Callie has hers done. Floor to ceiling in the four corners of her room.. She doesn't play with hers any more... LOL but she has had them like that for years... She jokes they are her totem's.. The girls have theirs in a pile in a corner.. Big ones to the back-smaller to the front. My sister has five (corner) nets in the corner of her DD room. Like a book shelf. She rotates the stuffed animals down to the bottom few so that they get regular play. It actually looks very nice..

The only issue I have with an actual shelf is that bottoms on stuffed animals aren't always flat and in our case the animals range from HUGE to itty bitty.. The chain works well because it doesn't matter how big they are.. And we just used a hanger for a plant to hang the chain off of.

By Imamommyx4 on Wednesday, July 4, 2007 - 12:09 pm:

I've thought about those corner nets but never thought about layering them like shelves.

But I told dh and dd about the chain thing. DD likes that and wants them to hang down. I think that sounds cute. Not too expensive, not too messy, clean, neat, accessible.

I've thought about the shelf problem with them falling off and that's part of the reason I haven't done it yet. Making shelves, even just buying board, painting them, and brackets to install them seemed to be alot of work, expense and mess that I didn't want to do.

I knew I'd get a good idea here. I had just gotten brain frozen. Thanks.

By Imamommyx4 on Thursday, July 5, 2007 - 06:56 pm:

CAT--Where can I get those camping clothespins? Is that what they are called? I asked a few people at the store I was at and they looked at me like I was nuts.

By Cat on Thursday, July 5, 2007 - 10:07 pm:

Let me look--I might still have them. Give me a little bit, 'kay?

By Cat on Thursday, July 5, 2007 - 10:18 pm:

Okay. Here they are.



I have two chains, about 5' each and 18 pins, but a few are kind of bent up. They could probably be bent back into shape. They've been in a box in my son's closet for who knows how long! lol Email me if you want them. I don't know what they're call or where I got them. Anyway, if you want them they're yours. cathyliz at comcast dot net

By Bobbie~moderatr on Thursday, July 5, 2007 - 10:32 pm:

They are actually called Camping Clothes Clips.

Here is what they look like..




and you can generally get them any where that sells camping supplies.. But I would go directly (or call) the camping supply department they will have an isle of camping must haves and they should be located there.. You could always get them off line if nothing else..

By Hol on Thursday, July 5, 2007 - 11:13 pm:

Debbie - That is too precious!! Naming all of her special "friends" and giving each one "individual attention". She sounds like a very special, sensitive little girl!

It is also refreshinbg to see a child who values her toys and remembers who gave her each item, and the circumstance involved. My DS Danny was like that. He would pile them all into bed with him at night, all lined up on both sides of him. He would say, "I have "all my guys". LOL!

My DGD has so MANY toys that nothing means anything to her. She is also not a nurturing little girl who cuddles her dolls. Granted, she is only two and a half, but she has no favorites because she has too much.

By Imamommyx4 on Friday, July 6, 2007 - 12:19 am:

Cat--Thanks so much for the offer. That is so sweet of you. We bought chain and hooks yesterday. And we have so many stuffed animals that 18 clips doesn't hardly get it started. You are so sweet.

Hol--DD is a sweet kid but actually has too many toys. Did I mention the 4 boxes of toys that we cleaned out of her room? And I really hate to admit this here, but the stuffed animals that we have that mean so much to her amount to 4 large garbage bags full of stuffed animals. And it's only the stuffed animals that mean so much to her. She likes coloring and craft stuff, Polly Pockets, Barbies and Littlest Pet Shop to name a few. But she loves her stuffed animals. Any time we have been anywhere and offered to buy a souvenir, she ALWAYS picks out a stuffed animal. And as we were cleaning her room, we went thru every single item, game, and box together and she'd give me a "give away or keep" answer. Almost all of her stuffed animals had a reason to stay and a name.

By Imamommyx4 on Friday, July 6, 2007 - 12:22 am:

Bobbie--thanks for the pic of the package. That helps tremendously.