Condo Blues: Stylish DIY Dog Toy Storage

Tuesday, June 9, 2009

Stylish DIY Dog Toy Storage

I have a dog. He has toys. He likes to help me decorate The Condo by artfully placing his toys all over the living room and our bedroom. Blitzkrieg clearly needed a toy box.

Most dog toy boxes have lids. I didn’t want that because I wanted something that would corral Blitzkrieg’s dog toys in one spot (in theory) but that he would be able to access at any time he wanted to play with them. At the time we were still trying to teach Blitzkrieg what toys where, how to play with them, and that in this house; you won’t get smacked around for pulling your dog toys out of your toy box and playing with them. In fact, I was trying to encourage Blitzkrieg to find a toy and chew on that instead of stress chewing on himself.

PhotobucketOh, and if the toy box could be somewhat stylish that would be nice too.

I mentioned this to another dog owning friend and thought that a wicker basket might do the trick. She said that’s what she used until her dog ate the basket. Apparently there are a lot of dogs that find wicker tasty.

I crossed that option off of my list.

I found a large brass bowl at Target. It was on clearance and it was a little beat up but it would hold a few toys in our bedroom. Hoping for a better solution, I decided not to buy it. You know, bass = 80’s = ugh.



I dropped up some stuff at Goodwill. I had to take a peek around the store after I made my donation because I didn’t want to break Trifting Law (hey, that’s my excuse so I’m rolling with it.) There was the brass bowl sitting there at Goodwill waiting for me. Turns out that our Target stores regularly donate returned and clearance items to Goodwill. For $2 I can deal with some scratches in the same bowl I saw for $20 on clearance in the store a few weeks prior.

I put the bowl on the floor and filled it up with dog toys – instant dog toy box!


Photobucket



From the photo you can see a few small stuff animals of mine that I dog proofed by removing ribbons or things that Blitzkrieg could chew off and choke on, a rope toy I made from scrap fleece , and some stuff from Fab Dog because I’m guilty of buying fun overpriced toys for my dog.

Photobucket
“In dog world having this many toys means I’m rich!”


I think Blitzkrieg likes it too.

This post is part of Trash to Treasure Tuesday.

8 comments :

Tia said...

CUTE idea! I used a metal framed basket for our Belle's toys and it works great. I love having cute storage items around the house. GREAT price too. :o)
P.S. Thanks for stopping by my blog and thanks for the comment!

Tiffany said...

What a cute puppy! He looks very pleased with his new storage. :) Thanks for coming by my blog.

Unknown said...

Great idea for toy storage! We've tried many containers to store dog toys, but need to find something more shallow like yours, because our Boxer is afraid to stick his head in something to get a toy out! :)

Duni said...

Awww..your doggy is so cute! Is his name really 'Blitzkrieg' ? lol.
And is that a 'Tiffany' toy jewelry box in the basket?
:)

Lisa Nelsen-Woods said...

Tia & Songbirdtiff - thanks for dropping by,come back soon!

Kimm - Blitzkrieg is the same way about sticking his head into something too. That's why this shallow dish was ideal (although I think I'm going to paint it one of these days to get rid of the 80's brass.)

Duni - Yep, his name really is Blitzkrieg as in The Ramones song Blitzkrieg Bop. That little blue box in his toybox says Sniffany & Co. a parody of a Tiffany's box. My boy likes the finers things in life. To make sure he stay's balanced, the leopard print man toy can from a dollar store. I had to get it because it's leopard print!

Kristin - The Goat said...

I like the part where you say you like to buy fun overpriced toys for your dog. LOL It looks like you have that under control - a few luxury toys is fine.

Great idea about the brass bowl!

I've heard twice today about target giving their stuff to thrift stores - I've yet to find that in my town -- I think I need to start looking. :)

whistlebritches said...

Check out tukitub.com - pet toy tubs - saft cute soft toy tubs. They are great for any room and all size pets can get to their toys. Price is good too. Made for toys with kids and pets in mind.

dog breeders said...

Hey great post. I like your dog, he is cute! He must love all the toys you get him. I have a dog site as well, I made a little post called Christmas dog toys thought you might like it.

Post a Comment

I love comments and read them all! If you’re shy and don’t want your opinions made public, you can always email me at condoblues [at] gmail [dot] com.