Organize kids toys!

Toys Tamed and Tagged

Playthings have a will of their own; they can’t stay pristine and still be fun. But Brooklyn-based lifestyle author Katie Brown contains—and camouflages—some of the chaos by stocking shelves with opaque containers labeled with graphic photos of what’s inside. When it’s time to swap out the Thomas trains for the Transformers, just update your shots. The nostalgic borders on the photos opposite come from the Polaroid GL10 portable printer—a breeze to use, because it can receive images wirelessly from your smartphone.

To buy: Hancock Clover bookcase, $199, cb2.com. Play Kit plastic toy bins with wooden lids, $28.50 each, pkolino.com. Medium open canvas bins, $10 each, containerstore.com. Polaroid GL10 Instant Mobile printer (not shown), $110, amazon.com.

From Real Simple June 2012 magazine!