Board games are notorious for being fun, but they’ve also built their reputation on being messy. If you’re getting ready to do a major home cleaning, there’s no better time than now to organize your game closet. You never know, going through all your games, you may find one you haven’t played in a while and had forgotten all about it. Here’s a quick overview of how to do just that!

 

How to Organize Your Board Games

 

Items Needed to Organize & Clean Board Games

  • Water
  • Dish Liquid
  • Trash Bags
  • Plastic Storage Bins
  • Rubber Bands
  • Microfiber Cloths
  • Home Cleaning Supplies

 

Throw Out the Trash

Storing board games isn’t always easy, after all, not every home has enough room to dedicate space specifically for this. That being the case, it’s important to really think about what needs to stay and what needs to go.

Start by clearing out the entire area that houses your games, decks or cards, and dice. Are there pieces that aren’t in a specific game box? Put those to the side.

Did you find playing cards that are duplicates, or that don’t belong to any deck? Put those aside as well.

Now look over the stack of games and playing items and see if there is any additional packaging, plastic pieces, or cardboard that you can throw away.

 

Dust Things Down

Once the trash is taken care of, it’s time to start focusing on removing dust and debris. This is a little time consuming, but trust us, when it’s all said and done, your game closet will be the best looking one on the block.

Take a microfiber cloth or regular old dust rag, and wipe off the exterior of each of the board games in your collection. If liquids or foods have been spilled during games in the past, this might also include having to remove stains or sugary build-up.

For hard-to-remove gunk, get your cleaning cloth wet with a little bit of liquid dish soap. If that doesn’t work, try an over-the-counter home cleaning supply. Either of these options should help you cut through the tough stuff.

 

How to Organize Your Board Games with family

 

Odds and Ends

Playing dice and playing cards don’t necessarily come with board games, but they do get stored in the same space. Often times we receive them as stocking stuffers, inside Easter Baskets, or as party favors.

A small plastic bucket, or old shoe box is the perfect home for these extra game pieces. It will also protect you from stepping on them, or sweeping them up at some point in the future.

 

Organize for Ease

Now that the home cleaning aspect is taken care of, it’s time to think about organization of your board games.

The simplest solution, is to store them by popularity and ease-of-access. For example, if there is a game or multiple games that you play regularly, make sure that they are stored in the front of the closet, and are easy to reach. On the other hand, if you haven’t played a game in years, and don’t plan on doing so anytime soon, push it to the back.

In addition, you can make your children’s games easily accessible by putting them on lower shelves, and less popular items toward the top. If your children have out grown some of the games, you can donate them, making more room.

By following this list of simple suggestions, you’ll never have to worry about board game organization ever again, leaving you plenty of time to play all your favorite board games.