Game Organization Into Bags | How To Organize Board Games, Card Games, and Puzzles With Zipper Bags + Photo Boxes

This post is all about how to organize games into bags and photo boxes.

Over the years, we have collected quite a collection of games and puzzles in our home. Unfortunately, in the home we live in now, we do not have any closet storage, other than the closets in the bedrooms. So for years, we have stored all our games and puzzles in the kids’ closets. And while that worked for a while, that was no longer an option, as we were running out of space. 

Additionally, aside from the storage space issue, many of the game boxes were falling apart. Some games were missing the original box, while for others, the box was too large. So the pieces would just roll around inside the boxes, so it was hard to keep them organized. So I had enough and started searching for puzzle and game organization ideas online. 

I went on Pinterest and saw so many great game ideas, but ultimately I decided to try the zipper pouches after seeing how blueistyleblog.com used zipper pouches to organize jigsaw puzzles. I knew this was the solution I was looking for. Let me warn you, the transformation is jaw-dropping! Dramatic much? A little! Ha-ha! 

With that said, below are all the details of how I organized our games, and puzzles in case you want to give it a try too!

This post is all about game organization into bags and photo boxes. 

Best Game Organization Into Bags And Photo Boxes | The Steps…

Step 1: Consolidate All Your Games And Puzzles In One Area

I recommend that you gather ALL your games and puzzles from every room in your house. (I’m serious, ALL of them) And put them all in one area, such as your kitchen table. Don’t leave any board games, card games, or puzzles behind.

Step 2: Purge And Donate

One of my favorite things to do when organizing or resetting a space in my home is PURGING. It’s a perfect opportunity to reevaluate the things you have in your home. Make sure to only keep games/puzzles that you are actually using.

Don’t just keep games just because you “might” play with them someday. If you haven’t played a game or used a puzzle in over a year, it’s likely you won’t play it again. Just donate it. Someone else will actually enjoy it instead of it collecting dust in your closet. Trust me, you will feel SOOO much better. 🙂

Step 3: Take Inventory And Determine The Supplies Needed

This is very important. Don’t just go buying a ton of supplies and end up with not enough or too much. I recommend that at the very least, measure and estimate how much of each container, etc. you will need. 

Lucky for you though, most board games, game cards, puzzles, etc. are about the same size. So I have already done all the measuring. All you have to do now is figure out how many zipper pouches and photo boxes you would need for your games and puzzles.

So here is what I found worked best, based on my experience. Hopefully, this helps you determine what and how much you need of each product before tackling your game organization project.

LARGE BOARD GAMES

The best board game zipper pouch for games such as Monopoly, The Game of Life, Sorry, etc. these size A3 zipper pouches fit the large boards perfectly. Additionally for the small pieces that come with these types of games, the smaller zipper pouches that come with this variety pack worked great!

I also used rubber bands for cards and money that come with some of these types of games. The rubber bands work great, in my opinion. Especially because you can easily replace them if they break. But you can also use the same small pouches that come in the variety pack. Or a mix of both. It is totally up to your preference.

Here is what one game looks like complete. (This is the Monopoly)

SMALL BOARD GAMES AND LARGE PUZZLES

For larger puzzles and smaller games, I found that the zipper pouches A5 and B5 size pouches fit great. The two sizes come in a variety packs. But you can also buy them individually here.

Also, the same way I showed you for the larger games, you can use the smaller zipper pouches from the variety pack, and/or rubber bands for the smaller pieces, cards, etc. Then place all those small zipper pouches inside the larger pouch with the board.

CARD GAMES AND SMALL PUZZLES

And what I found worked best for smaller puzzles (by smaller I mean 30-40 puzzles or fewer) and card game storage were these photo boxes. And I also used rubber bands to secure the cards before putting them into the photo box.

Okay, I think that pretty much covers all the types/sizes of games and puzzles you’ll come across. And anything else not mentioned should fit into any of the other zipper pouch sizes that come in the variety back and/or in the photo boxes. Don’t forget the rubber bands! Those come in handy a lot.

Note: Don’t forget to save the puzzle image so you can use it to refer back to when putting the puzzles together. I saved mine inside the zipper bag with its designated puzzle.

LABELS For Game Organization

If you know me, you know this is my favorite part of organizing. Labeling everything! It just makes everything look nice and put together. I LOVE it! Anyway, so now that you have all your games and puzzles in their designated pouches or photo boxes, you’ll need to label your zipper pouches and photo boxes.

Now, there are MANY ways to label. But here is the way I labeled mine.

At first, I started to cut out the game names from the boxes and used packing tape to apply it to the front of the zipper pouch and photo boxes.

But in the end, I made my own labels and relabeled everything with these labels instead. I was missing many boxes, so I did not have all the boxes to cut out labels from the original boxes. So to keep it all uniform, I opted to make my own matching labels for everything. But using the cardboard and cutting out the name of the game is definitely a great option, too.

Here is how it looks labeled with the box cutout.

Here is how it looks with the labels I made. I just like the cleaner look.

Another way to label is well, the obvious way, with a label maker. But if you don’t have a label maker and/or you don’t have all the game boxes, you can download the FREE labels I’ve linked below.

I googled a list of popular games and included them all in the download. I’m sure I am missing many, so feel free to comment below if any of the ones you need are missing, ill be more than happy to update the download.

Step 4: Purchase Supplies & Organize

Now that you have an idea of what products would fit your games and the sizes you’ll need all you have left to do is order your supplies and get to organizing!

Here is a full list linking to the exact products I used.

• Zipper Pouches – Variety Pack. You can also get specific sizes here.
• Large Zipper Pouches (A3) – These are the best board game bags for games that come with large boards such as Monopoly, and Checkers.
• Packing Tape – To apply labels. (if you are using a label maker, you won’t need this)
• Rubber Bands – I got mine at Dollar Tree. I would recommend getting them from there. They have a variety size pack that works perfectly for this project.
• Photo Boxes.
• Large Storage Container – Not necessary. This is just the one I used. Just make sure to get one that is at least 17.5 or 18 inches wide so that all your games fit.
• Narrow Storage Container – Not necessary. This is just an option. I used this one to store the photo boxes.
• Labels.
• Scissors.

Update: I recently came across these zipper pouches. They have several sizes. The largest one is 23 X 31. Definitely a great option for those of you who have larger games that don’t fit into the size A3 I mention above.

And here is the end result! I used these containers I had on hand to “file” all the games into. All three containers are from The Container Store.

Isn’t it crazy? I LOVE the way everything turned out and I am so excited about all the storage space this will save us! If after reading this you decided to start organizing board games in bags below you can find the labels I used and you can download them for free!

Game Organization Into Bags And Photo Boxes | Free Labels To Print

Printing and application instructions: You should be able to print on an 8.5 X 11 regular printer paper. And you can use packing tape to tape the labels to the zipper pouches and/or photo boxes.

UPDATE: If you prefer to edit the labels yourself, I have added the option at the bottom of this page. You will need to create an account with Canva to edit the file. It’s free. Once I figure out a different way to provide the editable file, I will update this to make it easier for you to use. In the meantime, I hope this works for you! Enjoy! 🙂

What do you think? Are you giving this a try?

If you do, make sure to come back and tell me all about it! I also have a story highlight on my Instagram account where you can watch how I tackled this project. (in case you are more of a visual person)

This post was all about Game Organization Into Bags And Photo Boxes

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