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 many games and puzzles in our home. Unfortunately, in the house 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, it was no longer an option as we ran 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 the box was too large for others. The pieces would roll around inside the boxes, making it 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. Still, ultimately, I decided to try zipper pouches after seeing how blueistyleblog.com used zipper pouches to organize jigsaw puzzles. I knew this was the solution I was looking for! That said, below are all the details of how I organized our games and puzzles, so if you decide to organize yours, you can see exactly how I did it.

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 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

PURGING is one of my favorite things to do when organizing or resetting a space in my home. 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 because you “might” play with them someday. If you haven’t played a game or used a puzzle in over a year, you will likely not play it again. Just donate it. Someone else will actually enjoy it instead of collecting dust in your closet. Trust me, you will feel SO 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, you 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.

Based on my experience, here is what I found worked best. Hopefully, this will help you determine what and how much you need from 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

The zipper pouches in A5 and B5 fit great for larger puzzles and smaller games. The two sizes come in various packs, but you can buy them individually here.

Also, like 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

These photo boxes worked best for storing smaller puzzles (by smaller, I mean 30-40 puzzles or fewer) and card games. 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. 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, 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 cutting out the game names from the boxes and applying them to the front of the zipper pouch and photo boxes using packing tape.

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 made my own matching labels for everything. But using the cardboard and cutting out the game’s name is 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; I’ll be more than happy to update the download.

Step 4: Purchase Supplies & Organize

Now that you know what products would fit your games and the sizes you’ll need, you can order and organize your games!

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 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 and recommend getting them there. They have a variety-size pack that works perfectly for this project.
• Photo Boxes.
• Large Storage Container—This is not necessary. This is just the one I used. Make sure to get one that is at least 17.5 or 18 inches wide so that all your games fit.
• Narrow Storage Container—This is not necessary. It 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 being 23 X 31. They are a great option for those of you with larger games that don’t fit into the size A3 I mentioned above.

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

Isn’t it crazy? I love how everything turned out and am so excited about all the storage space this will save us! If, after reading this, you decide to start organizing board games in bags, below are the labels I used, which you can download for free!

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

Printing and application instructions: You should be able to print on regular 8.5 X 11 printer paper. You can also use packing tape to attach 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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