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You are here: Home / Organization / Game Organization Into Bags | How To Organize Board Games, Card Games, and Puzzles With Zipper Bags + Photo Boxes

June 30, 2020

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

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

game organization

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…

Table of Contents

  • Step 1: Consolidate All Your Games And Puzzles In One Area
  • Step 2: Purge And Donate
  • Step 3: Take Inventory And Determine The Supplies Needed
  • Step 4: Purchase Supplies & Organize

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.

game organization ideas

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!

board game storage amazon

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.

space saving board game storage

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

game organizer

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.

game organization storage solutions

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.

board game storage hacks

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.

game organization bags

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

board games organization ideas

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.

game console organization

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.

game closet organization

Click Here To Download Game Organization Labels

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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Posted In: All Organization Post, Family, Organization, Printables, Teenagers

Comments

  1. Denise says

    July 23, 2021 at 1:59 pm

    What do you do with the instructions for these games or the reference pictures for the puzzles?

    Reply
    • Full Circle With Jess says

      July 23, 2021 at 2:02 pm

      Hi Denise!

      I put the instruction in the zipper pouch as well. And as for the puzzles, I cut out the image from the box and put it in the zipper bag along with the puzzle. (you can tape it to the outside of the zipper pouch if you want to) Also, some puzzles come with a poster of the puzzle image, so for those I keep the poster instead of cutting out the puzzle image from the box.

      Reply
  2. Taylor Clymer says

    April 21, 2021 at 6:21 am

    Hello Jessica! I was wondering if you would consider selling this resource and making it editable? I have an entire closet full of board games and love this label system but wouldn’t want you to have to type them all up!

    Reply
    • Full Circle With Jess says

      April 21, 2021 at 2:52 pm

      That’s a great idea! When I first posted the labels, I had no clue how many people would actually reach out for edits to add additional games to the list, so I didn’t bother making editable. But this is definitely going on my to-do list this week or next. Thank you so much for the suggestion. 🙂

      Reply
      • Taylor says

        April 23, 2021 at 6:50 am

        Thank you! I am looking forward to seeing your resource, and getting my entire game closet organized this summer!! Thanks again!!

        Reply
        • Taylor says

          May 6, 2021 at 11:41 am

          Hello! Will the labels be in a new post? Or will this post be updated?

          Thanks!

          Reply
          • Full Circle With Jess says

            May 25, 2021 at 8:00 pm

            Hi Taylor! Sorry for the delay. I have added the option to edit the labels. It’s in the same post. Just scroll all the way to the bottom.

      • Ashleigh says

        May 25, 2021 at 12:01 pm

        Hey, I saw comments that this resource would be updated to be editable. I was looking, but don’t see it. I have some games in my classroom that have more unique names that I’d love to be able to have these labels for. Thanks for all of your help! I love this post!

        Reply
        • Full Circle With Jess says

          May 25, 2021 at 8:13 pm

          Hi Ashleigh! I have just added the option today. Scroll all the way to the bottom of the page. Thank you!

          Reply
          • Regina says

            July 9, 2021 at 7:04 am

            Hi! I can not find the editable link for Canva. Please help!

          • Full Circle With Jess says

            July 9, 2021 at 9:35 am

            Hi Regina, you have to scroll all the way to the bottom. And it will prompt you to provide an email.

  3. Kristi B says

    March 14, 2021 at 11:30 am

    What do you do with games that have bigger parts to them? I have younger kids so we have games like don’t break the ice, ants in the pants, a dinosaur game where the bones hook on, operation?? basically games that aren’t really board games. How do you store those bigger pieces?

    Reply
    • Full Circle With Jess says

      March 17, 2021 at 2:40 pm

      Games like the break the ice should fit in the largest pouches linked. It would just be a little bulky, instead of flat.

      Games like operations, I would either leave in the original box if still in good condition OR put all the small pieces in one of the smaller zipper pouches and leave the bigger piece separate. Just store them in the same area as the rest of the games, such as in a basket or container as I show in this post.

      And ants in the pants, I would leave it in the original box too if still in good condition. Otherwise I would use those clear shoe containers that are sold at Walmart, Target or the container store. I believe they are the 6qrt size. And then label it the same way as the zipper pouches. Hopes this helps.

      Reply
  4. Meagan says

    February 2, 2021 at 6:49 pm

    What do you do with the actual boards? Mine are too large to fit into the bags.

    Reply
    • Full Circle With Jess says

      February 2, 2021 at 6:52 pm

      What games specifically? The largest board I have are from games such as monopoly and The Game of life. And the largest bag (size a 3) fit them perfectly.

      Reply
      • Denise says

        July 23, 2021 at 1:57 pm

        A lot of older versions of board games the boards only fold in half not into a square so they are long rectangle the length of the box I have several of these as they were games we kept from when I was a kid. Like several versions of monopoly, Candy Land, Parchesi, Eureka. They would be longer then letter or A4 sized pounches.

        Reply
        • Full Circle With Jess says

          July 23, 2021 at 2:08 pm

          If the board doesn’t fit, I would just leave those in the original box if the box is still good. Or I would put the board right behind the corresponding pouch stored in a basket/container.

          I also linked larger pouches I found on Amazon they should be linked under supplies. They might work for these larger boards, however check sizing before buying.

          Reply
        • Full Circle With Jess says

          July 23, 2021 at 2:10 pm

          Search (PRO ART PRO-7215H Mesh/Vinyl Bag with Handle and Zipper, 19 by 25-Inch) on Amazon. For the larger pouches I have been able to find.

          Reply
  5. Kristi says

    November 6, 2020 at 11:11 am

    Ok, you saved mE. I was about to speND a small fortune on sterilite boxes to deal with all the board games. Thank you!! I’D love to use the labels you created, but i’ve got about 2 dozen games that aren’t listed! 😂

    Reply
    • Full Circle With Jess says

      November 6, 2020 at 11:16 am

      Hey! Yay! I’m glad you found this helpful! Send me the list of game names you need to my email [email protected] and I will gladly add them and forward you an updated version. 🙂

      Reply

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