The kids have been back in school for a couple of weeks now and chances are that their books, sports kits and other supplies are lying around the house. Fortunately, there are some amazingly simple and functional storage ideas that can help keep muddy boots from cluttering the hallway or books on top of cupboards and sports bags on the floor or under the bed.
If this sounds familiar, it’s time to get organised with some easy packing tips and storage ideas for school supplies. Before we get to some of the best back-to-school storage ideas, here are some valuable tips on decluttering unusable school supplies.
Declutter And Organise School Supplies
As we’ve covered in several of our articles, the first step to an organised home or office is to declutter what you no longer want or need. Besides, why would you want to keep anything that hasn’t been used in years? All you’re doing is adding to the chaos and this includes school supplies so make sure you do the following:
- Get rid of pens and markers that have dried up or no longer work
- Throw out empty bottles of glue and broken scissors
- Recycle old paper that can’t be salvaged
- Donate textbooks and workbooks that are no longer needed
- Donate old uniforms that are too small for your children
- Sell or donate old sporting equipment
- Keep old school supplies that still work at home so you have extras in place for homework projects
Now that you’ve decluttered, it’s time to move on to some of the best storage ideas for school supplies. These ideas will help you keep your home tidy and organised while making it easy for your kids to find what they need.
Organising and Storage Ideas For School Supplies
With some careful planning and creative thinking, organising and decluttering everything effectively is just one of the many back-to-school storage and organising solutions.
- Find a designated storage spot for all your school things whether it’s a specific drawer, shelf, or even a box. Putting everything in one place will make it easier to find what you need
- Use clear storage containers so you can see what’s inside. This is especially helpful for smaller items like pens and pencils. You can find clear storage containers at most stores near the school supplies.
- Label everything using sticky notes, Sharpies, or even special labelling tape
- Make sure they empty their backpacks and clear the storage space every day. This will help to keep on top of things and prevent backpacks from getting too full
Storage Ideas For Back-To-School Organising
When it comes to school storage solutions, the most important thing to remember is to have fun and be creative. There are so many ways to organise and store your school things, so find what works best for you and go with it. For some inspiration, we’ve listed some storage ideas below.
Use Over-the-Door Shoe Organisers
The great thing about over-the-door shoe organisers is that you can use them for more than just shoes. This is certainly among the top school storage ideas as they are easy to fill with school supplies and hang over a door in the bedroom, office or playroom.
Put Up A Pegboard For School Supplies
A pegboard is still one of the most practical school storage ideas as it’s multi-purposed and easy to use. Simply hang it in the kid’s room, home office or homework room to keep whatever they need within easy reach. You can even paint sections on the pegboard in different colours to highlight certain school supplies.
Create Your Own Homework Caddy
School storage ideas don’t have to be expensive or difficult to build which is we highly recommend a DIY homework caddy. If you don’t have old drawers or cabinets close to the kids’ homework area, a homework caddy can be the ideal solution. It may sound complicated but it’s essentially a repurposed rolling organising cart or trolley that you can move around wherever it needs to be. You can even use the sides of the cart to hang their backpacks and other school supplies.
Glass Jars: One Of The Easiest And Cheapest School Storage Ideas
For smaller arts and crafts or school supplies that are often harder to organise, glass jars with sealable lids are among the easiest and cheapest storage ideas. You can either buy new glass jars or wash and reuse your old olive, jam or jelly jars.
Repurpose An Old Tiered Cake Stand
Most of us will have an old cake stand and lazy Susan which are ideal to repurpose for school supplies. Simply fill the tiers with school supplies and place the stand next to your child’s desk or in the middle of a table so everyone can get to it with ease.
Mail Organisers As Storage Solutions For School Supplies
People use mail organisers for all kinds of reasons whether at home or the office, so why not for school supplies? Since it’s similar to the shoe organiser, you can easily put it on the back of the door, on their desk or against the wall. A mail organiser is an excellent tool to sort papers, and store textbooks and other school supplies.
Other School Storage Ideas
We could list many more storage ideas for school supplies but these are our top six. However, the guide won’t be complete without at least mentioning a few other simple but effective school storage solutions.
- Re-purposed silverware tray that can easily fit into a drawer or cabinet
- Binders for school supplies
- Old filing cabinet for fabrics or other papers
- Fill small galvanised pails with school supplies and hang them on wall hooks, a coat rack or a peg board
- Repurpose your old knife block by drilling holes into the slots to create a crayon or pencil holder
Get The Kids Involved
It may not sound like much but you could also involve the children when decluttering and finding storage ideas. This will not only save you time but it will teach them how to look after their belongings and keep the house more organised. It also gives you the opportunity to clear out some stuff that you or the children no longer need or use.
School supplies can quickly take over a home if there’s not a proper system in place. By getting organised now, you can save yourself a lot of time and effort later on. These organising tips and school storage ideas should help you get started on the right foot!
If you are looking for affordable self storage to keep extra school supplies, school uniforms, sporting equipment, toys or books, call us today for a quote.