With the kids back at school, you need creative storage solutions for all their school essentials. While primary school is not too bad, you still need space in the wardrobe for uniforms, extra books, stationery and PE kit.
When it comes to secondary school though, everything changes! By now, your kids will have textbooks and exercise books for most lessons, multiple PE kits, footwear and school uniforms. Not to mention winter or summer sportswear and equipment, musical instruments, art, technology and design projects.
The question is, where do you put all of that? In this article, we cover some clever space-saving and storage solutions for a more organised home.
Everything Starts With Good Organisation
So, where’s the best place to start? The first thing you should do is get the existing space neat and tidy. This allows you to identify where you may be short on space or areas you don’t use that much. It’s in these nooks and crannies where you can maximise on space with clever storage solutions for school equipment.
Organising often becomes an easier task if you include your child in the process. If they are involved in the decisions about how and where to store their things, it’s more likely that they’ll use them. This puts more responsibility on them knowing they need to keep their areas tidy.
Related article: ‘Storage Tips For Your Child’s Bedroom’
How To Organise Your Space
Organising your existing storage and making sure it’s tidy will create extra space while saving you time and money. This can also help determine how much space you need whether at home or a small self storage unit.
The best way to organise your home is doing it one room at a time otherwise you might not get to everything. Another important tip is to clear out what’s not needed from last semester before buying anything new. Items you haven’t used in a long time or won’t use in the foreseeable future should be sold, donated, given away or put into self storage.
Everything should have a place whether it goes on the shelf, in the wardrobe, basket or drawer. If you don’t do this, things will only end up in a pile at the bottom of the cupboard or in the corner of the room. School equipment should also be easily accessible otherwise things will never go back to where they came from.
Save Space With Smart Storage Solutions
Now that the room is tidy and you can see where things could go, see if you can add some creative storage solutions. Consider these questions as you’d be surprised how much space you’re already wasting without even knowing:
- Is there storage space under the bed for extra boxes?
- Do the bedside tables have dead space underneath?
- Are their extra hooks behind the door?
- Is there space for additional shelving or racks?
Space Saving Storage Ideas
There are several ways to neatly store stationery, clothes and other school items. You may be tempted to get an extra bookcase but it would take up far too much room. Rather consider one of these fascinating storage solutions to simplify your life and maximise space.
Over-the-Door Shoe Organiser
While these are perfect for shoes, you can do more with it than you think. Don’t just fill them with all of your shoes, rather use it to organise and store school supplies. It is easily attached by hanging it over a door in the bedroom, home office or playroom. You can store all your child’s stationery including pencils, pens, markers, eraser, ruler and paper among others.
Use A Mail Organiser
People use mail organisers for all kinds of things at home or the office but your kids can also benefit. Put on the back of the door, on their desk or against the wall. Your children can use it to sort papers, store textbooks and organise their school supplies. Why not take this opportunity to do a DIY project and build your own mail organiser?
Put Up A Peg Board For Craft Supplies
A pegboard has multiple purposes and none is handier than to keep school supplies organised. Hang up a pegboard and make it quick and easy for them to grab whatever they need on the go. To keep things even more organised, paint sections of the pegboard in different colours for certain school supplies.
Re-purpose A Silverware Tray
Silverware trays do more than just hold cutlery, you can re-purpose any old tray for school supplies. Trays are one of many creative storage solutions for school supplies especially arts and crafts. Better yet, properly storing items in a silverware tray means it can easily fit into a drawer or cabinet.
Organise School Work Using Binders
Kids will bring home papers, art projects, homework, tests and drawings among many others but where do you put it all? If it is not something you can let go like report cards, stories, letters about the family or handprint/footprints, put it in a binder. Add a few plastic sleeves and simply slip things in ranging from newest to oldest. Read more about how you can create a binder for an organised school year.
What If There Is Too Much Stuff?
If you’ve cleared out and organised everything but there’s still too much stuff, you should rent a self storage unit. You can potentially create so much extra space around the house for all the school supplies, clothes and sports equipment. Depending on the time of year, simply pack and store some of those unwanted seasonal goods in your unit.
Final Thoughts
You’d be surprised how much space you can save with a proper organising and decluttering effort. If sorting out rooms to store all the school items inspires you to keep going and tackle the rest of your house, perhaps this article can help, ‘Winter’s here – Time to Declutter and clear those cupboards out’.
If you need more information on our storage facilities in Bristol, Stroud, Gloucester or Stonehouse, please visit our website or give us a call to arrange a site visit. Our units are affordable, clean, dry, secure and come with a padlock only you have a key for. Prices are guaranteed to remain the same for at least 12 months if not longer once you move in.