For years now, we have been using this up-cycled Giraffe coat rack as our backpack stand in our dining room (right off of our kitchen).
And it has served us well for a very long time. The problem, is that once your kids hit the 5th grade, their books and binders start to weigh ALOT- and it can take a delicate coat rack designed for toddlers and just destroy it So this year when we were re-examining what was working for us in terms of back to school organization and what needed some re-thinking…. this was near the top of out list. Fortunately for me, I have a rather savvy and crafty husband and a garage full of scrap wood pieces (it was all old flooring that he re-used)!
And this is what he designed!
A perfect structure to hold 8 backpacks (yes I know we only have 6 kids, but let’s allow a bit of extra space for daughters who need more than one bag for fashion purposes!). A well designed base allows this stand to hold even overloaded backpacks without tipping over, or breaking off the hooks! And frugal? This gorgeous piece of home furnishing cost us less than $10 (for the hooks!) and will last us for years (12 is the goal…. enough to last Alex through high school!) So while I am so sorry that I cannot provide you with a link to order one of your own… I had to share (okay brag about) it here!
And why do I not just hang our backpacks in the front coat closet?
Because I find that my kids need to access them all night long on a school night. To unpack when they get home, to re-pack with completed homework, to load with tomorrow’s snack, and to access one or two more times to find forgotten items, to load library books, and to retrieve notes from classmates. When we stored our backpacks in the coat closet, not only was this whole process more inefficient, but quite frankly we would get lazy and forget to take care of these things!
So tell me, where do you store your kids backpacks each night?
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Twitter: stephmommybrain
September 6, 2012 at 11:42 am
VERY clever idea!! As homeschoolers we don’t have to worry about backpacks, but I dream of one day having space for a cubby entry way system to hold coats and shoes during the winter!
Stephanie Kay recently posted..4 Ways to Encourage Healthy Oral Hygiene Habits
Twitter: sharonmomof6
September 6, 2012 at 9:11 pm
You should check out Melissa’s comment…. a simple bench and some hooks can be a very nice system!
Twitter: jibbertwit
September 6, 2012 at 4:12 pm
A while ago I got rid of our coat rack and super cheap wal-mart shoe shelf. I replaced the shoe shelf with a nice RealSimple bench/storage from Bed Bath & Beyond and I had the husband mount a row of hooks from Target. So there are 4 of us total (2 kids), and 6 hooks that each have 3 hooks on them, you know, three pronged. So there are 18 hooks total. Each kid gets a set of hooks, so there’s a jacket, umbrella and backpack spot for each kid and plenty of room for our jackets after work or visitor jackets if we get any. I love it.
Melissa recently posted..5 Projects I Need to Tackle Around the House
Twitter: sharonmomof6
September 6, 2012 at 9:10 pm
I love that re-do! Isn’t it amazing what a few hooks and a nice bench can do for our home organization… not to mention our mental well-being? And you gotta love a husband who knows how to hang some hooks!
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