HOW I ORGANIZED MY KIDS STUFF AND SAVED MY SANITY

Today’s post is really more of a selfish one.

For almost the last year, our boys have shared a room.  We can get into that later, but suffice it to say, it was not necessarily a well thought out move.  And because of that, organization has been a pretty big issue.  This is a fairly small room, with a rather large bed and dresser.  It has a good sized closet, so clothes storage has been ok so far.  At least until their clothes get tween sized!

BUT.  One area that has driven me bonkers is where to put their coats, hats, and backpacks.  We have a coat rack by our front door, but no space for that sort of drop zone.  Besides, I’m desperately trying to work myself out of a job, “put up your own darn backpack.”  #dreams

Basically, that means a coat rack only adults can reach does not help this career goal of mine.  The nursery and Elliot’s room each had a small wall with hooks that were sufficient for each one individually.  Barely.

Merging the two, not even close.  We have several sweatshirt zip ups, and then coats. Those alone take up the wall.  Time for a change.  My apologies for no before photos.

The needs:

• Hold everything.  Coats, hats, bags.
• Boys must be able to do it themselves.
• Be cheap.

That’s it.

So here goes.  I want to disclaim.  This is not rocket science or even knock your socks off DIY.  This is simply a real life solution to a real life problem.

First, gather your supplies:

• Scrap 1 X 4’s
• Small screws
• 9 hooks (These were what were on the wall already, plus a few new ones from Hobby Lobby)
• Loctite Epoxy (any heavy duty glue will work)\
• Leftover stain
• Sandpaper
• Drill and bits

• Skil saw (hand saw or miter saw will work great)
• Measuring tape to measure the wall
• Rag or brush for stain-I used an old reusable nursing pad. HA!
• Level for hanging the boards

Measure your wall and mark your wood where you want to cut it down.  

Mine was scrap I had on hand, but if you are buying wood for this and want to keep it crazy simple, measure before you go to the hardware store and have them cut it down for you.

Now cut your wood to size.

I cut three pieces.  Two for one wall and one for the wall behind their door.  Sand off any splintery edges.

Next, stain your wood.

I used Minwax’s Early American, because it was in my stash.  I just used the cotton pad and wiped it on liberally, going with the grain.  Then I wiped off any excess and laid them out to dry for about 20 minutes.

Attach your hooks.

Once I could touch the boards without getting too oily (I’m impatient), I decided the way I wanted the hooks to be arranged, then just screwed them in place.

A quick note. You might not need the glue.  I did because my fake wood hooks, though cute, were lame. And they would not lay right and kept moving.  So I added the epoxy to make them more secure.  The ones that screwed in from the front didn’t need it.

Next, just screw the boards straight to the wall.

If you can get one screw into a wall stud, you should be secure.

 

That’s it.  So easy.  And fast.  My kids were doing this…while I made them.  

 

 

Last step.  Organize all the things.

And now.  Ahhh.   Lower than normal hooks that toddlers can use on their own.

 

Happy hanging!