It’s back to school time…let the chaos begin!  Is your house a drop zone for papers and backpacks after school?  Many of my clients have claimed that they don’t know how to manage the school clutter, but the truth is that you have to take the time to find a “home” for everything.   Maybe you don’t have the space for built in mudroom lockers and maybe you don’t even have a mudroom, but if you have a wall, you can make it happen.  (I do have to stop right here and give a shout out to those of you with salvaged high school lockers. I. LOVE. EM!)


OK, here’s the story of a busy family with four kids.  They hired me to help them organize and decorate their back hall.  (More on that whole project another time)  One thing she wanted was a locker system for the kid’s backpacks, but she was so short on space & budget, that we really couldn’t make it happen.  With four super creative kids who brought home a lot of artwork and school projects, we also wanted to figure out a way to display some of these.   I set off shopping to find the prefect solution.  I heart Target for so many reasons, but especially for this project in particular.  The Artwork Display & Storage Frame was perfect.   To prevent the overwhelming piles of paper she has had in years past, this year she will let her kids keep one piece of artwork a week and display it here.  (Check out this blog post I Heart Organizing for the BEST school stuff organizing ideas.  I used Jen's ideas for my two boys!)








Now onto the backpacks!  Beneath each frame we hung a simple hook.  (to secure the weight of the backpacks we anchored them in the wall and used larger screws than what came in the package)






Check out the finished project!   The kids just love their personalized spaces and their parents love that they aren’t tripping over four backpacks when they walk into the house!





What a great way to start off this school year.  There’s a place for everything and everything in its place!


Got a design or organizing question? Send your ideas to Megan by visiting her fantastic new website at www.do-ovah.com


Hang It Up Column written by MK Design for SuzySaid Acton 2011