Setting Up A Simple Storage Station For Preschoolers

I would like to introduce Katie, the writer of this fabulous post from organizingmoms.com.

Setting Up A Simple Storage Station For Preschoolers

With the beginning of the school year just around the corner, many families are stocking up on school supplies. Back to school organization is in full swing, and parents are starting to think about how they’ll set up their before and after-school routines for the upcoming year.

For parents of preschoolers, getting everything ready for each school day and managing the constant inflow of school papers is a new, unexpected challenge.

Preschoolers are often required to bring their own snacks, a change of clothes, a water bottle, and items for show-and-tell. Our children’s school has a library, so remembering to return library books each week (and actually being able to find them) was always difficult.

What we did!

One thing that helped us was to set up a storage station for our preschoolers’ school items.

When our twin boys started preschool, I was surprised at how hard it was to manage all of their school things. We were always scrambling in the morning to get their supplies ready. When the boys came home from school, they dumped their backpacks, jackets, and papers on the sofa.

After an emotional, tiring first week of school, we didn’t have the energy to do big clean ups. We knew we needed to teach the boys to put their things away properly, but we didn’t have a specific space for our kids to put their stuff!

We decided to set up a simple storage station for their school gear. We rent our home, so we aren’t able to install any new hardware. We wanted to put together something that wasn’t too high-up for our kids to be able to access, and it needed to be something we could easily remove and take with us when we move.

We started out by installing two Command Strip hooks for each child – one for a backpack, and the other for a jacket. The boys knew that they needed to return their jackets and backpacks to their hooks after each school day.

That made it easier for us to find their backpacks, remove any uneaten snack food, and look at school work they brought home.

The problem with this system was that the boys weren’t always successful in using the hooks. They tried their best to use the hooks, but their jackets and backpacks often fell off.

After a few weeks, we decided to purchase a larger basket to put under the hooks. The boys could put their backpacks in the basket, but still hang their coats on the hooks. This made it easier for them to quickly and successfully put their things away, and it was still easy for us to access their backpacks when we needed to.

The boys seemed to like having their own storage station, and because it’s right by our garage door, it’s easy for them to drop off their school gear when we get home. Helping the boys get into the habit of putting their things away after school helped all of us feel more organized and prepared for school.

This is a guest post written by Katie from organizingmoms.com, please take some time to visit her and her blog, it is great!