Baby to Bee: Backpack Nook

With all three kids in school, we have LOTS of school things to keep track of-- backpacks, lunchboxes, shoes, jackets, etc.

We have a little cushioned shoe bench by the front door with some shoes cubbies underneath. We initially stored the backpacks on the shoe bench but they took up the whole bench and eliminated a space to sit while putting on shoes! Also, the amount of shoes we have is ridiculous and they all serve a different purpose (school, outside play, sandals). The school appropriate shoes would get lost in the other shoes and would cause a scramble in the morning.

So... enter internet scrolling and seeing inspiration about using a 9-opening cubby system as a backpack hub. Basically, this lady took a 9 opening cubby and only created 3 cubes and 3 longer rectangular areas. I thought this was a great idea so I took a screenshot and sent it to Aaron. I immediately ordered my preferred finish of a cubby system from Target along with 3 fabric cubes. I figured it would be super simple to assemble and then voila easy peasy it would be ready to use!

Not so.

I wanted to be able to put this together by myself but found out that the alignment of the boards would not allow me to do what I needed the board manipulation to do. I only wanted 3 cube-like openings and then 3 long rectangular openings. The system alignment wasn't separated out to do this though. Aaron, being an engineer, figured out how to make it work and he helped me build it so it would function as I wanted. He's the best. We ended up having to tip the structure on its side to get it to line up the way I wanted. But it totally worked and it's an amazing little storage area!

Now we can use our shoe bench as a place to put on shoes and can use the backpack nook to store the backpacks and accessories! School shoes fit in the fabric cubbies under the backpack section. This is working out really well and has streamlined our morning routine.

Each kid has their own section.