If you’ve ever used a locker – and most of us have – you know how easy it is to lose things inside. Little things, like pencils, paper clips or even photos, can end up stuffed between books and papers, leaving you constantly searching for your stuff. Get rid of the aggravation and treat yourself to some organization by making an organizer from things you have around your home.
A simple box lid can help you organize your locker in a unique way. The perfect box lid would be something like you’d find on a box of shoes. The lid should be the removable type and not the type that is attached to the shoe box. Any similar lid, which has the lip all the way around, is ideal for this project.
Double-sided tape will allow you to easily hang the box lid organizer inside the locker. Hang it to the inside of the door or stick it to the back or sides of the locker. Make more than one, creating a different design for each, and you’ll marvel at how neat your locker is.
There are any number of things you can glue to the lid to create the perfect organizer. Attach a small mirror, a place for pencils and pens, and even small picture frames. Use the double-sided tape to hold lightweight picture frames and you can then change the pictures any time you want. Or, place a magnet on the back of the frames and stick them to the cardboard lid.
Something like a bathroom tissue roll can easily become a pencil and pen holder. Create a bottom for the tube by cutting a circle of cardboard and taping it onto one end of the roll. Cover the tube in cloth or adhesive paper and stick it to the box lid organizer. Now you can hold markers and other writing instruments. If you want, omit the box lid and just make a couple of the tube holders by using button magnets to hold them to the locker.
Old Band-Aid tins work great for holding items to your organizer, too. Similar things, like slender boxes, can easily become storage units. A cereal box, rice box or cracker box turn into storage bins with a few cuts. Small boxes can simply be covered in fabric or paper, then magnetized and put in the locker. Larger boxes can be cut in half before adding fabric and magnet.
Using magnetic sheeting can help you make a pocket for holding papers. Use thick, decorative paper – such as scrapbook paper, to make the pocket. Fold the paper in half and lay one half of it on the magnetic sheeting. The sheeting can be found by the roll at a craft store. A piece of clear tape on each side of the pocket, or even a little glue, will secure the sides. Make a larger pocket by using two pieces of paper – wrong sides together – to make the pocket. Now you can place paperwork in the magnetic pocket to keep it from getting wrinkled in the locker.
Half flower pots, meant to be affixed against a flat surface, make great organizers, too. The pots are cheap and can easily hold many different items. Square or round prescription bottles, 20oz bottles with the tops cut off, quart milk jugs with the tops cut off, and even small baskets can all be used as locker organizers.
Make any number of holders by cutting the end off of any cardboard box. Go in a couple of inches and slice all the way through a box with no lid. This will give you a partial bottom, two partial sides, and a full front. Depending upon the size of the box these can hold papers, pens, craft supplies, and more. Use push pins on the fabric-covered boxes to hold notes and pictures.
Look around your house and you’ll be surprised at how many things you see to use for organization at school. Make magnetic pockets, magnetic boxes and even magnetic pictures. You’ll have the neatest, nicest locker in school!
