11 Ideas to Organize Backpacks When You Don’t Have a Mudroom

11 Easy ideas for organizing bags, backpacks, jackets & creating a school drop zone, even if you don’t have a mudroom or large space. Small space solutions. Create a space in your home where backpacks, shoes, jackets and school gear live and never get misplaced again! 

Need Help with a realistic way to manage and organize your home? My friend Hilary has an insanely helpful class called The Organized Home which will take you room by room with practical organization steps, and the best part? Less cleaning and clutter in the long run! 

9 Organization Ideas for Backpacks & School Gear 

If you’re rushing to get out the door in the morning and avoid a tardy start to the school day, then trying to find a misplaced backpack, water bottle or pair of shoes is the last thing you want to encounter.

While most families don’t have a mud room built into their home (I’m raising my hand along with you), there are easy solutions to help you and your family stay organized if you have a wall or small space you can work with either inside the home or a space outside in your garage you can utilize. 

I was able to find some easy inspiration to for how to store bags and backpacks without having to commit to a multi-day project or operating heavy machinery. Creating an easy school drop zone in our own home is a simple way to keep school work, shoes and other gear organized and your mornings from being too chaotic. 

A lot of the projects you’ll see involve just a few simple things such as:

• A wall-mounted hook system
• Single Wall Hooks (these single wooden hooks look nice and stylish if they’re going inside the house!)
• A 4, 6-cube or 8-cube storage cubby unit
• Storage bins or baskets (perfect for corralling shoes, gloves, and hats but I do recommend something plastic you can easily wipe or wash out, especially if there are shoes in them.)
• Don’t forget drywall anchors and screws to make sure all your hard work doesn’t come crashing down (I learned my lesson the hard way on this!)

And of course, if you just want a pre-made unit, there are always kid’s storage lockers if you have space and don’t mind spending a few hours assembling it.

 

Big Benefits of Having a Dedicated Drop Zone for Bags, Backpacks, Shoes and Coats 

Creating a place where you organize backpacks & school supplies is a fantastic solution to corral your child’s belongings into one easy-to-find-place.

When your kids run out in the morning and then back through the door after a long day at school, they’ll learn to put backpacks, shoes, jackets and hats in one spot instead of dropping their belongings piece by pieece throughout the house and left for you to pick up. 

Say goodbye to the breadcrumb trail of belongings scattered every which way!

Never lose shoes or school folders again, and when you know everything will always be easy to find – for you and your children – it’s a nice peace of mind when you’re running late.

Here are 9 easy solutions for storing bags and backpacks to inspire you to create a school drop zone for backpacks and belongings in your house. 

 

Finding the Right Space for Storing Bags and Backpacks

The best place to put an organization station for gear such as school bags, bags and purses, shoes, jackets and more is near the door you use the most to enter and exit your home.

This may be near your garage door – inside or outside – or may be near your front door if this is what you use the most. You just want to place this at this door so there’s no wandering around the house to get to this station or there’s a higher chance of backpacks and shoes being dropped along the way.

If you don’t have space inside your home, a mudroom or wall you can transition with hooks or cubby storage, then is there a spot outside the door where you can use for this purpose?

It may mean you have to rearrange, clear out a closet (you’ll see a great way to transform a front closet down below for this reason), or move some furniture around, but you’ll reap the benefits of having this organized drop spot each and every day.

 

Easy Storage Solutions for Backpacks & School Gear

1) Crafting Southern Mama expertly uses cork boards as a great way to stay on top of paperwork and reminders. This would be great to put up school schedules, sports schedules, birthday invites, and other dates to remember.  The double hooks are great for duel purposes – backpacks and jackets!

Recreate This Organized Wall: 

• Double Hooks
• Small Framed Cork Boards 
• Larger Framed Cork Board
• Large Heavy Duty Silver Clips

 

2) A Mom’s Take turns a blank wall into a simple backpack station with a pop of color.

Recreate This Backpack Wall: 

• Double Hooks
• Wooden Alphabet Letters

 

3) I’m an Organizing Junkie added double hooks (board wall optional) and mesh baskets for school papers and made this blank wall function for kids to hang backpacks and jackets.

Recreate This Organized Backpack Wall: 

• Double Hooks
• Mesh Hanging File Folders with Label so you can write each child’s name

 

4) Housewives of Riverton. I know the idea of cleaning out the hall closet might sound like a huge project, but this is a great idea for an out-of-sight storage and organization area. The closet then becomes it’s own mini-mudroom complete with a door to hide any mess or bags dropped on the floor.

Put a couple baskets on the floor to catch shoes, gloves, hats, scarves and sunglasses or rotate through the seasons for swimsuits, goggles, towels, sandals, etc.

We did this to a closet in our last house and suddenly the closet felt gigantic because of all the space we saved by better utilizing the wall space instead of just a rod.

Recreate This Organized Backpack Wall: 

• Double Hooks
• Double Prong Robe Hooks (these are the double side-by-side hooks)

 

5) My Creative Days turned a bookcase on it’s side for instant cuties. Add hooks in each nook for jackets and backpacks and even place a basket at the bottom to catch all the extras or a pair of shoes by My Creative Days. 

Recreate This Storage Locker to Hang Bags and Backpacks: 

• Single Hooks
• Solid Book Bookcase (and turn it on it’s side) – your best bet is to find one at a used furniture store or shop yard sales. A lot of bookcases have removable or adjustable shelves and you want to make sure you find a bookcase with fixed shelves that’s made of solid wood so it’s sturdy and built well. The bigger the better and then you have a place for Mom and Dad to put their stuff too!
• Metal Numbers (self-stick)
• Suggestion: Find baskets that fit inside each cubby so you have a place for shoes. You can also hang this a foot or so above the ground and slide mesh metal baskets underneath the cubbies for shoes, too. Just avoid fabric baskets with shoes because of the hassle it’ll be to keep clean. With metal or plastic, you can easily wash them out.

 

6) Batmom created a DIY Backpack Station with chalkboards for names, memos and reminders. Cute if you have a little extra time and skills at carpentry.

Recreate This Chalkboard Backpack & Bag Wall: 

• Framed Chalkboards
• Double Prong Robe Hooks (these are the double side-by-side hooks)
• Chalkboard Paint

 

7) The Organized Housewife made a great organization area if you’re short on space. This is a fantastic storage solution using a white 7 Runner Elfa System (Container Store) with mesh baskets and a wooden top to hold supplies. Hang hooks on the sides to hold backpacks, jackets, hats and other items. Pure genius, right!?

Recreate This Mini Organization & Backpack Space: 

• Mesh Storage Cart or Metal Utility Cart can work, too
• Over the Door (for the cart) Hooks to hook onto the storage unit
• Mesh Upright File Folders with Label to write in each child’s name
• Table top Supply Caddy to store school supplies

 

8) The House of Wood created this super functional area in their home with double hooks and a stylish storage seat bench, perfect place for shoes, backpacks and jackets! I love storage furniture to hide items and make your home look uncluttered.

Recreate This Storage Space: 

• (2) Matching Wall Hook Racks for Hanging Jackets, Bags and Backpacks 
• Sitting Bench with Storage – I found these two versions which I thought are cute, but not exactly like the picture. Option 1 and option 2.

 

9) The Organized Housewife does a great job at being budget conscious when it comes to creating a functional backpack hanging wall with a master schedule to keep track of the entire family’s weekly activities.

Recreate This Backpack Wall with Command Center: 

• Coat / Backpack Hooks
• Dry Erase Weekly Calendar (18 x 24”)
• 18 x 24” Cork Board is also a good spot for birthday invitations, school work, notes, artwork and words of encouragement

 

10) This easy garage arrangement from I Heart Organizing is a great place for kids (and adults) to put their gear, hang in up their bags, keep dirty shoes out of the house and organize other equipment or supplies inside the garage (and out of sight inside the house.)

Recreate This Garage Backpack and Shoe Station:  

• Black Double Heavy Duty Hooks
• 3 Cube Organizer 
• Metal Baskets for Shoes
• 6 Cube Organizer
• *Make sure the organizer is being hung into studs so it’s sturdy and will not fall onto anyone.

 

11) This is a simple use of an IKEA “kallax” storage unit to hang up coats or backpacks, and use bins inside the cubbies to keep shoes stored (and out of sight.) Source: The Organised Housewife

Recreate This Backpack and Shoe Organization Station:  

• IKEA Kallax Cubby
• Baskets for Shoes 
• *Make sure the organizer is secured to the wall so it doesn’t tip over and harm anyone.

 

 

Want More Help Getting Your Home Organized? 

Need Help with a realistic way to manage and organize your home with kids underfoot? A bag and backpack station is a great place to start, but what about the rest of your house. 

Trust me, I didn’t think it was possible either until my friend Hilary showed me all her tricks.  

And guess what? She does and my house isn’t embarrassing or cluttered any more. 

The best part? I do a nightly sweep around the house to pick up a few loose things but it’s nothing like it used to be. I spend so much more time now playing with the kids or doing other things I love, rather than getting upset about the messes everywhere. 

My friend Hilary has an insanely helpful class called The Organized Home which will take you room by room with practical organization steps, and the best part? Less cleaning and clutter in the long run! 

 

More School Resources & Home Organization:

• School Anxiety: How to Help Kids Prepare for an Uncertain School Year
• What’s the Difference Between Remote Learning & Homeschool?
• 15 Inspiring Homeschool Room Ideas for Small Spaces
• Best First Day of School Tradition to Help Calm School Nervousness
• 6 Tips for Parents to Prepare Kids for Back to School & Transition from Summer
• Ease Your Child’s Back to School Anxiety: How to Calm the Jitters
• Improve After School Conversations By Asking the Right Questions