School Clutter!!! Calgon, Take Me Away!

[justmeandmybrood]

Do you all have a great system for keeping the kiddos' school things at bay?

Last year with only a 1st grader, I kept a large fabric basket in the kitchen for his bookbag, lunchbox, Spanish bag, art bag, library books, and dictionary for homework time.

This year, I have 2 in school and one basket is not enough. I do not know if I want 2 large baskets hanging out on the floor, but since they do homework right there, we have a generously-sized kitchen, and I like to keep their things together, the kitchen is the place to keep it all. Just not sure, and school starts next week, egads!

Thanks for any ideas!

[proudmomof4]

We have 4 school children in the house (from grade 1 up to grade 11).
For the 2 younger ones (grade 1 and 4) I have collector bins in the kitchen (dictionary, school papers), we keep pencils and crayons in cups next the bins, and we have a library basket for both together.
The real challenge here is keeping track of the paper flow. I have those monthly resolutions to do a weekly backpack turnover with everyone but ... Sigh.