DIY Homework Caddy

This post has been sponsored ZonePerfect. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Has the summer flown by for anyone else? Just this week, my daughter’s school principal sent out an email about an upcoming parent meet and greet for the new school year. How can this be? Didn’t my daughter just get out of school for the summer? Soon I’ll be rummaging through the school items on the back to school aisle trying to find her the perfect pink pencil case.

One tactic that I learned last year is to never underestimate the power of planning and organization. When purchasing her school supplies, I buy extra of consumable products such as pens, crayons, and paper. During the month of August, not only are these items more readily available, but they are also usually less expensive, making it a great time to stock up. Once home, I separate these items into different piles. One is for her back to school box, some go into a storage cabinet to pull out when I need them, and the others go into this DIY Homework Caddy.

Evening homework is a touchy subject, isn’t it? We always begin with woes on how she JUST. CAN’T. FIND. A. PENCIL. Once we find a pencil, she drapes herself across the table to announce that the pencil is not properly sharpened, deeming homework an impossible task until someone brings her a pencil sharpener. Halfway through the school year last year, I decided to help her become more organized in the homework area with a homework caddy where all of her homework supplies can be in one place. With a few supplies, it is easy to assemble. You’ll have your kiddo’s supplies and after school snacks together in a matter of minutes!

Supplies:

• Caddy- I picked up this one at Target.
• Aluminum cans- Vegetable cans work well for this. Make sure that the cans do not have sharp or jagged edges. Wash and dry them thoroughly. The number of cans that you need will depend on the size of the caddy.
• Washi tape
• Scissors

Wrap each can with washi tape. Use the scissors to trim each strip of washi tape to the desired length to fit around the can. This is the longest step in the process. The washi tape should adhere easily to the cans. I did not need any other adhesive to secure the washi tape.

Grab the supplies that you would like to arrange in the caddy. Ideas include pencils, colored pencils, crayons, markers, scissors, glue, a ruler, and their favorite snacks.

Place the cans in the caddy and organize the items into the cans.

The caddy is portable, making it easy for kids to take it from place to place. We have a few different areas in our house where my daughter can do homework. If her brothers have a project spread out on one table, she can carry the caddy to another table easily. The cans are a good addition because they are removable. Instead of tossing the individual items in the caddy, placing them in the cans allows my daughter to pull out the can of pencils (if that is all that she needs) without grabbing the rest of the supplies.