I want order.  I crave it. I absolutely need it. But, and it’s a big BUT…I have kids.  And one of them is a rebel, a renegade, a dissenter,  or in other words, a TEENAGER.  In general, children don’t care about organization.  They’re blind to the chaos of their bedrooms, where leaving a trail of bread crumbs to find their way out doesn’t sound too far-fetched to any parent who has ventured past their bedroom doors. “Squalor”  is merely a word to them, that simply means “my parents are on my case about cleaning my room.”

 Now, it wouldn’t matter so much to me if the squalor was limited to their bedrooms. I could live with that, but that isn’t the case. Their grubbiness has tentacles that reach out far beyond the walls of their rooms, down the hall, past the front door and all the way to the family CAR.  Where there live enough empty juice boxes, candy, snack wrappers and who knows what else, to warrant an archaeological dig.  And no matter how many times I say to “pick up your room, throw out your trash, put away your STUFF”, I might as well be talking to the family dog.

But then something happened, and was something that took me over the edge.  The final straw, and as with most final straws, it was something minor, small, perhaps even insignificant in the larger scheme of things, however, significant enough to be the final straw.  And what was it?  Our youngest, he’s 8, threw his winter coat down on the floor as he came in the front door from school.  And that was all it took for me to declare war, make a stand and say I’m not taking this anymore!  I was determined to do something about it. And so the answer to my problem and perhaps yours too, lies below.  I have retired the old entryway coat rack, also known as the pack mule, because it was loaded down with more than it could hold, and created and built a new and improved pack mule.  It’s made from red oak, and incorporates a nice big chalkboard for family members to communicate with each other or just to doodle. I added brushed chrome dragonfly coat hooks (to personalize it and make it my own) and attached it to the wall nearest the front door. And there it sits, waiting for my children and their coats, especially our 8 year-old.  I dare him, in fact I double-dog dare him, to throw down his coat TODAY!

Click HERE to learn how to make a coat rack with a twist.  You can make it just like the one above, or use your own personal touches, such as a swapping out the chalkboard for a whiteboard or cork, or even a collection of photographs. Try different hardware, or paint the wood to match the colors in your home.  The options are endless!

by Leah Bolden, See Jane Drill

Where Beginner Home Improvement Enthusiasts Come to Learn