Since school's moved home, my binders, and my siblings' binders, have too. And let's just say they're not in the most tidy order. Our work desk has become an island of messiness, and we're literally digging to try and find our notes. So, I came up with the solution to bring some tidiness into our house: lockers. Yes, lockers, the staple of middle and high school, the metal bins with locks that for some reason always seem so ominous.

I'm still in the middle of making and painting organizational lockers for my siblings, but you can already see the big difference with just one locker. (Comment below if you want to see the whole gang when they're done)

This instructable will teach you how to make your own set of lockers. If you like it, please vote for it in the Declutter Speed Challenge 2020.

Step 1: Gather Your Materials

To make your very own DIY organizational lockers, you'll need:

Cardboard
Utility knife(s)
Hot glue
Ruler

Step 2: Mark and Cut All the Pieces

Make eight cardboard pieces measuring 25 inches by 12 inches. Cut six squares measuring 12 inches by 11 3/4 inches. Make four thin rectangles that are 12 1/4 inches by 1 inch.

Cut four circles with a radius of 3/4 of an inch. Make two small squares measuring 1/2 inch by 1/2 inch. Make three circles with a radius of 1 inch. Slice 1/2 of an inch away from all three circles' edge.

Cut four strips of cardboard that will be used as hinges. Mine are 3 inches long by 1.5 inches wide.

Step 3: Layering the Cardboard

Glue one of the eight rectangles on another rectangle. Repeat it with the other six rectangles until you get four double-layered rectangles.

Glue one of the six squares on another square. Repeat with the other four squares to get three double-stacked squares.

Glue one of the thin rectangles to the other one, making a double-stacked thin rectangle. Do the same with the other two thin rectangles.

Hot glue three of the four circles together.

Glue the three circles with a flat edge together.

Glue the two small squares together.

Step 4: Gluing the Main Body

Mark the middle of one of the four cardboard rectangles. Glue one of the three squares right onto the line. Use as much glue as necessary to stabilize the shelf.

Glue the other two squares on the top and bottom edges of the rectangle. Make sure that the cardboard is firmly attached to the rectangle.

Glue one of other rectangles on top of the squares. Repeat with another rectangle, except this time, on the other side.

Take your last, remaining rectangle. Use the four strips of cardboard to attach the remaining rectangle to one of the rectangles we already glued on. The rectangle should be able to move with the strips acting as hinges.

Glue the two thin rectangles to the inside of the locker, on the opposite side of the hinges. Place it at the very edge of the locker.

Step 5: The Simple (Yet Highly Effective) Knob

Take a skewer and thread it through the three circles. Glue it on, and cover the skewer's end using the remaining circle.

Pierce a hole on the left side of the locker's door. It should be 11 inches away from the top edge and 1 3/4 inches away from the side edge.

Glue the double-stacked small square onto the door. Thread the skewer through it.

Glue the flat-edged circle to the skewer. Make sure to leave at least 3/8 of an inch of space between the door and the flat-edged circle.

Cut the skewer where it protrudes from the circle.

When you twist the knob, the rounded edge of the flat-edged circle should catch onto the thin rectangles. This means your organizational locker is locked. To unlock, simply turn the knob so that the flat-edge of the circle will be able to pass by the thin rectangles.

Step 6: Where the Magic Really Begins...Customizing Your Locker

Of course, this step is optional. However, it really does do some magic to your locker. It brightens up the whole table, and if I do say so myself, quite eye-catching.

To start, simply sketch your design onto the locker. It doesn't have to be anything fancy. I simply made slime blobs (I think that's what you call them?) appear from the bottom of the locker. Then, I colored the whole locker using acrylic paint. This is time-consuming, so I would recommend doing this with a family member/friend. My sister helped me pick out the colors for this locker, so I've got to give her a big thanks for that one.

After I painted my locker, I thought it was looking a little bland, so I added a little doodle of mine. It's simply my initials, along with pictures of some of my favorite things in the world, such as a basketball, a tiger, and the cross. I first sketched and colored it on a separate piece of paper, then I cut it out using a utility knife. After that, I simply used a glue stick to glue it on my locker door.

At this time, you can also add pockets. I added one for my calculator, but you can put pockets for your pencils, pens, etc.