Backpack Central

The children's lockers, located in a mudroom directly off the garage, corral lacrosse, golf and horseback riding gear as well as jackets and tote bags. Kirstein says the lockers' open front is key, because kids are less likely to put stuff away if a door is in the way. A bench at one end of the room provides drawers and a place for the children to put on riding boots or soccer cleats. Drawers are more efficient than cabinets in a low spot, says Kirstein. "When doors are tucked under a bench, no one gets down, whereas if you've got a drawer you can pull it out and look into it."

The kids' shoes go in a separate cubby space, adjacent to a bathroom across the mudroom from the lockers. The shoe shelves, formerly a "Price Club pantry" for wholesale sizes of food and paper goods, now house winter boots, sports shoes and flip-flops on a double row of shelving cubbies.

Ready-made storage cabinets cost less, Kirstein says, but built-ins can use every inch of space, so there are no awkward leftover spaces. Because he is in the building business and benefited from discounted labor and materials, Kirstein says he couldn't really estimate how much his built-ins cost.

Like Bartos, Kirstein plans to add a message center where family members can leave notes for each other. Overall, however, Kirstein is pleased with the organization the lockers have given the family. "We wanted something very functional but something attractive, as well," he says. "And I'm just as proud to bring someone into this room as into the foyer."

Teenagers can benefit from locker space even more than younger children. Just inside the side door of their modern Bethesda home, Richard and Janice Newman have four lockers for their kids, who are 20, 17 and 13.

"We're kind of neat freaks, so we needed a place to put the kids' stuff," says Richard Newman. The doorway to the kitchen -- Newman describes the room as the center of their house -- faces the lockers.

Builder Mark Scott of Mark IV builders renovated the house four years ago with plenty of input from the Newmans. "We had a clear idea of what we wanted, having lived with these monsters as long as we have," Newman says.

The children chimed in with their own ideas about storage needs. All three play musical instruments that require bulky cases.

The lockers were a relatively minor part of the renovation, but Scott estimates that a setup like the Newmans' is in the $4,500 range.

Newman says the storage has been crucial to family peace, and even helped the process of applying to colleges.

"The top shelf is the right depth for a folder," Newman says, so the applicants created a folder for each school and stored them in their lockers. "The volume of stuff you get from the school is huge. This way, it doesn't have to take over their rooms."

Looking for Lockers

For locker space without the high price of built-ins, check out storage units that stand (or hang) alone.

A sampling:

Gladiator GarageWorks , by Whirlpool, makes a product called the Tall GearBox Locker, a metal stand-alone locker with a middle partition. It features four adjustable half-width shelves, so schoolkids can store hockey sticks, baseball equipment and other tall things. Another product, the Tall GearBox, comes with three adjustable shelves. Both sit on casters. Gladiator products are sold at Sears and Lowe's. See http://www.gladiatorgw.com/ for other local sources.

GarageTek's Tall Cabinet (starting at about $250) is made from TekPanel, a heavy-duty thermoplastic. It mounts off the ground, and comes with three movable shelves and a door bin. Extra shelves and bins are sold separately. A smaller, wall-mounted Kid'z Sports Locker is also available. Check http://www.garagetek.com/ or call 866-664-2724 for local sources.

Buyusedlockers.com , on the Web, has a large supply of new and used lockers. Descriptions and photographs are displayed online, with prices available by request.