Shoe Storage for Boomwhackers: A Tutorial

How many of you have boomwhackers in your room? *raises hand*
In the past, I have stored my boomwhackers in plastic coffee containers. My room was large but had a nice instrument cart for them to sit on top of. In my new classroom this year, I have very little storage. I barely have enough room for movement materials and classroom instruments, let alone eight separate containers of various sized colored tubes.
For the first month of school, my boomwhackers laid on the floor in the plastic wrap they came in. I was stumped and was about ready to create shelves or something. Then, I stumbled upon a genius idea from the Facebook group for music teachers: plastic shoe organizers!

I knew immediately that this was the answer. Thank you, Laurie E.!
So, how do you go about making this? Have no fear - I am here to share! My materials maxed out at about $20 and I completed the project in 15 minutes. 


To begin, you will need the following items:

• plastic shoe organizers (I used two, which ended up holding 8 of each color)
• scissors
• hanging materials (I used command hooks, but over the door hooks were included)

Step 1: Spread out your shoe organizer on your work area. Think of the top as row 1 all the way down to row 6 at the bottom.

Step 2:

For this step, you will be focusing on rows 3 & 5 of slots. Cut the fold at the bottom of one of the slots and then cut across. You are removing the slot from the organizer so it opens up. You should be able to stick your hand through it. This is where the taller boomwhackers will slide through. 

Step 3: Repeat the process for all of the slots in rows 3 & 5. Pull the plastic out so it creates a shoot. Again, the plastic is attached at the sides, but the top and bottom are open. This will encase the boomwhacker. 

Step 4:

Prepare to hang your organizer. I attached basic Command hooks to the wall, using holes one and four. Included with mine was an "over-the-door" option. If you don't have a lot of space but have doors, this would be another space saver idea!

Step 5:

Fill and organizer! On my wall, I was able to fit two side by side. The longer tubes (C-F) should slide down through the hole you cut into the bottom slots. The shorter tubes just fit normally into the shoe slots. This is my set-up, but you are welcome to get creative and adjust it to your needs.

EASY! It actually took me longer to put together this blog post giving you directions than to make both of them, hang and stuff. We've already used them a few times and clean-up is quick. I love how it makes use of a blank wall with bright colors. 

Have you had to be creative with storage in your classroom? I'd love to hear new ideas - please share below!