Ok, I have four kids, little money, and less time.... The need to get things in order is of utmost importance. Every morning we have at least one crisis, a lost backpack, missing shoes, no coat, etc.
I am not a morning person, so to go looking frantically for anything ruins my whole morning. We are trying to organizing the basement, which is a nice little mix of our junk, my dads stuff and even some of my grandmothers things. Among the items in the basement collecting dust was an old book shelf. It was not a high end book shelf so I wasn't worried about damaging the wood. In fact I think it was made from scrap particle board from one of the wood factories where my dad had worked. If you do not have old book shelves, look at a second hand shop or craigslist etc. (Or along the road for trash) You can find them cheap and the appearance is not as important as the being sturdy or being able to be made sturdy. We cleaned up the shelves (this is where having four kids comes in handy). I spray painted the shelves. Of course if you are trying to do this with out much expense, use left over paints from another project. Or check at hardware stores for previously mixed paint that was rejected by the purchaser. They usually sell those paints at a fraction of the cost and if you do not really care about the exact color it is a great option. To use as lockers you will be turning them on their side, so be sure the underside of the shelves are painted.
My bookshelves did not have a back and I figure that is a must or everything will end up behind the lockers. You can buy "hard board"or high density fiberboard(HDF) at Home Depot. I think we got a full sheet (4x8' ish) for under 10 dollars. When we first started looking all of the wood we found was very expensive. So be sure to keep looking. Depending on the look or function, you could also get Peg board for the backing. Then you could hang additional hooks, etc. I simply laid the board on the back of the bookshelf and marked it. You will want the backing to be slightly smaller than the bookshelf. Again, simple is best for me.... I used a straight edge and a utility knife to cut the hard board (not so hard is it?) After scoring several times I bent the board and then cut it through. Because organization is not a strong point in our house... I could not find a staple gun and staples that worked together. So I used finishing nails and secured the backing to the shelves.
I initially wanted to hang a cluster hook from the center but could not find one. There are a variety of different hooks and again if you are wanting to keep costs down keep looking until you find cheap ones. They will probably be chrome instead of brushed anything :) Depending on how many lockers you want, check for packages with more than one in it. The single ones are more expensive (I got 2 packs for $3) I put one robe hook on each side of each locker. That would allow a coat and backpack per locker and shoes etc in the bottom. Depending on your need you could add baskets, shelves, etc.
VOILA!! Lockers..... each kid can take ownership, let them hang personal things in it, that way they want to use them!
Be sure if your bookshelves are at all wobbly to shore them up. Depending on the shelves, you may be able to just add a few screws or a small piece of wood to screw into the shelf and the former sides of the bookshelf. FYI the small piece of wood is called a batten... which is where batten down the hatches comes from!
