The cart business is suddenly booming! These kitchen rollers are now being used as homeschooling command centers. And for good reason! When I asked my son on the morning of his first day of school what he felt most excited about, his reply was “the cart.”

Check out these photos of our real-life cart in action. Links to all of the products used are at the end of this post...

What to put on the cart:

File holders: for books and notebooks. This will fit on the top shelf and allows for easy access any time.
Utensil holders: for all writing utensils, scissors, glue, and anything else long enough that won’t sink to the bottom and get lost forever.
Other small boxes/containers: these are to hold smaller items, like erasers or paperclips. Also use smaller boxes for specialty items (like science or other project-related materials).
Side pocket: if you need extra space, add a hook-on caddy. It can be the perfect size for a few books or a notebook.
Charging station: to charge any electronics that are used for the school day. This can include a tablet, keyboard, mouse, and headphones. An extension cord plugs into the hub on the cart, so it is easy to unplug and wheel the cart away.
Tablet stand or place for laptop: these can sit in the same place as all of the other school work necessities. Headphones rest easily on one of the cart side-bars.
Daily schedule: a laminated copy of my son’s schedule fits into the easy-access slot between the handle and the top shelf.

What to buy/not buy:

By no means do you need to go on an Amazon binge. You can piece together mugs for pencils, a shoebox for bottom shelf extras, and bookends for the top shelf. Hopefully zoom-school won’t last forever, so you need not go overboard in spending to set this up.

The key is to create a home for EVERYTHING, so that at the end of each school day, all items are back where they started, easy peasy. If you don’t have everything you need, check out some recommendations below…