What's in Kamel's locker?

I know that around the end of summer when it is getting close to school beginning again there are lots of tutorials on how to make your locker all cutesy, plus office supply stores are selling a lot of frilly toys to put in your locker. So I decided to do a post on what I put in my locker that I feel is actually worth having. As this will be my last year of high school and having 5 years of locker experience behind my back I feel like I have a pretty good sense of what is practical or not. Of course everyone is different with differing needs so keep that in mind as well.

Locker Shelf

First and foremost the one thing that I believe all lockers should have, even if you get nothing else, you should have a locker shelf. I use this item every single school day! With this shelf I will put my lunch box underneath to keep my lunch from being squished then I can put my textbooks on top of it. This leaves the locker hooks near the top free for my backpack and my jacket/coat. If I have an umbrella that day or an extra tall water bottle I can also put this underneath, next to my lunchbox. The past couple of years I have been sharing a full sized locker with my friend (our school is too overcrowded for us to have our own) and this has been absolutely essential. This is because while we have plenty of vertical space we have very limited horizontal space and these shelves help to solve this problem.

Durability: I have used the same one for all 5 years and it is holding up great.

Sizes: There is both a 12 inch and a 8 inch option, I personally have the 8 inch one and it works great for me but if you want to put your textbooks underneath the shelf I would get the 12 in one.
                                    

Lunch box

Speaking of lunch boxes my all time favorite lunch box has been one of those vintage looking metal ones. This site has a ton of cute ones, I personally got my Pinkie Pie box from Hastings. After a couple years of using it there is some rust starting to form but that is probably from some of my water bottles leaking inside and me not drying it out ;) As long as you keep these boxes clean and dry they should last you several years.

 

Coat

My favorite everyday winter coat is by Andrew Marc, I actually got mine at Costco a few years ago but the one in the link is a very similar style. The down makes it extra warm without all the bulk of a regular coat, plus it comes with it's own cinch sack that you can squish it down into. I have not tried washing it, and because of the down I would not suggest doing so but so far I can just wipe off any spills with a wet cloth and it does okay due to its darker color.

               

Umbrella

Obliviously there are hundreds of umbrellas out there to choose from that are all both adorable and functional I personally have a mini umbrella from Totes and it is just the right size to put in my locker and they have tons of cute patterns to choose from.

                                    

Backpack

I love my backpack! During elementary school I always had to get a new back pack every year because my old one would be falling apart by the years end. However for 7th grade my mom decided to get me a backpack from Land's End and I am still using it into my senior year of high school. These backpacks are amazing I have never had a problem with my zipper getting jacked up, my shoulder straps breaking off, or even the bottom wearing through on my backpack. Though they are a bit pricier than the kind you can buy from the store these backpacks pay for themselves in the many years that you can use them.

They no longer make the exact backpack that I got all those years ago but this is pretty close.

                                     
                                   

My little brother Tyler got this backpack from them this past year.
                                     
                                                

Extras

The following are not at all essential but are fairly useful to have around at school.

mirror

This is good for after lunch to check your teeth or to quickly fix your bow that is falling out. You don't need a huge one just a small hand held one will work (think compact size) and having a magnet on the back is useful so you can stick it on your locker wall.

mints/gum

This is also useful for after lunch, or maybe after eating something with onions in it from foods class (I speak from experience my friends!). Just be careful not to forget about your gum if you go in the computer lab or have a language class, it is hard enough to speak a foreign language let alone with gum in your mouth :)

Extra's Polar Ice is delicious!

                   

tic tacs & Altoids are also good choices

     

hair ties & bobby pins

You never know when you need these, especially for cooking and art projects.

perfume

I like the kind from Bath & Body Works.

                                

hand lotion

I cannot tell you how many times one of my friends has asked me if I had any lotion they could use. I also have to use this for my poor dry hands during the harsh Utah winter. I like to use Gold Bond lotion when they are really dry, remember the stinging means your hands are healing!...and that you need to use lotion more often :)

                   

                                                                  

I hope that this guide was informative and useful to you. Let me know if you think I forgot anything in the comments. Good luck in your learning!

Kamel