This rack is colorful and playful but hardworking, too, holding up to 50 pounds of kids' stuff. It's also a good rack for little ones, because the round wooden knobs are less of an injury risk than pointy hooks.

What to Hang: Toys and projects that normally create an obstacle course on the floor. Plus backpacks, jackets, and hats. Hang a bucket on one of the hooks to contain crayons and markers.

Where to Mount: Six inches higher than your child's height, to avoid head-banging collisions.

Mounting Tools: Pencil, tape measure, level, stud finder, drill, and Phillips screwdriver (the hardware is included).

To Buy: Wallmount Coat Rack, $48, Hold Everything, 800-421-2264.

Safety Hang-Ups

As helpful as hooks can be for you, they can be harmful to a crash-prone, teetering toddler. To avoid hook hazards, use these tips from Meri-K Appy, the president of the Home Safety Council, in Wilkesboro, North Carolina.

Avoid placing at child height any hooks that are small or pointy or that have sharp edges. "Your main concern with hooks is poking the eye," says Appy.

While hooks should be six inches above your child's height, make sure they're still within arm's reach. You don't want to put the hook rack so high that your child has to climb on something to reach it, which just replaces one worry with another.

Wrap up loose ends. If you have toddlers in the house, be aware of anything loose and long, as well as hanging purses that may be full of dangers — medications, matches, lighters, and coins, to name a few.