Have you ever heard any of these frantic questions: “(Insert Your Name Here), where are my keys? Where’s my coat? Have you seen my gloves? My hat? Or my sneakers? Do you know where I left my laptop? My phone?!” Let’s put aside the question of why this dilemma is your problem for a moment. And ask ourselves instead: could my entryway organization (or lack thereof) be one of the reasons they are asking? There are a couple of easy changes you can make to organize your entryway and decrease the likelihood that they ask these questions again. Read on if you’d like to turn your life, at least with respect to your entryway, into a more organized and inviting space. Please note: Where kids are concerned this is just a theory. Husbands are another matter altogether.
1. Add a Drop Spot to Organize Your Entryway
People have stuff… lots of stuff… that they need every day, as they go into the world: keys, laptops, backpacks, hats. Placing a console (sometimes called sofa table) in your entryway does wonders for organization and the containment of this stuff. I have one inside the entrance from my garage and another one by my front door. These surfaces provide a great drop spot for our things. The small, tole bowl I’ve placed on top adds a great space for the keys. Funny, but you always know where they are if you put them in the same place every time, so give them a place and your entryway will be more organized.
2. Organize Your Entryway by Adding Hooks
Ok, more stuff to deal with! We have coats, hats, umbrellas, dog leashes … and they need a home whilst they are not being used… even if it’s for those few hours between dusk and dawn. If you have a closet in the entryway, like I do by my front door, fantastic – just always make sure that there is enough space for the coats that live there and a few extra hangers for guests. If you don’t have a closet, like the door in from my garage, consider hanging hooks or buying a standing hall tree for those on-again-off-again items. It will prevent them from being consigned to the inevitable “kitchen chair drape over,” the couch or, heaven forbid, the floor. All these items neatly hung is definitely a stress reducer.
Insider Tip: Consignment stores, like Consignments Ltd., are great places to score hall tree, shelves with pegs and wall hooks for this step in organizing your entryway.
3. Don’t Forget The Shoes When Organizing Your Entryway
Bruce and I live in a “semi-shoeless” home. We try to remove our footwear, most of the time, as we enter the house, to limit the dirt that the soles of shoes are famous for. But what to you do to deal with these shoes as you take them off in the entryway? Because you know, if you don’t give these bad boys a home they become a giant tripping hazard or track needless dirt into the rest of your house. A couple of things work here:
- Baskets to hide the shoes away (one for every person in the house that can get tucked neatly under that console table you’ve added.
- A Boot Tray to contain them, also put under the console, perhaps.
- A Shoe Rack mounted on the inside of the closet door, for the lucky ones with entryway closets.
- Or just go barefoot forever, no matter the season. OK, I admit it, that one’s probably not going to work.
4. And, Finally, Add a Place To Sit
Related to the whole shoe thing is the act of putting them on and taking them off. If your entryway is large enough to accommodate one, a bench is a great addition for the “shoeing” and “unshoeing” of your family. A small chair, placed on an angle in the corner can work too. Some benches also come with built-in slots for baskets, so you can kill two “shoe birds” with just one stone.
And Now For A Little Music Before We Go…
For more on organization, check out my previous blogs: Organize Your Closets And Start 2024 Right and The 20/20 Rule of De-Cluttering.
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