Your mudroom does some serious work. Often, the first thing you see coming in the door, and one of the most utilized rooms in your home. It serves many purposes and can be the hardest room to keep orderly because everything and everyone comes through here. For this reason, making sure the mudroom has a good organizational plan is extremely important. A well-planned mudroom creates a smooth transition between the outside and the inside of your home, and is the key to keep your household and your family organized.
Whether you have a full-fledged room or just a designated spot by the backdoor or entryway, there are a number of steps you can take to get a handle on making the most of your space, and creating good organizational habits the whole family can benefit from.
Assess Your Lifestyle
To begin, you should assess how your family enters and leaves the house. Mudrooms do more than store coats and backpacks. Think about your families’ daily activities and take note what everyone is coming in with, and where they tend to place items. It could be the mail, keys, groceries, shoes, sporting equipment or other belongings. You should make a list of these items and then begin to think about how best to make the space work efficiently.
Lockers & Cubbies
If you have the space, each member of your family should have a cubby or locker that is designated just for them. A custom closet designer can provide many choices for the look and size of these spaces. The locker should have a number of hooks at varying heights to make sure everyone in the family can reach them. It can house shelves or storage for shoes. The locker can contain a higher shelf for bins to store items that you don’t need every day.
If your mudroom is open to the kitchen or another room in your home, you may want to choose cabinetry and surfaces based on the overall design. If you want to hide your mudroom from visitors, you can take steps to close it off from adjoining rooms. Consider a pocket door that slides into the wall
Hooks
If lockers aren’t your thing, or you don’t have the space for them, hooks are a great way to create an area to hang coats, bags, keys and more. You can simply hang hooks on the wall of your entry way. Based on your needs each family member can have a few hooks at varying heights for different items. This will also assure that everyone is able to hang their things at a height they can reach them.
Hooks come in so many styles and sizes and can match any décor. You can find the ones that work best for you, and it is a great way to personalize the space.
Bins, Baskets & Buckets
Lockers and hooks can’t do it all. To compliment your mudroom design you should add bins, baskets or buckets. They are a catch all for lose items that can get misplaced. Each family member can have their own to store gloves, socks, toys, sport equipment and more. If you don’t have lockers, a shelf placed higher up on the wall can house baskets for off season items. A bucket near the door can be used for flip flops, baseball bats, or even gift wrap. This will result in fewer frantic searches for items that you never can find when you need them.
Shoe Tray
No one wants a wet floor when they come in the door and take off their shoes. There is nothing worse than stepping in wet puddle in your socks. Placing a boot tray near the door creates a designated space for shoes when you come in, and they won’t be scattered everywhere. This will make sure the wetness does not get all over the room or rug. Additionally, the tray can be easily wiped down for quick cleanup.
Information Center
You and your family will pass through the mudroom once at least once per day. Creating a central information center can serve as a place to leave notes, place a calendar, and store the mail or important papers. This area can have a letter filing system attached to the wall, a whiteboard, pin board, and a shelf to house loose hair ties, change, or keys. It can include a charging station for phones and a small mirror to primp before your leave.
A Place to Sit
Since the mudroom is intended as a space to come in and take off your jacket and shoes, it is a good idea to have a bench or some seating. It can be a built-in custom bench, one that is stand alone, or if you don’t have space for a bench a chair will do the trick. This can also be a good spot to keep your items off the floor when you walk in the door.
You can choose seating to compliment the feel of the rest of the house or make it blend into the wall like a custom bookshelf.
Overall, your mudroom doesn’t have to be a room or even very large, but with the right organizational tools, any room big or small can be organized into an efficient space that will create an easier routine for you and your family.