Today I’d like to welcome guest blogger, Beverly Coggins from 1-2-3..Get Organized. Beverly is a Professional Organizer in Ohio and you might even remember her from the review I did not too long ago of her fabulous organizing mini books. Welcome Bev!
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I love mudrooms! They corral clutter before it enters your home! If you don’t have a mudroom, you can even create one in your garage.
Whether your mudroom is inside your house or in the garage, the idea is the same – you want to have a dumping ground as your family enters the house. Start with pegs or hooks to hang backpacks, briefcases, coats, scarves, etc. Add a bench with storage to sit on while taking off shoes. A chair will suffice, too.
The bench can house sports equipment if you have athletes in the house. Or choose another receptacle for sports equipment. And finally, shoe storage – a shoe rack, shelves, etc. A rug from the bench or chair to the door is a nice touch, if your mudroom is in your garage. If the members of your family are slipper wearers, they could keep them in the mudroom and slip into them after removing their shoes.
By creating such a mudroom, your house doesn’t look like it has exploded when family members come home. It takes a little training to get everyone to put things on hooks or in the shoe or athletic storage, but it is worth the effort! Every few days, have a shoe exchange where everyone picks up an armload of their shoes and takes them to their closets.
Whoever invented mudrooms was ingenious!
Diane says
I wish I had the room for a mudroom either in my home or garage. I dont have a garage though. I always admire pictures of a mudroom area.
Mrs. Querido says
I don’t have a mudroom, just an entrance from the garage. But tidying it up a bit wouldn’t hurt! lol 🙂
Avlor says
I would love to have a mudroom. But my hall closet can certainly be dealt with more efficiently. (I’m pondering taking out the hanging bar entirely…)
Kathryn Wells says
Oh, to have a mudroom! My front door opens directly into the stairs; to the right is a TINY, SHORT hallway leading to the garage door. I do have a closet there, and I’ve put a shelf with hooks on the opposite wall, but the space is so tight, that, if we actually hang something on the hooks, you can’t open the door to the garage … and you bang your hip on the doorknob of the hall closet! Drives me CRAZY!
I will keep playing around with the space … hoping for an “A-HA!” moment to make it more functional. 🙂
JoeGirl says
They key to any good storage solution is to purge, sort and — what I am trying to do more of — take advantage of vertical space in every room! In closets, in garages, over doorways.
I’m trying to tackle my home office/creative space… could use some ideas there. See my Aug 13 post at joegirl.com
Lisa says
We’re looking at houses as we prepare to move. I’m so hoping we can find one with a laundry/mudroom with outdoor entrance.
Apryll Lopez says
Oh, this has made me so excited!!! Plus the pics from your prior entryway post. I need to get my mud room in order…so my kitchen can get back in order. 🙂
Thanks for the ideas.
Jen says
I LOVE our mudroom! It was one of the selling points for buying our house. It’s perfect now that my kids are in school. All their bags, shoes & papers are in one place – no more running around to find things to get out the door.
Cassandra Stafford says
So….if backpacks are in the mudroom (or garage entrance, whichever you have) where do you keep school papers? I guess i am asking in all sincerity, is the mudroom your landing/launching place? (the out of here shelf area you mentioned previously?)
The Frugal Momma says
I want the mudroom in the picture, that’s nice!
Penny Raine says
we live on a farm, and I must laugh at your nice neat pic. Mudrooms are for mud! he he, ours is for boots and spurs and coveralls, and a big utility sink to make sure you are actually CLEAN enough to come in the house, we are actually in the process of building one on this old house, so bring on the ideas! don’t forget the doormats, one outside the door and one inside the door.
blessings, Penny Raine
http://www.pennyraine.com/blog
Laura says
Oh gosh I know Penny and I do apologize for the picture. I spent an hour looking for a better one of an actual “used” mudroom and had to eventually give up. Sorry!
Heidi Boos says
I would love to have more of an entryway or mudroom where we could do some creative “dumping of stuff” as we come into the house. Most often we walk straight to the dining room table and dump it all there and after a couple days of this, it doesn’t look pretty. For this month’s round up I am wanting to reorganize our coat closet and use it more efficiently. We will definitely have to be doing quite a bit of purging of coats that we never wear! I’m looking forward to the challenge of rearranging and reorganizing. There are lots of ideas on my mind, but now they need to turn into action!
Penny Raine says
If you could build a new mudroom, that would also be a laundry room, how big would you make it? Ours is probably going to be 12×20 and we will have an extra freeze in it too, what do you think? What all would you put in it? When we get ours done i will send you a picture, complete with boots, spurs and coveralls 🙂 .
I just LOVE your blog!
blessings, Penny Raine
http://www.pennyraine.com/blog
Laura says
Storing your extra freezer in there sounds like a great idea. I’d also want a space for each child to put their things as well as adequate wall space for a command central.
I definitely want to see a picture!
Organizing Mommy says
We have an issue here. We have two entrances to the house that both get used. The one that is used the most often (the garage entrance) has no room for an apparatus to hold shoes. I can hang hooks on the wall, but with a bunch of jackets, it looks and feels too full. I’ve lived here 7 years, and this issue has been a quandary for me. Should I make my family carry their shoes to the right location? trip over them in the garage entrance? or just insist that no one is allowed to wear shoes? (OK not realistic)
kimberly says
So…what do you do if you dont have ANY space for a “mudroom”. Our front door opens up directly to our living room (there is a hall off that entry and a very, very small closet) and our entry from the garage opens up directly to our kitchen. I absolutely love the idea of having a command center. I have 5 kids, four of whom will be in school this year and if I dont get organized and quick, I’m gonna be a mess! I love the pic that was posted with the baskets and such hanging on the wall, but I am at a loss at where to put them!
Vittoria says
*when* I’ve got my own place, even if it’s an apartment, I want a mudroom! (and an art room)
Michele says
Penny Raine–I just want to say that if all possible, do not build a combo laundry room/mudroom. You can have them side-by-side, but at least make the laundry room separate (with pocket doors would be nice). We have had a laundry/mudroom in our past two homes and I hate it! There is simply too much going on. Everyone else I know who has a combo room feels the same way. Anyway, just thought I would give you something to think about.
Organizing Mommy–We have the same problem. We most use our garage entrance that is off the mudroom, but DS uses the front door when he comes home from school. I feel like I am constantly going from the foyer to the mudroom to retreive shoes and backpacks!
Autumn Brown says
I got chills of happiness from that mudroom pic! That’s exactly from my dream house daydreams!
Pennies In My Pocket says
I was going to try to add a mudroom to my laundry room and then got new HE washer and dryers and they ended up taking up a HUGE portion of the room. I knew they were going to be big, but I had no clue THAT big. I love this bench you have pictured in this post. I need to make this happen somehow! lol
~melody~