As homeowners, we know life gets messy. All of those bags, jackets, and umbrellas necessary for everyday life have to go somewhere. If there isn’t a mudroom, the entryway is often the designated spot for our daily items, whether we want them there or not. It is also the first room that our family and friends see when entering a home, which creates a bit of a dilemma. We want a clean and well-designed entryway, but how do we organize all our stuff to keep the area clutter-free day in and day out? Here are some tips on organizing your entryway for any home style. You will also learn how to keep an entrance clean well into the future. You may need to stay vigilant for this is one area of the home, but there are easy ways to declutter your entryway.
Set Ground Rules
Establish family rules to keep the entryway clutter-free. This will keep everyone in the habit of putting items back in their designated spots. You can then go a step further and designate a family member to do periodic cleaning.
Have the Family Filter Down Their Items
The best first step to declutter your entryway is to have everyone remove items they don’t use; otherwise, the room will look like an over-filled closet. Since each may have their own ideas of what is necessary, let them do the work first.
Re-assess What You Store in Your Entry
Now take a few minutes to assess the items that remain. Here are some items often stored in entries. If you have anything more stored in your entryway, there may be a better home for the items.
- Work bags
- School backpacks
- Grocery and shopping bags
- Purses
- Shoes
- Coats
- Jackets
- Hats
- Scarves
- Keys
- Umbrellas
- Sunglasses
- Miscellaneous daily items
Make Putting Items Away Easy
Now that you have a handle on what to store, you can work on how to store it. The key is to make accessing high-priority items effortless and convenient. Otherwise, you’ll have a mess on your hands whenever family members rush in and out the door. Dedicated storage spaces prioritized by the frequency of use will help.
How do you create storage that maintains a clean look? Here are some ideas.
Use the Back Side of the Door
The door is an often overlooked area and can be a game-changer in maintaining a clutter-free, organized entryway. From jacket hooks to umbrellas, mail, and key storage, your door can keep items out of sight when users enter the home for an ultra-clean appearance. You can use hooks or hanging wall storage to declutter your entryway while also allowing the door to fully open.
Hide Items Away With Cabinets
Whether items are behind closed doors or open in cubbies, cabinets are the best way to maximize storage in a small space. Closed doors are an immaculate and attractive answer for sorting clutter items like purses and backpacks.
Even a favorite console or family antique can hide things away while still creating a rich look to match your home.
Step Up to Shoe Racks
When the family has a habit of kicking off shoes and tossing them to the side, a pile will build up quickly, and accessing the shoes becomes a pain. A shoe rack creates designated spots that keep shoes together and provides quick access, even when multiple people are there at a time.
Double Up With Bench Storage
A storage bench makes putting on shoes a breeze while holding items more items in the process. It can have open storage underneath for shoes or be a closed cabinet with a flip-up top that holds bulky or less-used items.
Use Storage Baskets or Cubes for Quick-Access Items
Family members move each basket out of an open cabinet and access what they need and then hide them away again. You can use labels to maintain quick access.
Coat Racks, Hooks, or Wall-Mounted Hangers
Easily hang jackets, scarves, purses, and umbrellas while creating designated spots for each. They are inexpensive and easy to install. Many are beautiful, and you can even make your own DIY designs.
Level Up with Wall Shelving
Keep items on shelves so they are close at hand yet higher up so everyone can grab more important things first. Use that wall space to keep everything off the floor.
Hide It All Away With Drawers
Drawers can be part of a cabinet or made as built-ins in the wall or under stairs. This ultra-clean solution minimizes clutter and provides designated storage for each member of the household.
Use A Catch-All Tray for Smaller Daily Items
A tray is an easy solution for storing everything loose in our pockets and making them easy to grab on the way out. They can hold items like:
- Keys
- Loose change
- Sunglasses
- Loose change
A Mail Catch Area
Keep mail from falling on the floor with a mail catch, or if your door doesn’t have a mail slot, keep a basket nearby to place the mail in one easy-to-reference location. You can also use the catch-all tray as a multipurpose way to collect your mail.
Following these tips will help you transform your entryway into an inviting and organized space. So go ahead, embrace the joy of decluttering, and start creating the entryway of your dreams. You’ll be so proud of yourself for turning chaos into order in no time!
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