How to Organize and Simplify Your Entryway

How to create a mudroom

Do you have a mudroom in your home? Do you have a space that you can use to turn into a mudroom? We turned a pantry closet into a mudroom for less than $30 which you can check out the full post how here.

When you have multiple people living in your home, you need to create an organized entryway for everyone to place their belongings. The below picture was our entryway in our (much smaller) last home.

We created a mudroom-style of entryway since our coat closet was too small for all 4 people living there. We simply placed items by the front door, including a bench with storage basket (for shoes), hooks (for coats), and shelving (for smaller items like sunglasses, scarves, etc). You can easily create this set up on a wall near your entryway door.

Our current home has a large coat closet with one issue. It’s too far from the entryway door! We have to walk through the dining room from the garage or several feet from the front door (which we never use anyway).

Our house had 2 pantry closets, one which was by the garage door and was a walk-in closet. It was the perfect solution to convert to a mudroom.

Below is a picture of our mudroom after we removed pantry shelves and added a bench and hooks on the wall. We used the space just like this for 2 years then decided to add a built-in-bench and shelf.

Below is a picture of our mudroom after adding a built-in bench, a built-in shelf, and baskets with labels. It feels nice having a permanent mudroom and I’m sure if we sell this house in the near future, it will sell faster because of this unique (but inexpensive) upgrade.

If you have multiple people living in your home:

•  Assign each person a hook to hang their belongings
• Assign each person a basket to place shoes or other small items (sunglasses, scarves, gloves, etc).

This ensures when everyone walks through the door, they will place their belongings where they belong before going anywhere else in the house.
Do you have a wall in your home that you can dedicate for your entryway? Maybe you have a coat closet that you can convert to be open like our mudroom? Check out my Pinterest Home Entryway board for inspiration or do a search and create a Pinterest board of your own. We created our Mudroom for less than $30 if you are interested in creating one of our own, read this post.

Coat Closet

We use the coat closet in our home in addition to our mudroom. We keep extra coats and outerwear in the coat closet along with seasonal shoes. Since we live in an area with all four seasons (Hot Summers and Cold Winters) we have all seasonal items organized in this space.

Supplies to organize an entryway:

• Wall Hooks/Coat Rack
• Shoe Shelf
• Wooden Hangers
• Hanging Shelves
• Entryway Bench with storage
• Printable Labels

How to the organize the coat closet:

1. Remove everything from the closet and clean surfaces (floors, shelves, walls).
2. Sort through items and decide what you need to keep and discard items you are not keeping (or donate if possible).
3. Place organizing supplies where it fits: add shelves, hooks, or other organizing items
4. Label bins (grab my Entryway Labels Here) so you or your guests can easily find something.
5. Keep clear of the clutter in the coat closet by only storing items that you use on a regular basis.
6. Repeat these steps every 3-6 months or as seasons change and your outerwear needs change.

My printable Entryway Labels include every label you would need to organize your entryway.

My printable entryway labels are perfect to use in any home. The design, shape, and color can work with any home. Print on white card stock, full sheet white labels, printable clear sticker paper or full sheet clear labels for a clean look or print on your preferred colored card stock to match the decor of your home.

The labels can be adhered to baskets/bins/wire shelves using glue dots, glue, or 3M adhesive (if printing on cardstock) OR print on full sheet white labels, or full sheet clear labels  OR hole punch the sides and string ribbon/yarn/twine to tie to baskets/bins/wire shelves (if printing on cardstock)

PDF FILE INCLUDES (3 labels per page on 7 pages = 21 total labels):

– DAD label (1)
– MOM label (1)
– SISTER label (1)
– BROTHER label (1)
– KIDS label (1)
– FAMILY STUFF label (1)
– HIS label (1)
– HERS label (1)
– BAGS label (1)
– WINTER label (1)
– SUMMER label (1)
– HATS label (1)
– SCARVES label (1)
– GLOVES label (1)
– UMBRELLAS label (1)
– SHOES label (1)
– GUEST label (1)
– DOG label (1)
– CAT label (1)
– PET label (1)
– Blank Label – write whatever you want (1)

Print as many as you like after downloading the file and use over and over!

Grab the printable entryway labels HERE to get organized now!

The entryway is easy to clean and organize if you reduce a number of items that you keep in the space. Only store items that you use on a regular basis and revisit this entryway organization often to make sure you are not re-cluttering the space.

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