Organize Your Mud Room

Does your mud room seem to be the catch all room? Does it seem to be disorganized and cluttered most of the time. Mud rooms are the first room that you come to when entering the home; therefore, becoming the drop off place for most items including too many shoes. Here are some tips and tricks to get your mud room organized.

SHOE ORGANIZATION: First, when getting your mud room organized you should find a way to clean up the shoes. Get some boxed shelving or plastic crates to stack on top of one another. These will hold shoes well in each cubby. You can place 2 or 3 pairs of shoes in each cubby, clearing them up off of the floor and out of the way.

DROP ORGANIZATION: Everyone in the family probably drops whatever is in their hands in the mud room when they get home. This is something that will be hard to break your family of, so simply get a few baskets or hampers for them to drop their stuff in instead. This way instead of all of the items getting dropped on the floor they can be placed neatly away and concealed until they are needed again. You will have to simply train your family to "drop" their items in the basket. Also, hang some hooks on the wall over the basket or hamper to catch coats during the winter time so that they do not wind up on the floor.

SEATING: Set a bench or make a window seat, if possible, for everyone to set on while they put their shoes on and take their shoes off. This makes a nice place to sit down and get ready and also can be a cute accent to the mud room.

COLOR: In a mud room you should try to use dark colors, especially on the floor so that dirt isn't seen as easily. Dark colors will tend to hide the inevitable dirt and mud that gets tracked into your mud room from shoes and boots.

Also, keep cleaning supplies and even a sweeper handy in the mud room for quick clean-ups when needed. Store these things away in a small cabinet in the corner. Consider hanging shelves high on the walls for more "catch all space" to put odds and ends in when needed. Hang a chalk board on the wall to leave messages for family members when needed. You could also hang a key rack on the wall by the door to keep keys in a handy place.