How to Organize Your Mudroom

How To Organize Your Mudroom
The mudroom is often the first space after your garage that you see in your home. It can fill with clutter at lightning speed, especially when you have multiple children, a spouse, a pet, mail, after-school activities, and a pandemic going on. So how do you organize this often-tiny, important space? Where do all the shoes go? And how about the masks?  

If your family is like most, this space is a drop-spot, but also often doesn’t have a door on it that you can close to block out the clutter from the next room, which is likely the much-used kitchen. Here’s the key: make it organized so you don’t have to worry about blocking out the clutter! 

Sort & purge:
Start by going through the entire space from top to bottom. Sort & purge using the method of keeping only what each person needs, uses, and loves. Move items that are used in a different room to that room so that you’re only left with what belongs in the mudroom. If possible, keep only the shoes currently being used that week in this space. Create space in each bedroom closet for the rest of the shoes to live. Move donations, trash, and recycling out. Make sure that coat pockets are empty, gloves have mates, and everything still fits everyone. Be sure to sort and categorize the items you're keeping and separate them by person if space allows. 

Put space back together:
Once everything is sorted and purged, begin putting the space together again:

• Hooks are a great way to store bags and coats if a closet rod isn't available. Making some of them low enough for the kids to reach is a great way to get them on board. 
• Matching and good-looking cubes or baskets are an excellent way to store things like PPE (masks, hand sanitizer, hand wipes, etc.), hats, gloves and scarves, and even smaller purses. 
• Create a space for your grab-and-go regular use categories. For example, a beach/pool bag if it's a frequent activity for your family or a dance bag for the dancer of the house. 
• Create space for convenience. Think about what can move from other areas of your home into this area if you have open space now that you’ve sorted and purged. Finding lots of mail just dropped on a bench in the mudroom? Get a wall-hanging organizer to store it in until you’re able to go through it. Need a motherboard of a calendar to track schedules? Hang one on the wall. This space is a great area to store lint rollers to use on the way out the door, hang a mirror so you can check your hair before heading out, or have a section for things that need to be returned to other people that were left at your home. Make it a station that functions well and supports you on your way in and out of your home. Clear the doorway of tripping hazards, make sure the floor is clutter-free and utilize the vertical space of the walls as much as possible.  

Final touches:
Once everything is reorganized, it’s time to label, the most important step! Use bin clips to organize those cubes or baskets, label shelves, and make sure that the categories make sense. Labels are a map - and if someone can read, they can read the map and get to the organized destination. Do a walk-through with your family to show them the organized space, explain the changes you made, why you made them, and ask each of them to be responsible for putting their things away in their home. 
I hope this helps you reclaim your mudroom so you can come home to Zen instead of clutter!

Happy organizing!
Melissa Fortino