Decluttering and cleaning are great but if we don’t totally disrupt the way that we’ve been doing things, nothing is going to change. It will be the same mess with different things. I’m still working on the front porch but everyday I come home and wonder what I can do in my entry way to stop it from taking over my living room again.
I usually go through everything here a couple times during the year. Since I’m re-doing the rest of the room, I would like to come up with a real solution here. The main things that need to go here are coats, hats and gloves, Â backpacks, and shoes.
I always thought that I would like something like this:
However, the wall juts out a few inches about 18 inches along the wall. Â I’ve been debating between building or buying something. Â If we buy something, we’d have adjust it to make it fit. The next decision would be: do we make it an open style or do we make something more like a closet?
Maybe we will make something like this:
It would all still be visible but at least it would be more organized than it is now. Â Everything would be easy to get to and easy to put away. Â It would be more likely that people would actually use it and put their stuff away.
Do you like it more open or do you think I should think about making a closet instead?
Whatever, as long as it’s easy to use!!
I love the bench idea. I would definitely go for something open, but my suggestion would be to make sure that each member of the household has a specific place for their stuff (one hook each, one shelf for shoes, etc.) Then you limit how much each person has and it is kept organized and tidy. Looking forward to seeing some before and after shots!
I’m hoping to get it done next weekend so I’ll be sure to post before and after pics!!! I can’t wait!
I like the bench idea – having somewhere to sit while you lace up/unlace boots is great, but overall, keep it simple – simple is usually best. I threw some bits of wood together from an old bookcase for my shoe rack (zero cost) – it wont win any awards but it serves its purpose and now my shoes are rarely scattered around the floor where I take them off 🙂
That’s exactly what I’m looking for… simple to keep organized!!
I love how you said this “Decluttering and cleaning are great but if we don’t totally disrupt the way the way that we’ve been doing things, nothing is going to change. It will be the same mess with different things.” So true. I think open is great if you can keep it clean and looking good, esp if the coats will have water on them if it rains, that way they can air out and dry. Are the shoes going to be drawers or open shelves? I think open shelves would work better so that they are easier to clean and the shoes can air out (though maybe you wouldn’t want that inside!)
I’ve decided that they’re going to be open shelves. I’m going for easy to keep organized and I think that would be easiest! I hadn’t even thought about things airing out… that’s a great point!!
I like the idea of it being more open. If it were me, I think that would help me stay motivated to keep everything organized since I can’t just hide the mess away behind doors
Organization is going to be key here!