One of our best home improvement tips is creating a mudroom in your home. Even a small house with very little space might have a spot near the front or back door for a bench and a couple of hooks. With more space, a mudroom can be as elaborate as your imagination. The real value is with good mudroom organization, everyday gets easier.(Read: Family Mudrooms for Great Family Communication.)
Mudrooms let you stow all of your everyday essentials as you walk in the door, before they have a chance to clutter up tables, chairs, and even the floor in other rooms. They can be tiny, or they can be expansive. The important thing is creating a space that's well organized to encourage consistent use, so this article focuses on that mudroom organization.
Want to Keep the Mudroom Organized? Keep it Bright!
Mudrooms don’t have to be small, narrow spaces with bad lighting and a lot of clutter. Bright, cheery spaces help the mudroom feel like they're part of the house while keeping all of the odds and ends of the day in one tidy, dedicated area.
This airy mudroom has a tile floor, but it could just as easily be vinyl that’s quick to sweep and mop. A wall of shelves lets you stack articles that don’t necessarily belong on a hook or on the floor. With bins on the floor, smaller items such as toys are handy, but contained and tidy. The same bins could also be used to hold footwear, if you don’t care for the look of shoes on the floor.
What's important is that your mudroom organization strategy is easy to understand and use, e.g. make it simple enough that your children will see exactly where you want them to put their jackets, backpack and sports gear.
Mudroom Organization Should Include Dedicated Personal Space
When everyone in the home has his or her own space in the mudroom, everything is easier to find. It can also help encourage kids to stow their things properly instead of dropping it all on one long bench. The look is both uniform and personalized for each user, all at once.
A mudroom with vertical spaces gives each person a cubby at the top for small items, a larger space for coats, jackets, and bags, and a spot underneath for shoes. The rug is another terrific idea. When coming in from outdoors, it captures dirt before it can travel anywhere else in the house.
Mudroom Organization Choices: Everything on Display or Close it Up
The very idea of a mudroom turns off some people just because it’s usually an open space where coats, bags, shoes, and almost anything else from the day can land. A room with closed cupboards is the perfect solution for homeowners who like things tidy all the time.
Mudrooms with enclosed cabinets offer everyone in the home the same benefits as an open design. The plus is that when the cupboard doors are closed, the room has zero clutter. The one thing this mudroom is missing is a bench. That’s important for putting on and taking off shoes. The easier a task is to perform, the more likely you are to perform it. This applies to something as simple as switching from your outdoor shoes, which carry in dirt, to indoor shoes. That helps keep the whole house cleaner.
So if you think your mudroom needs a bench, talk to your handyman. They're used to modifying cabinets for lots of different reasons. Here you could take the drawer and swap it for a rolling, sit down bench for the kids. Wheels let you roll the bench out when needed, and push it back to reclaim your clutter free, mudroom organization.
Tip for Reducing Dirt and Grime: Add a Sink
Do you live somewhere that gets messy outdoors, such as the beach or where it rains a lot, causing muddy feet ? A mudroom with a laundry sink can eliminate a lot of headaches. Not only is there plenty of personalized storage space, lots of natural light, and and easy-care floor, but the laundry tub makes this room super functional … for kids and don't forget the dog.
Living at the beach, we added an outdoor shower to rinse everyone off, including our chocolate lab, before they came into the house. Or if clothes (and feet!) have a habit of getting their share of mud, dirt or sand, a small area to spray them off is a great help. A mini indoor shower instead of a tub or sink (tile 3 – 4 feet up the wall) is another way to rinse grime off shoes and clothing, and give Fido a bath.
You can create a mudroom with a single chair and a few hooks, or high end custom-made cabinetry. (Read: Decorating Style File and Why You Want One.) It’s up to you and the space you’ve got to work. You might even want to rearrange your family entryway, and turn garage space into a mud room which was a popular project in my handyman business.
Think easy-care when designing this kind of space. Washable paint on the walls and a floor you can mop mean you can clean it up simple as that. Is it time to create a mudroom in your home? What elements are the most important to you?
PS You can visit our Pinterest board, or search your favorite websites for lots more ideas to create your perfect mudroom
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