Whether you have an entire mudroom dedicated to storage and organization, or you literally have one small wall on which to organize backpacks, jackets, and purses it’s easy to agree that having some form of mudroom space is beneficial for everyone in the family.
I never realized how great having a mudroom was until my kids started school. After the first day of school, my son burst through the door, dumped his backpack on the floor, kicked off his shoes and threw his lunchbox on the floor before running off to eat a snack. In an instant, my garage entry was overtaken and trashed.
And then my brain exploded.
Because clutter is my nemesis, it took about 30 seconds of this chaos for me to snap into action and move a bench into the entry hall, hang hooks on the wall, and find some baskets to slide under the bench for shoe storage.
That set up worked really well for a while. But when we knocked out my mudroom wall to expand our kitchen, I lost my mudroom space…or so I thought.
In the end, I actually ended up with a more functional mudroom space than I originally had. That experience showed me that maximizing mudroom space is less about the amount of space you have, and all about how you utilize it.
Here are 9 ways to maximize your mudroom:
1. Give shoes a home
Baskets, drawers and shelving all offer adequate shoe storage. Having a centralized shoe storage location also ensures that we know where all the shoes are all the time. I never enjoyed those panicked, last minute shoe searches anyway.
ALL of my kids’ shoes go into their shoe baskets so I had to make sure I got baskets big enough to hold several pair at a time.
2. Install hooks for hanging backpacks, purses, and jackets
Lowe’s, Hobby Lobby, Container Store – you can pretty much find hooks anywhere. I recommend using double hooks so multiple things can hang in one location at once.
3. Don’t forget a charging station
My husband carries a laptop and an iPad to work everyday and the last place I want them to land is on the kitchen counter. Add a shelf (and a plug) to your mudroom will give devices a place to park without cluttering other surfaces in the house.
4. Add a bench for sitting
My kids don’t mind sitting on the floor to put on their shoes, but I would really rather not. Benches make for no-fuss seating and offer storage space underneath for shoes. Before we had a built in drop zone, I used a bench like this from World Market and it worked really well for us!
5. Incorporate additional seating if possible/necessary
If your mudroom space is big enough for a chair, consider adding one for additional seating (and for adults who don’t want to sit on the floor).
6. Hang a Mirror
You might want to check that lipstick one more time before running out the door, and I don’t blame you. Hanging a small mirror by the back door gives you one last chance for a “once over” and to make sure you put both earrings in before jetting to the car.
Adding a mirror will also make the room feel bigger, because mirrors reflect light.
7. Consider outdoor toy storage
I might live in the country, but I still don’t want to check for spiders in my softball glove before shoving it on my hand. I keep baseball/softball equipment, soccer balls, and water guns in the mudroom for a convenient grab, but minus the bugs and potential weather damage.
If you have built-ins in your mudroom outdoor toy storage is a great use for them. You can organize each shelf by sport/activity through labeled bins or baskets.
If you don’t have built-ins in your mudroom, consider adding wall-mounted shelving or a small bookshelf to help organize and store toys.
8. Remember outdoor shoe storage
I know I already addressed shoe storage, but I am married to a home builder and this fact alone takes the shoe storage conversation to the next level. My husband regularly comes home with mud caked on his Red Wings looking for a place to put them.
Now, he knows his boots are prohibited in this state so we have an outdoor “shoe shelf” where all nasty shoes reside.
9. Roll out a Sturdy Rug
This is a high traffic area of the house. Rugs helps gather dirt that would otherwise find itself, well anywhere and everywhere.
I recommend something patterned to hide dirt better and something that is easy to clean as well. In our area red dirt rules and that means white rugs are a no, no, NO. Think about what gets tracked into your home on the regular and find a rug that hides that well.
Your mudroom should be organized and structured in a way that best meets the needs of your family. Regardless of how big or small your mudroom space is, you can easily use these tips to make the most of it. Keep in mind that a room doesn’t have to be huge to be functional and visually appealing.
