The Makeshift Mudroom : Where Your Day Begins and Ends

As a person who loves organization and breaking things down into parts, one of my goals as an organizer is to create the perfect guide to building an organized home. I like identifying steps because they enable you to prioritize what can feel like an overwhelming process and leave you feeling accomplished as you move closer to your goal. In my last blog I talked about the Command Center of a home being the first step in organizing your life and house when you just don’t know where to start. It’s really the first stop in taking control of the constantly moving pieces of our daily lives. Once it’s in place and operating smoothly, we can then move on to the next spaces that strongly affect us and our daily routines. Read about this first step in my last blog.

So what do I feel is that next space? The mudroom!

Many people are not lucky enough to have a room or large space they can dedicate to coming and going each day. It sounds like a luxury and maybe not all that important, but creating what I call a Makeshift Mudroom is really closer to a necessity, especially if you have a family. Prioritizing organizational spaces in your home has to include the place where things must be ready for you at the start of the day and where things must rest at the end of the day. It comes second to the Command Center because much of your life’s pieces enter through here and get sifted into the trays and files and to do’s that the Command Center acts on. They work together to improve efficiency in your life.

So what do I mean by a Makeshift Mudroom? I mean improvised. If you don’t have a porch or room or much space at all to add a hall tree or kids cubbies, then you can create a mudroom station of your own. It can be a wall, a closet, a nook, a corner, a piece of the garage. Wherever you and your family members generally come in and go out is where this space should be. Believing that we don’t have space for a Makeshift Mudroom often actually means that we have prioritized something else above this function. It might be a piece of furniture we love, a way that furniture is arranged, or a closet that we think is already full but simply might not be living up to its full potential. But if there are always shoes in your hall, coats hanging off of chairs, backpacks strewn across the house, and you're tripping over hockey or baseball gear while you try to find that paper that you knew you had when you came in the house last night… it might be time to move the mudroom up the list! 

Obviously the more humans in your house, the more space you need. In our house my husband and I use the small coat closet off of our kitchen and our four kids each have their own “cubby” that is actually an IKEA bookcase. In our entryway we have two wall spaces about 40” long on either side of the doorway to the family room. They only go in about 13” deep before you intrude on the walking path from the front door to the kitchen. Originally I had a table and lamp and some decorations, but as babies came and life got fast and furious, I decided to use that space to fit these narrow bookcases, two to a side, screw in hooks, buy some baskets, and arrange the shelves in the most effective way.

Shoes on the bottom and coats and backpacks above that. One basket is dedicated to seasonal items like hats and gloves, another to store things they need for their activities, and a smaller basket for things like accessories and electronics. On the side of the cubbies I've added pockets for signed permission slips each child might need to bring to school and on the top of each cubby is a basket for treats from holidays or birthday parties which keeps it out of reach and off the counters. In this same space opposite the cubbies is a narrow bench with storage and on the wall beneath the stairs is the kids chore chart so they can give themselves credit for getting ready in the morning which really starts the day on a proud and productive note. I don’t mind the look of these cubbies in my front entryway because they are tucked into the side and very neat in appearance. I also find the organization of items and the smooth routine it creates to be more satisfying than the table and lamp that I used to love. 

Sometimes people aren't fond of the appearance of this idea, but the Makeshift Mudroom doesn’t have to be ugly or even seen at all. For one client, we turned a side coat closet into something similar by shelving the inside, adding hooks and fabric bins, and a sturdy over-the-door-organizer. Not only did it become the resting place for backpacks and coats, but we found homes for instruments, accessories, sunblock and bug spray, travel games, coolers and more. Three bins fit across the middle so each of their three children had his or her own “section” of the closet. Labels with their names on it and that cubby “feel” produced a feeling of ownership which is often enough to inspire them to put their things away. Best of all for this client? There is a door to close!

The most helpful advice I can offer on the Makeshift Mudroom idea and any hall closet set-ups is to keep that space and everything in it dedicated to its purpose. This space is for getting ready to leave for the day and coming home at the end of it. Outerwear, shoes, purses, keys, briefcases, backpacks, sports and activities, instruments, phones and kids watches, dog leashes and bags, sunblocks and bug sprays… whatever you will need on your way out the door is what belongs in this space. Organizing according to purpose and function is the way to successfully achieve that smooth and peaceful life that we all crave. So take those board games or photo albums or toys and find them another home. 

That chore chart I mentioned earlier? Its location is also pivotal for us as it’s on the way to the stairs at the end of the day. Here our kids place their last chores on it as they ascend the stairs to get ready for bed. As they move their pieces “Empty Backpack”, “Hang Belongings”, Homework”, and whatever kitchen chore was their job that night, over to the “DONE” side, they are reminded that they did a good job today and should be proud of themselves. This is also a function of getting ready and ending the day. Maybe as an adult, your to-do list can be kept in this space as a reminder and motivator for yourself. Organizing your house must be done in a way that best suits you, your needs, and your life. This might mean getting creative in how and where you set things up. But a mudroom or an improvised one, is a must. 

On a final note, you can only get from your organized spaces what you are willing to put into them. Put those things where you have designated them to go! This includes the mail you just walked in with. Bring it to your Command Center and place things in your To Do, Bills, or Upcoming trays. Mark them on your calendars. Check your Mom’s Inbox to see what your kids are doing and what tomorrow might be about. It sometimes seems like we don’t have time to do these quick things, but the time stolen from us when we have to spend hours or days catching up is far more inconvenient in our daily lives. Following a routine like this actually gives you time back. Encourage your kids to follow a routine too when they come in the door. Such as emptying their bags, hanging their things, putting papers and permission slips in Mom or Dad’s Inbox, washing their hands, doing their homework at a designated time, and being sure to put it back in their bag for tomorrow. Organization is contagious and the more we exemplify it the more it will seem like a normal part of life to our kids. 

If you’re ready to start building your organized life, but need some help with your Command Center and Makeshift Mudroom, book a session with The Hot Mess Healer today. It’s such a calming feeling to know you’re in control of your life and ready for what the day has in store.

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