5 Tips for An Organized Entryway

organizing tips, home organizing tips, where to put kids stuff

It's essential our initial rentry point into our home is ready for us when we return home each day, with a place for backpacks, briefcases, handbags and everything else we lug inside.

While many of us use the garage as an entryway, wherever your entry area is, organization is key to keeping it functional.

By creating a user-friendly coming home zone, with a place for everything the family is likely to cast off on their way inside, you'll know where things are - and perhaps still have room for the car, too.

1 Best Bets for Backpacks.

The kids lug home monstrous backpacks and, of course, they cannot possibly take them all the way to their bedrooms, now can they?

If the answer is no, find a temporary holding place for the backpacks in the garage. They're in the way inside, anyway. Here's how to organize your entryway:

-- Bins: Place big plastic bins of different colors for each child near the door to capture backpacks.

-- Hooks: Sturdy - very sturdy - hooks on the wall are another good alternative.

-- Shelves: Keep 'em low and make sure they're deep enough to fit the whole massive backpack.

2 Alternatives for Accessories.

Whatever the season, we always need something. In the winter, it's gloves, hats and scarves. In the summer, it's sunglasses, raincoats, and hats.

Give each family member a small basket or bin to store the items that they always seem to need as they go out the door. No more running back inside to track it down at the last minute.

3 Creative Places for Coats.

We all have one favorite coat that we wear day in and day out each season. This garment never sees the inside of the closet because it's always in the entryway, ready for its next assignment.

Hang favorite coats and rain gear on hooks near the kitchen door or wherever your usual departure spot is.

4 Great Places for Gearing Up.

Busy families need lots of stuff: saxophones, tennis rackets, swim goggles, etc. And they need a place to stash it till they need it again.

After all, we don't want this stuff sitting by the back door for the grandparents or toddlers to trip over.

Ideally, the kids would walk over to the pegboard wall that's there just for this purpose and hang the tennis rackets on the appropriate peg; then they would walk over to the bin that's there just for balls and insert the soccer ball.

And yes, that is something to strive for!

But when they are going to be using the tennis racket again the next day, that might not happen.

5 Safe Spots for Shoes.

Many families have a no-shoes-inside policy. Most families have a no-muddy-shoes-inside policy. That means a lot of shoes piled in the entryway.

Here are some alternative places to put them:

Basket: If you have a small family and need a place for only a few shoes, just have a basket by the door.

Shelving: If you have a lot of different kinds of shoes (especially athletic shoes with cleats or riding boots) of awkward sizes or a bigger family, just designate certain shelves for shoes.

Add a bench or chair so kids can sit down while taking off shoes, or so you can have a seat while you take off your little one's shoes.

Shoe cubby: If you have a lot of shoes, invest in a closet shoe cubby to organize and store them all.

Or, try a shoe rack.