One of the most difficult places in your home to keep tidy and organized is the entryway. Call it what you will--entry, hall, foyer, or mudroom--it’s ultimately the “transition zone” between your home and the outside world. Life moves pretty quickly here; and shoes, keys, backpacks, and paperwork can easily become a jumbled mess on the floor. Stress is inevitable when you’re trying to get out the door but can’t find what you need.

But there is hope to calm the chaos. The trick is to create a specific home for each item that belongs in your entryway. Of course, this means that you will need to start by defining exactly which items belong there. It’s important to remember that the busiest areas of your home are your “prime real estate” areas: don’t clutter them with anything that is not used frequently.

The next step is to sort through everything that has collected in that area, grouping like items together either by function (hats, coats, shoes, etc.) or by owner (Mom’s, Dad’s, each child’s, etc.). For now, anything that belongs elsewhere can be temporarily stored in a laundry basket until you can deliver it to its proper place. Don’t get distracted by running misplaced items to other parts of your home just yet.

Only after you get a handle on what you need to organize and store in your entryway can you can begin thinking about what types of organizing products will help you establish and maintain order.

Start with yourself. “A wise woman builds her house, but the foolish one tears hers down with her own hands” (Proverbs 14:1). Attitude is crucial when working with other family members. Since you’re the one reading this article and implementing a strategy, you are setting the example for the rest of those living with you. No nagging allowed if you don’t have your own stuff put away! Create consistent places for your cell phone, keys, purse, bags, and outgoing mail. Hooks and small wall-mounted baskets or cubbies work well for these items.

Think beyond the rod and shelf in your closet. This setup is often a poor use of space and limits your creativity. Feel free to take the door off your closet, pull out the rod altogether, and just use hooks. Or leave the door on, and hang a canvas over-the-door shoe organizer on the back of the door. Assign a row or two to each family member, and use fabric paint to label it with each person’s name. In the winter, use it to hold gloves, mittens, hats, and scarves. In the summer, use it for sunglasses, sunscreen, sunhats, swim goggles, or whatever would otherwise pile up on the floor. (Tip: choose durable canvas over vinyl or mesh organizers; I’ve seen the latter fall apart.)

Arrange your coats by length to create bonus empty space beneath them for shelving and cubbies. Modular systems from the home-improvement store work well because of their flexibility: you can reconfigure them as your needs change. Stackable plastic drawers work well here, too.

Baskets are fun and easy to use on shelves. They aren’t as easy to label as the other options, but you’ll get to be more creative. You can make laminated tags attached with ribbon, or you can use fabric paint on fabric-lined baskets. I suppose if you’re really crafty, you can embroider them. (Then you can come over and embroider mine...)

When your space is limited, remove seasonal items and store them until the weather changes. But if you do have space for everything, at least rotate seasonal items to the harder-to-reach areas of your closet.

If you have others living with you, especially children, the key to maintaining order is to create an environment where they can be successful. Put belongings at their level to make it easier for them to do it without much help from you. Teach everyone the new system. It might seem totally obvious to you, but trust me, they won’t be able to guess. Use sticky notes for a while, or better yet, make permanent labels. The most important maintenance step in the entryway is to completely finish your errands. When you return home, don’t run in to answer the phone, listen to voice mail, or read e-mail. Only consider yourself home after you put each item away in its own home. For more closet organizing tips, click here.

Reprint Information

Looking for free articles for your own website, e-zine or newsletter? If you’d like to use this article, click here for reprint information.

More Articles...