Like a lot of houses these days, our garage door is in the laundry room, and like a lot of people these days, we usually enter the house from the garage. That means that our main entryway and laundry room are one and the same. That also means that it’s even more important to keep this tiny room organized so that getting dressed to head out and coming home is as smooth of a process as possible. Let’s look at how we can do just that.
Cabinets or shelves in the laundry room really help organize the odds and ends. Cabinets are best if you have the room so that everything is out of sight. If your washer and dryer are side by side, consider installing one or two cabinets above them, depending on how much you need to store. Keep the laundry detergent, bleach, fabric softener, dryer sheets, and anything else you use to do your laundry in those cabinets and within easy reach.
If you don’t have the space for cabinets or have a washer and dryer stacked on top of each other, check if you have enough room for shelves, perhaps even a set of low profile ones where you can put the detergent or other items. It will still be more organized and easier to reach than having everything on the floor or in another room. If you have an ironing board, hang it on the wall to save space. Some people install it such that it can be unfolded and one can iron right there without moving it, but that depends on individual preferences and whether you would need more room for ironing.
We have a large carpet and a storage ottoman near the front door. The ottoman is currently empty and the kids like to hide in it, but it can be used for spare shoes, backpacks, or something else that is not usually needed but should be close to the door, just in case. All of our shoes are in the closet, so there is nothing loose by the door.
ADD PICTURE OF FRONT DOOR
If you need to store shoes by the door, keep them organized on a shoe rack, in a shoe organizer, or maybe even some stronger shelves to double as a place to sit down and store the shoes underneath. That’s what we had when I was little, and we had plenty of space for both.
I have also seen people hang hooks in the entryway for each person or just for the children with their names so they can hang their backpacks and keys and maybe have a chore chart. We usually leave through the garage, so this is not practical for us, but I like the idea of organizing things that can potentially get lost. I don’t lose keys because I always put them into my bag and then just grab my bag and phone when I go anywhere and I have everything with me, but that seems to be the most common item that gets lost. Find a neat place for your keys and you will probably reduce a lot of stress from your life. Kids’ backpacks are something I have experienced looking for on occasion and that is a terrible thing to misplace when it’s time to be out the door. If there is a dedicated place for things like this, you can reduce the collected clutter in other areas.
We installed a couple of small shelves in a corner by the door where my husband usually puts his keys and sunglasses. As you can see, we had to cut the shelves a bit on one side because one of the sides of the corner is shorter than the other. After mounting the shelves, we put a little bit of white silicone in the corner where the shelf meets the wall for a clean, seamless look. It’s a great little receptacle for small things as we come in the door.
I have also seen shelves inside walls, right between the vertical 2x4s, which seems like an awesome idea because there is nothing protruding when the space is already small, but do be careful with wiring and plumbing that can be inside the walls and make sure you know what you are doing. This option did not work for us because the only available wall had the electrical system running through it. On a somewhat related note, if you are buying a new house that is being built, take pictures of every wall before the drywall goes up so you can reference them later to see what’s inside. That’s how we knew about the wiring.
You can find more tips for organizing and decluttering your home in my book Minimalism for Everyone: Balanced Simplicity.
