Tips and Tricks to Organize Your Mudroom
While not every home has a mudroom, almost all families have a space that functions as one. A mudroom is a transition area where people often store coats, hats, bags, and shoes. In some cases, the items kept there are specific to the weather, like snowshoes or raincoats. In others, this is where you keep the essentials for leaving the house.
Regardless of what your mudroom looks like, or even if it’s not a mudroom and more like a space in the garage where the kids keep their shoes and backpacks, it can get messy fast. Everyone has trouble with that one space that fills with spare stuff. In this post, we’ll go over how to make sure your mudroom remains nice and clean.
Simplify Your Space
The first step to any good mudroom is to make sure the area is simple. The key problem with any mudroom is that it can easily go from being a useful, vital part of your home to an area where you toss anything that doesn’t have a designated home.
If your mudroom has shelves or a bench or any surface for storing items, these are at the highest risk for getting overstuffed. Make sure that each surface area is not only cleaned up but kept that way consistently. Our biggest tip, not only for the mudroom but the entire home, is to continually clean, rather than waiting for it to get messy. We don’t mean you have to vacuum every day; we mean make sure things are picked up consistently, so you don’t have to spend a whole weekend doing a huge job.
Remove Clutter
One of the best ways to keep your mudroom clean is to make sure that everything in it belongs there. As we said, mudrooms often become “stuff spaces,” meaning people end up just tossing various stuff in it. To combat this, declutter. Without clutter, the space will be open and organized, even if it’s still full of items.
This tip even applies if your mudroom is more of a “mud area.” Simply make sure everything in the mudroom actually needs to be in the mudroom and you’ll be all set.
Designate Your Areas
We’re sorry if we’re beating the same drum, but the best way to make sure clutter doesn’t become a huge problem is by designating an area for everything. This includes the mudroom and the items in it. You should make sure that not only is every item in its proper place, but that every proper place is designated.
From shelves to benches to cabinets to pegs on the wall, there are plenty of ways to maximize your mudroom space. However, no matter how many places there are within the room, make sure everyone knows what goes where. This can even mean labeling things, especially if you’re teaching children how to keep things tidy.
Seasonal Storage
The mudroom is called the mudroom because of, well, mud. Mudrooms are where you put all your dirty items like wet shoes, umbrellas, and winter coats. But that doesn’t mean you need to put all your items there at all times.
Instead of keeping every hat, coat, glove, and umbrella in the mudroom, be sensible. You can keep winter clothes in a winter box elsewhere until it’s winter, and the same goes for rainy days. If you live in an area where it doesn’t rain too often until spring or summer, be strict about how much rain gear lives in the mudroom.
The Right Amount of Storage
Finally, our last tip is to make sure the right amount of storage is in your mudroom for the size of your family. You don’t want too little storage, as it risks items just getting carelessly tossed around, but too many options can be overwhelming and create the dreaded clutter.
Let Us Help
We know you love a clean home, and a clean mudroom to boot! (Get it?) That’s where we come in. We offer custom maid services that fit your needs. With the same team member visiting your home or office each week, you’ll get someone who knows how to do it just the way you like. Contact Custom Maid today to receive a free quote.