doesn't take me long to find something to organize. or create solutions that make more sense. or find a way to help life run a little smoother/more efficient. especially when it comes to living in a new home...with new clutter zones...and new challenges. one of those challenges being the fact we now live in a rental house. when you don't own the house, you have to be creative because you can't add anything structural or permanent.
this is fun though. loving this new reality because i love a good organizational challenge. and renting is going to throw a lot of new challenges my way.
it didn't take long to discover my first organization challenge in the rental....
...finding a spot for our coats, shoes, backpacks, and my purse. the pile you see is how we lived our first few days. when we arrived home, we just dumped everything right there in a pile.
for this neat-freak, this idea wasn't going to last long.
now, if i was the owner of this home, my goodness....the fun i would have creating the perfect mudroom/cubby system. you know my all time favorite dream mudroom i've shared before? this one...
the one that is IN the garage. wouldn't it look amazing in this rental house...
i'm telling you - dream come true! with all of the wall space out here, and 3 kids with alllllll of their shoes and backpacks and jackets and more...i would go to town on that garage cubby system.
back to reality.
here is where the problem begins. we enter and exit the house from the garage. here is the entry point from the garage into the house...
there is actually a good amount of wall space where one could add some wainscoting with coat/bag hooks...
but for this family of 5 with all of our gear...plus the fact that the garage door has to swing open and the stuff would keep it from doing that very well....
well, that is an issue.
then, as i was unpacking our boxes one afternoon, i noticed all of the empty cabinets in the living room built-in. which, as you can see, is just inside the entry from the garage...
6 little spots in total....5 cubbies plus 1 to spare!
i quickly re-adjusted all of the inner shelves. many of which weren't even installed...
now we had the space for each person in the house to store away items that would normally hang in a cubby or mudroom...
the kids items are in the far left cabinets...
my husband and i are in the far right, with the one free cabinet now holding his dry cleaning bag and some extra electronic stuff/cleaners we need access to...
the before and after...
i love this clear entry for walking...and not tripping...
no one visiting is aware of what's hidden away in those cabinets. it's our little secret...
the system has been working so well and the kids took hold of it right away. one night, as i was laying out clothing for the next school day, i was looking for our 6 year old's shoes. he typically takes them off somewhere random in the house and then we have to hunt for them. low and behold, he had placed them inside his cabinet. so proud of him!
since i am sharing my idea for a make-shift mudroom, i thought it would also be fun to share some ideas i found on pinterest. simple ways to get your coats, shoes and bags off the floor when you don't have a dedicated mudroom or cubby system. or if you're living in a rental home.
you can add a little bench, a coat rack/umbrella storage combo, and a mirror with hooks and a ledge for holding important items like keys, a phone and your wallet...
add a pretty table with bowls and baskets...
if you have a wall where a hall tree could fit, this would be awesome. and you can personalize it each season with holiday decor too. here is a small version...
and larger too...
if you have a large empty wall, you could create a system just like martha stewart did, but still keep it personal and welcoming by adding framed photos above...
and another simple martha idea...
this would be great just outside your door to the garage. hang lattice as a backdrop and hang baskets and hooks for holding those small items. maybe a white board for notes/reminders and an old bench for hide-away storage...
the simple ideas are endless...
or if you are going for something over the top, check out my mudroom board on pinterest for some really cool mudrooms!
(i linked up with serenity now, tatertots & jello, it's overflowing, emily a clark)
I like that black bench in the first picture you posted of entry options. Any idea where it came from?
ReplyDeletehi!
Deletenot sure exactly where the bench came from but i found a pretty close match on the pottery barn website (of course, right!!). here is the link!....
http://www.potterybarn.com/products/rustic-bench/?cm_src=SEARCH_TOPPRODUCT||NoFacet-_-NoFacet-_-Benches-_-&cm_re=OnsiteSearch-_-SCHBillboard-_-SEARCH_TOPPRODUCT||NoFacet-_-NoFacet-_-Benches-_-
So much inspiration in one post! Thank you for sharing ideas for spaces of all shapes and sizes. Makes me want to go "pretty up" my entry!
ReplyDelete- Abby =)
thank you abby!!
DeleteI love how all your kids wear Uggs!! :p. great post!!
ReplyDeleteAwww yes, I know that pile all too well :) Love that you were able to use storage you already had. Thanks for linking up!
ReplyDelete