A long time ago, I decided the only way I could save my sanity was to completely ignore the state or our garage (in this house or any other). I’ve been known to open the door and just throw whatever is offending me at the moment into the great, dark abyss. Add five kids’ worth of riding toys, my husband’s stuff and my project/paint supplies. . . It was nothing to behold—and time for some professional help.
As I mentioned in a previous post, this house has no drop-zone, so everything was landing in a pile in our kitchen floor. When I first talked to Jennifer of Pure & Simple Organizing about helping us, I told her I was hoping to make better use of this wall by the garage door. In a day, she helped me transform this area into a makeshift mudroom:
No more coats, backpacks or shoes in the kitchen. Hallelujah!
Before she came over, I sent her pictures and we did a phone consultation. She emailed me a shopping list for supplies, most of which I was able to knock out in one IKEA trip. The main things I bought for the update were bins for shoes, a bench seat/shelf and hooks for coats. (I bought the board to hang them on from the home improvement store and painted it white.) I was also able to use a vintage grocery store sign that I’ve had in my stash for a while. You know, just for decoration. . .
By the way, I love these Hemnes hooks from IKEA. So much sturdier than what I’ve previously used for coats:
I used chalkboard paint on the area under the hooks. I just didn’t tell the kids yet. . . I thought it might be a fun place for them to play school in the summer.
Jennifer also helped me organize our big IKEA bookcase better, so that we could actually find what we needed. To say that we weren’t using our space wisely is an understatement. I was embarrassed when she found a glass jar full of old TV remotes (really?!). She was great at helping me get rid of the excess quickly. Once she was done with the shelves, I had leftover space for extra household supplies and can now easily find any one of our 174 screwdrivers that we didn’t know we had.
(The galvanized bins are from here.)
So, the big question: Is the newly organized space actually working for us? Amazingly, yes! Now, I won’t promise that it’s always the kids who are actually hanging up their backpacks and coats, but there is a space for everything (even if I’m the one who has to put it there). It has also 95% improved our (never-ending) search for lost shoes.
As for all of the riding toys, they’re still there, but we were able to group them in the center of the garage once all of the other stuff was put away. The kids have been using the big circle as a skating rink. #cheapentertainment
During our day together, I picked Jennifer’s brain for her best organizing advice:
Make a decision, and never touch an item more than twice. This might be where she helped me most. She wouldn’t let me move something over to another spot to “deal with it later.” I had to make a decision right then and there, and do something about it. This was great because there were no small jobs still hanging over my head once the main project was finished.
Buy your organizing bins/baskets/supplies after you start organizing. She said a lot of people (ahem, “me”) start their organizing projects by going to the store and buying a lot of storage they may not even need. Instead, they often lose motivation after the buying trip and end up just stacking the bins and baskets away for another day. . . (Been there, done that.)
Buy your organizing bins at stores that carry the same inventory most of the time. She suggests sticking with The Home Depot or Lowe’s instead of stores like Target that change up their products more seasonally or with changing trends. This makes it easier to go back months down the road, if you need more.
Label everything—so there’s no excuse for not knowing where something goes.
Organization means organized—not (necessarily) pretty. Jennifer had to remind me of this several times throughout the day. I would be worrying about how everything looked instead of how it would function. She would tell me, “It’s the garage, and it’s suppose to look like one.” :)
Poor girl also tackled my spray paint cabinet. Bless her.
Charlotte friends, if you need any kind of organizing help, I highly recommend Jennifer. We initially met through our blogs, and I was a little apprehensive about showing her our mess. But, she is honestly so down-to-earth and unintimidating. Messes don’t phase her; in fact, I think they kind of excite her. . . Also, in case you’re wondering about pricing, she charges by the hour, and you choose how long you want the session to last (minimum of two, maximum of six). Additionally, she also offers trash removal, donation drop-off and organizing supply shopping services. (Oh, and she also runs an estate sale company. Busy girl!)
Here’s to staying organized in 2016! Any projects on your list for the new year?
PS—I’ll be posting links to some of my favorite 2015 posts over on Facebook today and tomorrow.
Julianne says
December 30, 2015 at 3:26 pmIt looks great! I have been wanting to do the same thing in my garage for years. Looks like I will be adding some more items to my IKEA trip later today.
Cheryl says
December 30, 2015 at 3:53 pmJennifer is an organization ninja! My garage is my new happy place (well…close). Looks like yours is functioning well too! She’s equally as talented in the business organization realm. Don’t know what I’d do without her.
Mary says
December 30, 2015 at 3:54 pmIt looks great! I’m pretty good about keeping things organized in the house. But our garage looks like your “before”. My husband has claimed this as his space & I was told to leave his things alone. He’s horrible at organizing, putting things away when he’s done with them, or cleaning up.
Al least I can get my car inside.
Julie Blanner says
December 30, 2015 at 4:47 pmI love it, Emily! I am a firm believer that an organized life starts before or as soon as you enter your home. Congratulations on getting your kitchen back!
We are fortunate to have a small space for a mudroom, but desperately need help organizing cleaning and landscaping supplies as well as toys. It’s a hot mess! I look forward to implementing ours in the spring when I can stand to be in the garage for more than 3 minutes.
Lisa H. says
December 30, 2015 at 4:57 pmI love making order from chaos! It looks like she did a great job making your garage more functional! ;)
Brenda A. says
December 30, 2015 at 5:22 pmCan your little ones reach the hooks?
Emily Clark says
December 30, 2015 at 5:50 pmThe three biggest can. The twins will get there, but they don’t make much of an effort to hang anything, anyway, right now :) I was afraid if I hung them any lower that they wouldn’t be able to use the bench very well. . .
Brenda A. says
January 4, 2016 at 4:02 pmGot it. Thanks for responding!
Whitney Shortt says
December 30, 2015 at 8:00 pmLove those hooks and yellow bins! Quite the transformation!
Jamie says
December 30, 2015 at 10:11 pmThis is how we do shoes and backpacks too. It is very helpful to have shoes by the door. I actually keep the kids socks there as well. I’m horribly unorganized, but at least we can usually find shoes!!!
Jennifer @ Dimples and Tangles says
December 31, 2015 at 1:19 amYou have inspired me to tackle our garage once and for all… maybe this is the year?!? Our poor new neighbors that have to see it every time the door is open… Yours looks fabulous (even if it IS just the garage!) and I got some great ideas for where to start on ours!
Laura Ferry-Jimenez says
December 31, 2015 at 8:10 amLove it! We recently moved to a new house that has a decent sized laundry room you walk into from the garage. My thought was always to make that the mud room but I’m really liking this idea, too! Quick question. Are you parking your cars in the garage? I think once my car is in the garage, this idea may not work! Boo!! :(
Emily Clark says
December 31, 2015 at 12:05 pmOur goal is to park one on the other side when it gets really cold :)
Brianne says
December 31, 2015 at 8:32 amIt looks fantastic!! Where did you get the rug?
Emily Clark says
December 31, 2015 at 12:04 pmBallard Designs.
Jenn @ Loveland Lodge says
December 31, 2015 at 9:58 amThis looks amazing! We don’t have a drop zone either and it’s amazing what a difference having one makes in terms of clutter and feeling less stress. Looks like this one will get great use!
Lisa says
December 31, 2015 at 11:36 amLove this! Where did you get your rug? ?
Emily Clark says
December 31, 2015 at 12:04 pmIt was a runner from Ballard Designs that I had in our kitchen a while back.
Chelsey says
December 31, 2015 at 2:40 pmDo you know the names of the ikea products. I’m most interested in the bench. Is that one if the expedit line? Thank you!
Emily Clark says
December 31, 2015 at 2:43 pmYes, but it’s now called the Kallax.
Kathryn says
January 1, 2016 at 4:36 pmThis looks so great and functional. Your kids will love having their own little space :-)
I want to give a decorating book for a wedding gift. Can you recommend one that would be good for a beginner? With some basic information and inspiration?
Thank you!
Emily Clark says
January 2, 2016 at 7:24 pmHi Kathryn, My top three coffee table books are ones by fellow bloggers that I think would be perfect for new home owners: The Inspired Home, Elements of Style and The Nesting Place. All are good and inspiring in their own ways–depending on their personal style.
Maggie @ Maggie Overby Studios says
January 3, 2016 at 12:27 pmI had to laugh about the organization not necessarily being pretty but rather functional. I am definitely one to choose form over function. I was just thinking today of ways to make the space in my mud room more functional, I’ll have to take some of Jennifer’s pointers
Michelle @ Ten June says
January 4, 2016 at 12:15 pmIt looks great! Let us know if you tackle the pile in the middle of the garage aka kid crazy toy zone. I cannot for the life of me figure out how to wrangle that mess in my garage!!
Emily Clark says
January 4, 2016 at 12:33 pmI have resolved that there is no hope. . .
Amy D says
December 11, 2016 at 4:15 pmHi emily! I’m wondering if you still have the same garage mushroom set-up or if you have built something else. I’m going to do something in my garage for our family of 6, and looking for ideas. What worked about this set-up? What would you change (or have you changed)? Thanks!
Amanda at MommyHighFive says
April 20, 2017 at 5:03 pmThis is fantastic. We have a mudroom inside and I’m planning on doing a mudroom locker esque area in the garage as well. We just have too much stuff. Love how you planned this out.
Sarah says
August 2, 2017 at 2:20 pmHi Emily,
This is beautiful, congrats on taking this on! It looks based on your coats that you are in a cold climate. I am considering a garage “mudroom” and wondering how to keep the coats from being freezing cold in the winter. Any suggestions or tips that you use?
Thanks so much!
Sarah says
March 30, 2018 at 9:22 pmThis looks great! We want to do something just like this in our garage. Do your kids complain about the coats and shoes being too cold during the winter?
Thanks!