Emily A. Clark

design. simplified.

When Your Home Has No “Drop Zone”

Dec22015

I knew going into this house that there was no mudroom/back entryway/drop zone. And, I knew exactly where everyone’s backpacks and jackets would end up when they came in through the garage entrance. The kitchen floor has become the official dumping ground, just as I predicted.

kitchen_table_thumb

(It never looks this clean, by the way.)

So, for now, we’ve ended up with a big catch-all basket in the garage, another one in the living room, and yet another by the front door. And, I attempted to add some bins for shoes at the top of our stairs. (But, who’s really going to carry their shoes all the way up there when they can just throw them in the kitchen?! Grrrr.)

So, all of this leads me to what I’ll be working on today. I have a real-life, super-official, professional organizer coming to my house. (Charlotte friends, do you know about Jennifer?) She and I (and the twins!) will be working on creating a functioning drop zone in the garage, right outside of our kitchen door. I’m so excited to hear her suggestions, and I may make all of my kids sign a binding agreement, promising to keep it up after she leaves. . .

Ours won’t be as fancy as these, but it’s fun to dream—and pin:

garage-mudroomHouse of Jade Interiors

garage_storage HGTV

Organized_Garage_Makeover_6 I Heart Organizing

I grabbed a few things at IKEA last night. I was especially happy to find these big, sturdy Hemnes hooks:

hemnes-hook-gray__0209231_PE362817_S4

And, I bought lots of these $5 bins for storage in the Expedit (now Kallax) shelving unit we already have:

drona-box-yellow__0311971_PE429574_S4

So, that’s my day. I’m feeling motivated—for now. :)

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Comments

  3. I have a couple of questions. Things I have been wondering for awhile now. You always have 6 chairs at your dining table. Where does the 7th person sit to eat? Why did you choose to hang the black swimmer painting low, offsides and over the switch in the kitchen. I like art to relate to the tables too but it seems an odd decision as does the console under it is pushed against the wall. I would like to know the thoughts behind those decisions. Also, do you find one hook per child sufficient for a backpack and coat? I only have two kids and I have three hooks per kid and they are constantly overflowing. And parents have to sign paperwork and check backpacks each night here. Do you do that and do you do it in the garage? I also had intended to put our mudroom on the garage wall but I didn’t realize I had moved to Spiderville at the time. After a few encounters, I found another location inside. Also, we live in Ohio and no one liked the cold coats and shoes in the winter and dumped them inside anyway during those months. I make the kids take their shoes to their rooms each night but I constantly have to remind them to do so or it doesn’t happen so that doesn’t work perfectly for us either. But since they don’t wear the same pair of shoes each day I like to set the correct shoes out with their clothing to make the mornings go smoothly. BTW, Advent calendars in the mornings…bad idea on my part.

    Reply

    • I think you think more than I do :)

      1. We have an additional small table for the twins not pictured. (But, whose kidding who? Do you actually eat when the rest of your family does?? If so, please tell me how!)

      2. Hanging it above the switch would be visually too high so it’s centered above chest as opposed to centering it on the wall.

      3. At least two hooks per kid.

      4. I’ll sign in kitchen and just use the garage to store things away.

      5. Nothing works perfectly with kids. Good luck.

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      • I really like the artwork hung at that level (and I also have that canvas btw). In my opinion, I see way too much artwork hung too high. I much prefer it at a lower level.

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  4. I’m interested to see what your organizer suggests. We don’t have a mudroom either and we enter from the garage through the laundry room which is very small. All the bedrooms are upstairs so the shoes end up everywhere downstairs and in a pile in the laundry room. We need a better system. I have thought about figuring something for shoe storage in our garage as well. We have hooks for backpacks in the laundry room but it makes a tight squeeze since it’s a walkthrough. And the backpack with all the sports gear that doesn’t get emptied is too big to hang on the hooks in there. Ugh. Such a mess.

    Reply

    • Sara – if the space is a little too tight to hold all the “daily, routine” stuff, then perhaps you can move it to either the kitchen (not as pretty) or the garage (like Emily).

      Shoes are so hard to contain- shelves of some sort might be helpful (IKEA sells several cheap bookshelves). You’ll have to constantly remind the kids to put the shoes on the shelf (or whatever you decide upon) which might get annoying! Kids don’t understand the importance of putting stuff away so Mommy won’t lose her mind tripping over all their crap. ;)

      Hope that helps! -Jennifer

      Reply

  5. I have the exact same dilemma! Plus, we have a no-shoes in the house rule so the landing at the door from the garage into the kitchen has become a jumbled pile of shoes and soccer stuff. I’m usually forced to do the clean sweep off the table to remove backpacks, lunchboxes and various school folder and items to sign in order to eat dinner.

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  7. I can’t wait to see what you come up with! I am thankful to have a little mudroom, and last year we turned it into a perfect “drop zone”, for literally everything. Every single item has a home now, and it’s truly changed our family function. I mean we still suck at keeping other rooms organized, but that whole entering/exiting the house thing..we have that down!

    -Lauren Dahl

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  8. Good luck! We have something similar to the pics in our garage and it works for the most part. Unfortunately my kids are growing and now we need larger baskets! ? Looking forward to seeing what you do!

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  9. What color are your walls. It would be great if you could find or build a double-decker cabinet by the door to the garage on the inside, with doors for a neater appearance. Love what you do.

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  10. Hi Emily!
    I have a question about your hardwoods. We are currently in the process of choosing a stain for our new floors- which are a white oak to match the original floors in our 80s house (the originals will be stained to match the new!). What is your stain on your hardwoods? Hubby wants dark floors but I feel like the style for wood floors is moving back towards a softer, more natural tone- yours seem like a great “happy medium”. Thanks for any info!

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  11. I can’t wait to see how it turns out. Someday I would love to build out our front door for a better entry….first time home buyers mistakes will haunt me for a while! Our kids are allowed to have their shoes on our stairs, but we have to tell them occasionally to take them to their rooms as multiple pairs for 3 teenagers end up all over the staircase. I so enjoy the sneak peaks of your new place!

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  12. A professional organizer is coming to your home? On my! What a treat that would be.
    I tried to get my husband to leave his boots & shoes in the garage but he complains they’re too cold in the morning. Maybe your garage is warmer then mine here in the midwest.

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  13. My kids are grown and have families and homes of their own so I don’t need a drop zone but there is definitely room for some organization here! A friend and I happened to meet Jennifer several summers ago as she and her family were dining in a restaurant in the North Myrtle Beach area. I still have her card! I bought my current home 7 years ago because it had a great bonus room that I envisioned as my creative space. Then my kids graduated from college and the room quickly filled up with the stuff they didn’t have space for. I am determined to take back that space in 2016! It will be interesting to see what you and Jennifer design. I am also in Charlotte so your sources will be of particular interest.

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  14. Can’t wait to see the result. We too have no drop zone. We walk straight into the hallway which is super narrow so no room for baskets. I am thinking of making an area just near the kitchen but it would be the first thing you see when walking into the house so I need to disguise it somehow. Hmmm….

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  15. I think it’s great that you found a professional organizer to help you with your dilemma! Sometimes it just takes a fresh pair of eyes and someone who surrounds themselves with solving these kinds of problems. I hope it was a great experience with her!

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  19. Oh I love this. Friend, that is why I had to make our mini mudroom and have had to reinvent it year after year! Our floor was covered in backpacks and shoes . . sort of still is until I nag enough. ha. So envious you have called in someone to help. I think I need to do that.

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  20. We need some mud room work in our house too. I have the room (a laundry room entry off the garage that also has an exit to the back yard) I just haven’t made the space work for us yet. I’ll be interested to see what you guys come up with!

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  22. Oh yes, this is good stuff! Can’t wait to see what you guys come up with. In the meantime…we have a mudroom area, but we don’t have an entrance…so I don’t that that ‘spot’ where your eye rests and you feel welcomed in to the house. Know what I mean? How about some ideas for those of us with foyer-less homes…no empty wall, no nothin’! xo

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  24. Coming across this post over a month later it would be awesome if you added a link at the end of this post to the next one – Part 2 of what you ended up doing! (Maybe I just can’t find it easily on mobile too)

    Reply

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