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The entryway from our garage was a disaster, to put it mildly.
It was constantly overflowing with shoes, jackets, various winter items, and a bunch of stuff that had no business being there. Sorting through everything to find what we needed was always a pain, and I was sick of it so it was time for an entryway makeover.
Here are some lovely (code for embarrassing) before pictures. Doesn’t every closet have a million hangers and lightbulbs?
See that handy-dandy shoe organizer and all the shoes on the floor in front of it? Call me crazy, but I don’t think that’s how it’s supposed to be used. There’s my little one, fresh from a nap. His dad gives me that same, “Oh no, what’s she up to now?” look.
The only solution seemed to be to empty the whole space and put back only what we needed, which meant my poor husband came home to this
I don’t always empty a room or space for decluttering because, honestly, I think that’s a tip for people who either 1) don’t have a ton of clutter or 2) have a lot of help. It’s definitely a great way to clear and reorganize a space, but for certain areas in my house that technique would leave me feeling completely overwhelmed.
Thankfully, my closet was a small enough space where clearing it worked well.
I sorted the items into piles: things to keep, things to donate, and things to trash. I then went through the keep pile and sorted it into piles based on where the items belonged.
Most of the shoes in our organizer (and on the floor in front of it) were either too small for my kids or for another season. No matter how much I wish we could, we cannot wear flip flops right now. Shoes that were off season or too small were put in a basket and taken to the basement for when they can next be worn. (The small items are being saved for little siblings.)
Next, I sorted through all of the jackets, hangers, and miscellaneous items that had found their way into the closet.
We had a ton of hangers in a bag on the floor of the closet, and a bunch of jackets that were no longer being worn. I returned only a few items per person to the closet and only as many hangers as needed. My hope is that by limiting the hangers, I’ll also limit the temptation to refill the closet with stuff that shouldn’t be in there.
Here’s the closet now!
First, yes, the Keurig is there on purpose. My husband and I aren’t coffee or tea drinkers so we rarely ever use it. We really just have it for guests, and this is the closest to the kitchen, yet most out of our way place to keep it.
I wish I’d taken a before pic of the shoe organizer! This thing was filled, but now we have lots of room, and it’s organized! I am having to remind my kids to actually put their shoes away, but I can’t blame them for that. We all have bad habits to change, and I know that my husband and I have to set the example.
Just jackets and a flashlight for emergencies. Nothing on the floor or cluttering up the shelf.
I haven’t taken any steps to pretty up the space yet. I’d love to add some fun color to the back wall or something, but just having the space decluttered and organized is such a nice change. Now we just have to work on our new habits of putting things where they belong so we can maintain it.
Any suggestions on how to make this closet pretty? I shared these great ideas earlier, but I’d love to know, what are your favorite ways to organize your entryway?
Great job Emily, but I am worried about the baskets of shoes transferred to the basement. Maybe a few labeled storage bins on the shelf would keep those items close by as the kids grow into them or as the seasons change. Just worried they will become lost and forgotten never to be seen again in the basement….
Unfortunately, you’re totally right. Moving the basket downstairs probably is a recipe for disaster. I’m kind of procrastinating sorting through the kids stuff because most of the stuff we’re saving as hand me downs are just a big, unsorted mess in the basement. My storage rooms are scheduled for later in the Declutterathon so I’ll get to them soon(ish), but I’ll definitely need to come up with a better solution. Thanks, Kathy. 🙂
I can FEEL the sense of relief and achievement, Emily. Sometimes you just have to tame the “clutter” beast, and not worry about making it pretty. We recently made our garage entry functional and neat, and just put a bead board up (the basic kind) and painted above it. Also my husband put in a simple bench for putting the shoes on. We even have the same Ikea shoe organizer:) I have plans to sew a seat cushion for the bench but that’s about it for prettyfying. It is functioning, it is making our lives easier– that’s progress!!
Yes, habits take some time to form– but they do form, if the system you came up with makes sense. This gave me an idea to start working on teaching my 2 y.o. to put her shoes in the organizer.
Great idea! That’s definitely a chore a 2 year old can handle. It’s good to start them young 🙂
It makes my heart sad that I didn’t do this with my older two, but my 20 month old thinks that every time we come in the door we hang up our coats (on a peg) and get a high five, then we put our shoes in the bucket and get a high five. It’s so easy. Guess whose shoes are often laying out by the front door? Mine, my husband’s and the older kids’, but never the baby’s.
Isn’t it amazing how kids learn and maintain good habits so easily? I really need to get better about teaching and modeling good habits so they have a fighting chance at being somewhat organized.
Emily, I love the idea of a declutterathon! Bet you stop and admire that entry every single time you’re going through!
haha I totally do!
Wow, great work done! Even without any additional prettifyers or decoration this looks beautiful already. Have to run catching up now 😉
Thanks! Yeah, I’m looking forward to prettying it up eventually, but it’s so nice to have it functioning. Good luck!
Oh, I did one of these one time. Hubby was appalled as he walked in to a super-mess. It all worked out well, though. About 1/3 of it needed to leave the house forever. Some went to our son’s new house. Some went to Good Will. Some went to the garbage can. The rest I organized.
I think colorful baskets or rustic wicker baskets would make your top shelf look great. If you have anything that needs to be hung like a dog leash, you can add a pretty hook on the wall to hang it.
Colorful baskets are a great idea! I want to add some fun, colorful touches to brighten and liven up the space. Thanks, Sinea.
I was just thinking, why put the shoes in the basement? You’ve got room on your shelves, so why not store the too small shoes and the off season shoes in baskets up on your shelf? I have one tiny coat closet and an even tinier linen closet as the only storage for my WHOLE house, so I’m all about storing things in unconventional places. 🙂
The shoes in the basement was more of a way to keep all the wrong sized clothing together for the time being. The basement is on my to do list so it was also a little bit of procrastination. 0:) I will definitely have to rethink where everything goes when I sort through it all because stuff that goes to our basement does tend to be forgotten about, and if that happens what’s the point in keeping it all? lol
I love the photo of your husband’s expression! And I feel so proud of you for organizing — I know how calming that must be. We are a military family — moving around often. So we managed to keep our clutter to a minimum especially now that our 2 daughters have moved out of the house. We miss them … but not their stuff! Thank you for sharing your process at the Inspire Me Monday’s Link-Up. Have a fantastic weekend. I hope you keep that closet door open so you can enjoy the view of the organized space! Ha!
Thanks, Bridget! Yes, he was quite confused but happy once he found out I was decluttering. I seriously need to declutter my kids’ stuff. We have way too many clothes and toys.
Your entryway looks great! And the look on your husbands face is priceless!
He was definitely confused but quite happy once he found out what was going on. 🙂
Sometimes just simply decluttering a space makes so much difference. I think that is easy to forget this and oftentimes continue to add stuff to a space instead of simply reorganizing and removing some of the unnecessary items. Great job!
Thanks, Crystal! It really has been great to have the space cleared of all the stuff that didn’t belong.
I love organization tips thanks for sharing have two teenagers constantly picking up so need to be organized visiting from wake up wednesday have a great day and zen hugs