5 Tips to Organize Your Mudroom - The Minimal-ish Mama

Do you have that one space in your home that is always a disaster? For me, that was our mudroom. In this video, I’m giving it a mini-makeover after I empty it out, put away all the tools, and give it a deeper clean than it’s had in a very, very long time!

I definitely sleep better at night knowing that all that dust and pet hair is gone!

I hope this video goes to show that you don’t NEED tons of cute storage bins or baskets to have a functional, pretty entryway or mudroom. Really, it comes down to finding the simplest solutions that work for the way your family functions.

I should mention, our mudroom isn’t insulated, and it has some roof and foundation issues. Since we’ll likely have to tear the whole thing off and rebuild it before too long, I didn’t want to spend much on this project. Just enough to make it look a bit better and whole lot more functional.

Tip #1: Clear the space

With any space, my first step is to take everything out. Once you have a blank slate, you can see what you’re actually dealing with and find solutions you might not have thought of.

In our mudroom, we’d been dumping tools, tiles, and bits and pieces from all our other renovation projects here. Once we moved all that to the garage, it wasn’t overwhelming anymore!

Tip #2: Store what you actually NEED here

The daily go-to shoes, the dog’s poop bags and leash, something for car keys and face masks – all those things we need to grab on the way out belong here. Bug spray, sunscreen, some outdoor toys that we like to take the park, the stroller – basically everything I need to take the boys on a walk to the park is right here by the door.

One idea that works for some families is to store a basket of socks in the entryway so instead of the kids having to run up to their rooms just to get socks, they’re there right by the door.

Consider how you actually use the space and what would make it even easier. What could you eliminate and store somewhere else, so it’s not cluttering up this space?

Tip #3: Make it obvious

As much as I’d LOVE to hide all the shoes behind closet doors, what I’ve learned through experience is this: “out of sight, out of mind.” It’s a lot easier to move the shoe rack to an obvious location than it is to retrain everyone in the family to go find it behind closed closet doors.

Make each item’s home obvious. A hook for each family member. A labeled bin for mittens and hats. A dish for keys. Putting things away and finding them again when you need them becomes so much easier when everything has a clear place!

Tip #4: Keep it simple

Keep your storage and organization as simple as possible. One hook for each family member, as few bins and drawers as possible. If your storage solution is complicated, you, and your family, won’t use it (ie., shoe rack that’s out of sight). I could use more bins and containers in my mudroom, but at this point, it seems like it would unnecessarily complicate things.

One way I’m keeping it simple is to have a basket dedicated to donations. That way when I find that pair of pants that’s too small for Bennett, I know right where to put it, instead of letting it float all over the house.

Tip #5: Regular maintenance

Organizing and decluttering is rarely ever “fix it and forget it.” It’s a process of trying something, observing how it’s working, and then making adjustments. So don’t worry if your new “system” doesn’t work out right away. Just keep tweaking!

And every week or two, you’ll probably need to go through the shoes and put some away, tidy the shelves, and make sure you’re emptying your “donation” bin, taking those returns back to the store, or whatever other to-do items like to hang out here.