The one thing I wish our home had but doesn’t is a mudroom. You enter the house from the garage right into the kitchen, and book bags and jackets are thrown on the floor in a heap. We had added some organization by building our command center in the kitchen and utilizing the front entry closet, but our shoes would still be left as a mess in the garage.
With extra weekends at home, we finally had some time to create a drop zone / mudroom space in our garage. I knew I wanted a bench to sit on while putting on shoes, space for storage (for men-sized shoes because someday I’ll have three men in this house!!), and more hooks than I think we’ll need for jackets, book bags, and whatever else.
I spent a lot of time online looking for options and found items like this on Amazon. We had only 34 inches of space for the bench, so our choices were limited and often didn’t report being able to support an adult’s weight on the bench. We entertained the idea of building something custom, but then I remembered to check out IKEA. We ended up getting almost everything from there!
Here’s our new and improved “mudroom.”
Check out the dog’s hook! 
My husband’s shoes are here. My three boys went a bit crazy with the label maker. Ha! 
The kids’ shoes, extras of mine, and outdoor supplies (like sunscreen and hats) are stored in the black containers. This winter we’ll store gloves and hats too. The hooks are at the perfect height for the kids to hang up their own stuff. I have (hopefully temporary) hooks up for masks.
The whiteboard/cork board combination was gifted to us. Here’s everything else we found at IKEA. I LOVE the dog’s hook and the idea to use the $1.29 trash can as an umbrella holder.
Overall, I’m thrilled with what we came up with (and the price tag). I look forward to seeing if my family can adopt its use and if the mudroom can handle all of our winter gear.
Reflect. Plan. Live. 
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