If you want to get organized and ready for winter, start by preparing your mudroom.
Winter is coming. That’s not a veiled reference to the White Walkers in the "Game of Thrones." However, you might resemble one after a day of battling snow or ice storms and frigid temperatures.
After you dig out your winter coats, hats and gloves to brave the cold, make sure your mudroom is ready so you can quickly put them on before you leave home and shed them after you return. Follow these tips to get ready.
Clear the summer clutter
If you’ve started wearing sweaters and jackets when you leave the house, it’s time to move the pool gear, flip flops and other summer gear out of your mudroom.
Locate your winter coats, hats, gloves and scarves. Then examine them for missing buttons, broken zippers or mismatched sets. Repair or replace them, then store them where they belong in the mudroom. You'll be glad you did on that first morning when you wake up to snow or subfreezing temperatures.
A place for boots
Whether it snows often where you live or is extremely windy, you’ll likely wear boots more often during winter. You’ll want a place to store your boots after you take them off near the door to avoid tracking snow and slush throughout your home. Here’s what you can do:
Place them on a boot tray to keep your floors dry and clean. If you line the bottom of the tray with small rocks, the snow that’s stuck on the soles will melt and flow through the rocks to the bottom.
If you wear dress boots and want to keep them looking good, hang them upside down on a wall-mounted or floor boot rack. You might find it easier to clean the soles of your boots when they are in that position.
Where are my gloves and hat?
You won't need to ask that question often if you keep your hat and gloves stored in a basket in your mudroom. Sure, you can absentmindedly stuff them in your coat pocket or sleeve. But they could fall out during the jostling that usually happens when others are using the same area to store and retrieve their coats.
If you don't want to store them in baskets on the floor or under or inside a foyer bench, hang two wire baskets on the wall. You're more likely to remember to put the items there if it's closer to eye level. You'll also be able to see items in the baskets without needing to sort through it.
