Universal Truths: Organizational Solutions for Every Entryway

It is true that we wrote a book on organizational effectiveness based on personality type and 7 principles. However. There are definitely certain tips and tricks you can employ to help yourself become more organized, no matter how you (don’t) organize your closet or position your toilet paper roll (which way IS the right way? When we solve THAT mystery, we’ll write a second book). In all seriousness though, we have some pretty great ideas up our sleeves for each room in the house. What we’ll do is go room by room, starting with the Entryway and ending in the Garage, and apply some general and helpful suggestions in order to make your specific system easier (you can find the full length list of tips in our book).

Think of these solutions as initial training wheels to help you get around. When you master these, you can then put more sophisticated organizational tools in place, and ride off into the sunset. Organizationally speaking, that is!

Entryway: The Land of the First Impression

In the topography of a house, the Entryway is rugged, unforgiving land, prone to chaos and havoc. A shame that it’s also the land of the first impression— both for you and for your guests —because this space is where all hell can really break loose pretty easily— especially if we have children running around. Consider this scenario: It’s winter. You come home from a long day at work, and all you want to do is take your coat(s) off, kick off your muddy, snowy boots, sit on the sofa, and have someone bring you a warming cocktail. (No one said we couldn’t dream, right?)

Now here’s the question. In this dream scenario, where does your coat go? Do you want to take the time to hang it on a wire or plastic hanger in the closet and let it drip onto the floor of said closet (where your boots are going, by the way)? Do you want to keep your keys in the depths of your purse, or the pocket of your coat, or worse yet, bring them inside, put them down on some surface and never find them again?

No! You want to hang that coat on a beautiful chrome (or rubbed brass, whichever) hook, and put your boots onto a small, jute rug, where all the other boots in your house go. (The jute rug is next to the radiator, conveniently.) You want to hang your keys on the key ring that is mounted on the wall, labeled “KEYS”. You want to open your closet door and see a line of matching hangers, and you want to put your hat in one of the bins on the top shelf of that closet, labeled “WINTER HATS”. What’s more, if you have kids, you’ll want to see them do the same things you do, just on a smaller, and lower, scale.

Our point? No one likes a messy entryway, with outerwear and boots and shoes and umbrellas and random homework and bills strewn about the foyer table. Here are some FIRST STEPS to get you feeling good about the first room you see when you walk into your abode.

1. Purge– You’ll see this one a lot with us. No matter how you slice it, it’s easier to be organized when you have less ‘stuff’ floating around.
2. Hang up some nice, matching hooks– You want traditional? Look for brushed nickel or chrome. Try looking at Pottery Barn, which carries hooks with blackboard you can write on to label them (another big one with us — labeling) or Lowes for ideas. Feeling more funky? Look at a place like anthropologie — they actually have a ‘hardware’ section where you can find some pretty cool items.
3. Get some matching coat hangers– and we don’t mean the wire ones you get from the dry cleaners! Ikea has some lovely wooden hangers that are sturdy and won’t break the bank. Grab a few bunches of those and watch as your closet transforms from cluttered to clean lines.
4. Get a key ring. Get a key box. Get a key hook. Get a key bowl. Just get something to hold your keys and use it consistently. This will solve the all-too-common “keys making you late” syndrome.
5. Buy bins and label them– Make sure to measure your closet before buying said bins. These can be for hats, gloves, scarves, accessories, etc., and can be a HUGE help in staying organized.
6. Make your entryway kid-friendly. If you have kiddos and you’re tired of picking up after them all the time, make it easy for them to do their part by mounting coat hooks lower on the wall and putting the labeled bins for their things on a shelf near the floor so they can keep track of their own stuff.
7. Buy Rugs- It doesn’t have to be a Persian. In fact, please don’t put one of those in your entryway — unless you want dirt, soot, grime, grass stains and who knows what else on it. What we’d suggest is an indoor/outdoor rug — one that can absorb dirt right then and there so it isn’t then tracked all over the rest of the house. We suggest having two, so you can use one while the other one is being washed (or beat outside, however you want to do it).