Cleaning up the Holiday's ~ Week 1, Day 5 - Entry way

If your home is anything like mine dear readers you have kids and with the holiday's comes even more items cluttering up your entry way/front door/ coat closets. Bulky coats, left over party candy from school, over due home work, wet boots, and don't forget the many hats, scarves, and gloves that are thrown in and lost. To get a jump start on that your first order of business today is to get out with the old and in with the new!

I have started limiting my children one winter coat and one sweater hanging in the entry. All other winter coats are to be placed in the spare coat cabinet for now or in their rooms. Summer coats are packed away for next year unless they are noticeably too small in which they go in the donate box.

Shoes are no longer stored next to the door unless wet. My kids have a bad habit of taking their shoes off anywhere in the house and losing them, oddly enough in separate rooms on opposite ends of the house.  From now on all shoes are to be placed on the snow mat to dry then moved to the appropriate bin, if they are not placed in one of those 2 spots they will be removed on a permanent basis because I'm tired of tripping over them.

Backpacks and purses are another huge problem for us. While I generally throw my purse on the floor next to my computer and it never strays the children do the same with their backpacks, books, and papers but all over the entry. In that area they will now come home clean out bags of everything not needed for the next day; old school work, letters to Mom, homework to be done, etc, and then place the cleared out bag into the coat cabinet. Thus getting the clutter off the floor.

Now guests can hang up their own coats when coming over instead of holding them or draping them across the couch.

Winter gear is a bit trickier for us. You see my entry has a coat rack and nothing else. It has been my goal since buying my home to put in some small shelves for storage and this winter it's happening. Mr Mechanic picked up part of the supplies already and will finish up the rest next month, just in time for the first snow fall. I have already bought cubby bins for everyone in the family as well as guests to use.
If you aren't one of the lucky ones to be builder friendly here is a great starting idea for your own cubby shelves.

There you have it readers, your living room and now entry are done. But Wonder Woman, what will we do now? Why routine, routine, routine. Are you ready to fly solo?