A longtime fixture of houses built in colder climates, the mudroom has recently become a more popular addition to houses all over the place! The mudroom is typically a secondary entryway designed as a place to take off coats, boots, and the like so as not to make a mess of your entryway or living room (hence the name mudroom), providing an ideal extra storage space for your outdoor wear! Of course, keeping everything neat and tidy in a room with ‘mud’ in the name can provide its own set of challenges, but no fear - The Shelving Store is here to help keep your muddy boots where they belong! Coathooks...Coathooks Everywhere: Obviously one of the main purposes of a mudroom is to have a space to keep all of your coats, especially this time of year. When trying to decorate and organize a mudroom, putting up a ton of coat hooks should be step one when setting up or reorganizing your mudroom and entryway. Trust us, your guests - and that poor chair that always holds people’s coats - will thank you! A Place for Shoes: While the point of the mudroom is to leave your boots and shoes at the door, it will do a lot more to keep your mudroom looking tidy and organized by providing a designated area for shoes. Bring in some shoe racks to keep right by the door to give your family and your guests a place to keep their shoes while they’re at your home. And if you’re feeling really motivated, you could take a page from traditional Japanese homes and leave slippers right by the door to wear instead! Accessories, Mail, and More: Of course, you’re not going to just have coats and boots when you come into a mudroom - what about mail, purses, and the like? Put up some corner shelving in an out-of-the-way place to give people a place to set hats, gloves, car keys, or whatever else they need to set down while they get situated. You can increase the shelf’s usefulness by attaching a mail and document holder to the shelves to store magazines, junk mail, and whatever else comes into your mailbox. Messages and Bulletins: A less-common suggestion for mudrooms that’s growing in popularity is the inclusion of some kind of chalkboard or bulletin board to leave notes. Think about it this way - the mudroom is the one room in your house you know everyone will have to go through sometime, and if you’ve got important notes or messages for anyone in your family this is a great way to make sure they’ll see it. Your kids will (hopefully) never forget the trash again! Hopefully these tips are enough to get you inspired to clean up your mudroom! And, as always, if you have any questions or need anything else, feel free to contact The Shelving Store for any shelving or storage problem you may have!