Day Two: An Organized Coat Closet

[This is day 2 in a series called 31 Days to an Organized Home.  Click here to see all of the series posts to date.]

What better place to start organizing our homes than in the entry way? It's the first place you encounter when you come home, and by necessity it is often a small space that holds a lot of stuff.  This is especially true of the coat closet.

Here is my coat closet. I added some tips and pretty arrow do-dads to the picture using Picnik photo editor.

 

I created a dry erase memo board to remind me of things I need to take with me when heading out. It is just an old frame with some paint chips under the glass to mark the different days.  I added a binder clip to the side to create a hook for my dry erase marker.  Binder clips have at least a million and one uses.

To one side of the closet there are some hooks for bags and umbrellas. I added narrow laundry hampers to use as recycle bins because they were inexpensive and small enough to fit in the space I have.

Some simple tips to keep your coat closet neat and tidy:

• Have less stuff than you have space for. Leave some space and hangers for your guests coats.
• Include hooks,shelves and baskets to make the most of the space.
• Use labels to ensure everything gets put where it belongs.  This is especially important for bins that are stored above eye level because you cannot see the contents and are more likely to place items in the wrong spot.
• Use matching hangers for a more tidy appearance.
• Use a sturdy bin to collect items that need to go to the car such as reusable shopping bags, library books to be returned or packages to be mailed.

Thanks for stopping by the Complete Guide to Imperfect Homemaking!  Come back tomorrow for day three of 31 days to an Organized Home.

{Update: this coat closet got a more kid-friendly, mudroom-inspired revamp a year and a half after this post was written. You can find that here.}