Planning a mudroom can be overwhelming. After spending hours looking at beautiful mudroom pictures online, you might be tempted to do a little online shopping to replicate these mudrooms in your own home. But, don’t forget, not all the mudrooms you see online will work in your home. You don’t want to start buying bins and installing lockers or hanging hooks to find they don’t work for your particular space. Before you start shopping, read over these tips to plan your mudroom:
Decide What You Will Store In the Mudroom
The very first thing you should do before you plan your mudroom is decide what items you will be storing in that space. There is no point in picking out hooks and cute baskets if you aren’t sure they will fit all the items that will be there.
Start by making a list. Here are some examples:
- Coats, jackets
- Shoes
- Hats, scarves, sunglasses
- Purses
- Umbrellas, rain boots, rain coats
- Winter gear
- Summer gear: sunglasses, sunscreen
- Pool gear: towels, googles etc..
- Sports and activity bags: dance shoes, Sunday school books, instruments etc.
- Book bags
- Outdoor Toys
DeClutter
Once you have an idea of what you’d like to store in your mudroom, it’s a good idea to declutter. Get rid of any too small gloves and hats, any broken toys, and coats that never get worn. Once you’ve decluttered, you’ll be able to clearly see all the items that will go in the mudroom and you can plan your space accordingly.
Search for Ideas
Ok, here’s the step you’ve been waiting for! You now have the green light to hop on Pinterest and pin away! Find pictures of mudrooms you love and storage ideas that will work for your space and your items. Don’t consider cost in this step, just find ideas that you love and use these for your inspiration!
Draw Your Mudroom
This is where inspiration meets reality. After finding examples of mudrooms you love, it’s time to see which ideas you can replicate after taking into consideration your budget and the amount of space you are working with. Plan out how many hooks, shelves, and bins you will need and how you will arrange them before you start buying or speaking with a contractor.
Buy
Now that you’ve planned out what items you’ll be keeping in the mudroom, decluttered some items, and drew up a plan, you are ready to spend some money! Go ahead and call a contractor, or simply purchase some items on your own to make your mudroom into a beautifully functional space! We love this bench from snapshotsandwhatnots.
You’ll be happy you took the time to plan your mudroom before you started shopping for items. Now you know exactly what bins, shelves, and baskets will work perfectly in your space!
