Mudroom Confessions

Motivation Monday - Getting (+ Keeping!) Your Mudroom In Check

I feel like everything has been coming back to our recent farmhouse renovation! Truth be told, the reno really gave us a chance to re-think our processes as a family and get our day-to-day routine back on track. When we lived in our old house we had very limited space, especially downstairs. As Lucy started Kindergarten, the paperwork coming home and her backpack/lunch box/coats/hats/gloves/STUFF just overwhelmed our space and really took over our downstairs. A friend had given me the tip to purchase this Magnetic Wall Folder. It was a place we kept the important papers Lucy and I would need to access frequently (like the letter day rotation schedule, lunch menus, current lesson plans). Since the front is magnetic we were able to showcase important everyday info for us both. This was also where we kept important hand-ins so we didn’t forget to have her pack them in her bag for the next school day. This idea consolidated all things important which helped me stay up to date and it was visually easy for Lucy to refer to.

Fast forward to our new home. In this new space we finally had a designated area to transform into a “mud room”. Something I had longed for and dreamed of forever!! We started designing beautiful cabinetry that Mike would custom build. Old houses don’t typically have great closet space, so this felt like what we absolutely needed. Cubbies and closets so everything would be hidden and the house would stay tidy. However, every design we created just didn’t feel right and would close off a beautiful space - basically the prime entrance into our home.

One day 2 close friends stopped by our house to check out the progress during the reno. I stood in the mudroom and shared with them our ideas for transforming the space to bounce off of them, etc. They both stood there and said “I wouldn’t start building this out until you live here for a bit”. I was crushed. Not only because my dream mudroom ideas weren’t something they seemed to like, but because I knew all along that that wasn’t the right way to utilize this space. It was feeling forced. My one friend suggested buying some cool hooks for the coats, bags, etc and then using our old magnetic wall file folders for the girl’s important school papers and wait it out. Live with this set-up for a bit. As tough of a pill this advice was to swallow, I knew this was the right answer. We were also so overwhelmed with a million other projects in the house (like our kitchen!), so this seemed like the best thing to do. Best advice ever!

Since, our mudroom has hooks for each of us (as well as 2 extras for when guests visit). Each of the girls have their own Magnetic Wall Folder . On their wall folders we keep their own personal Magnetic Calendars that we create every Christmas for them from our favorite, Pinhole Press.

Of course these hooks and file folders don’t always look so neat! What I love most about this set-up is that it allows me to stay on top of it all and keep the rotation going. To think 2 little wall folders for $20 a piece and some hooks from Anthro (we love these as well!) keep us in line + flowing amazes me! Simple, easy and functional. 3 of my favorites!