OK, to really get this tip, you have to know I’m located in the South. As I type this in late January, it’s 61 degrees outside. All the rumors about us being unable to handle cold weather is pretty much truth. Unlike my northern extended family, we don’t own a snow shovel. We don’t own a snow blower. I don’t even have an ice scraper in my van. And most of all, we don’t have a place in our house set aside for all the jackets, shoes and other paraphernalia you need during the cold months.
Most of my northern family have basements. In those basements, many of them have cabinets that hold all the shoes. Shoes don’t go to the main level of the house. There are also lots of hooks and cabinets for coats.
And we? Don’t.
We don’t have room in our garage for this type of thing. Our hall closet is small and packed. So what happens during the winter months when we do need coats when we walk in the house (with our shoes) is lay them on the closest surface. Some of my friends here have a coat closet and actually use it. My mom has a coat rack near her garage they use. But us? Mine is usually hanging on a chair somewhere and the girls are usually on the floor in the playroom.
Well.
Here’s what we did to fix it.
We decided to use the outside of the hall closet. When we were visiting an organizational store recently, I had the idea to get an over-the-door set of hooks, that I normally would have thought to use behind a door for towels or robes in a bathroom or closet, and put it on the outside of our hall closet door. Now, it’s not that pretty but now we don’t have to try to squeeze our coats in and out of the closet, the kids can use it and it’s near the front door. Best of all, we can take it down easily during our warmest months and stuff all the coats back in the closet for storage.
Here it is with the front door closed.
However, our front door is usually open and they’re mostly hidden.
Depending on your weather and house floor plan this may or may not work for you, but it works for me!
This post is linked to WeAreThatFamily.com
Great idea! We have a hall closet that has all of our coats and jackets but it also has our vacuum in it and some luggage. Things are out of control and I’d actually like to have some hooks to put ours on. Our carport door is in the dining room and we have a pantry/cleaning closet (my house is sparse on storage) in the dining room so this would actually work on the outside of that door and would be closer to the door we so often use. Hmmm, I’ll have to consider this. I often leave our outerwear draped over a chair b/c it’s closer than the hall closet. But it would be nice to have for the coats/jackets we use most and for Winston’s backpack and my purse too.
Leann, exactly! So far we haven’t solved the bookbag problem. I’m hoping that Scott will build the girls actual lockers for their rooms. They need a spot for their purses, robe and slippers too.
Lockers sound like a great idea. Winston has plenty of room in his room right NOW b/c he’s a toddler but I’m afraid of how junky it will get when he gets older. I’d like to have more storage items in his room. I am jealous of all the pinterest posts I see where people have these huge entryways or mudrooms. We could never do that b/c our front door opens directly into our living room and our carport door opens to our dining! We have a 1960s home and people had FAR less back then they do these days. We’re considering an addition on the back of the house in maybe 5 years or so. Sorry, I’m rambly.
Yes, exactly. We have a very small entryway and no room for a very cool mudroom. I know exactly what pins you are talking about. This at least gets things off of chairs and the floor.
What a clever idea! My husband comes in & drops his coat off on the back of a chair at the island in our kitchen and then I go hang it up. Drives. Me. Nuts. I could put one of those hangers on the inside of the garage door coming into our kitchen. Surely he could hang it on a hook, right? Daring to dream….
Great idea Amy!
I admit it still takes effort to hang it up. But still, its WAY easier than trying to put it in the closet.