By Ann Springer

I’d never heard the term “mud room” until we had spent several years living in cold weather country. I’ve grown to appreciate the purpose of a mud room and I believe everyone should have one, even if it’s not actually used for mud.

If you’re unfamiliar with the concept of a mud room, it’s a room that typically sits at the entrance of a home where you remove your muddy boots, coats, and whatever else you feel is too wet or soiled to parade around in the rest of the house wearing. Sometimes you enter a mud room from a side door of a home or near the garage depending on the layout of the home. In rural parts of the country or in areas of extreme weather conditions, these rooms are necessities. In urban areas or those with favorable weather, mud rooms usually don’t exist, but creating a makeshift mud room may make your comings and goings smoother and more efficient.

Like most busy households, finding shoes, coats, backpacks and other needed essentials can be stressful, especially when the clock is ticking. Everything is spread out all over the house and you’re frantically searching for coats and homework as you rush out the door. Or maybe you’re on your hands and knees scanning the underbelly of your couch in search of a mate to your son’s shoe.

No mud room? Look for places in your home that are underutilized and could be easily transitioned into one. Even if you don’t have children, these spaces may be great places for setting down keys, cell phones, and purses. If you have a large enough space you can place a small bench under the coat rack. You can stash shoes and extra clothing items in baskets beneath the bench to utilize hidden storage spaces and keep more items close at hand.

Tight on space? For less than $30, I converted a short hallway area close to the garage into our mud room. I hung a decorative coat rack with drywall screws for extra stability on the wall. Each of my children is assigned a peg for their coat and backpack. We also have a basket of shoes just inside the garage so everyone has easy access to shoes so we can leave in a hurry. It’s also a great place to plunk your stuff down when you come through the door after a full day. My children used to throw their backpacks and coats on the floor wherever they landed on their way to their fridge for their after school snack.

Once you develop a system that meets your household needs, you’ll have a place for everything that is close to your main exit and entry point. Periodically you’ll have to maintain the area by removing excess gear and to re-hang the extra coats and sweaters. Keeping the stockpile of attire down to a minimum helps to keep the walkway functional, but decorative, too.