Having an organized front entry really says a lot about your home. It is the first thing your guests and neighbors see, and it really sets the tone for the rest of your home. Does it welcome everyone home or frustrate them as soon as they get in to the door.
Everyone has a front entryway, even if your home doesn’t have a formal one. This is the place where you enter your home and drop mail, book bags, coats, keys and whatever else you happen to have when you enter. Our old home entered directly into our living room, with no break at all. But still, the furniture and accessories that we placed just inside the door, set the idea of a front entry.
Let’s take a look at some of the common clutter that occurs in the front entry and how to deal with it.
Keys
This is a simple one. Purchase or make an attractive place to hold your keys where they are most needed, by the front door. We have a small window frame with a mirror (that expands the space and allows for a quick look before exiting the home) and a shelf. Below the shelf is mounted some flat nails to hold our house keys.
Mail is a big clutter danger. We gets tons and tons of mail, and often it just piles up on whatever flat surface is available. There are two ways to approach organizing the mail. If you are super organized, take mail directly to your office or wherever bills are paid. Immediate throw junk mail into the recycling container, file bills in a in-bin on the desk and corral magazines into a basket or magazine holder placed on a bookcase.
If you don’t have time to deal with your mail immediately (most of the time, I gather it and dump it into the house on the way out somewhere), place a pretty piece of furniture in your entry way that can conceal the mail until you can get to it. We have an old desk with drawers. Then on Sunday (a no-mail day), make it a habit to go through the mail, reading, recycling, filing and so forth.
For catalogues, check out these earlier articles on taming the catalogue clutter: Tame the Catalog Clutter (1) and Tame the Catalog Clutter (2).
Coming soon: Dealing with the coat closet in your front entry, and how to keep those flat surfaces clear from clutter.
Mary Ann Romans writes about everything related to saving money in the Frugal Blog, technology in the Computing Blog, and creating a home in the Home Blog. You can read more of her articles by clicking here.
Related Articles:
New Year’s Resolution: A Clean and Clutter-Free Home
Tips to Help You De-Clutter Your Wardrobe (1)
Tips to Help You De-Clutter Your Wardrobe (2)
Tips to Help You De-Clutter Your Wardrobe (3)