I have a fun project to share! My entryway is small and has always been my struggle area to keep clutter at bay. And it was also the last thing I ever thought to style and organize in my home. It ended up being a dumping ground for shoes, purses, magazines and mail. Not exactly what I wanted to be greeted with when I walked in the door. I desperately needed to organize this entry to help my mess disappear.
Here's the before picture.
When I built my
shoe closet I
took out that shoe shelf and re-purposed it to be for entry storage. I
threw my purses on top and threw other random stuff in the tiny cubby
holes. My DIY magazine basket was spray painted black and I had fabric sewn into it. But it was always full of junk mail and reusable
shopping bags and was awful and had zero function. It took me eight years
of living here before I finally did something with the space.
I
needed a routine to get everything back in place. I followed the
Kondo method which says that
everything needs a place. The main function of my entryway is to hold
incoming mail. I needed one super organized space instead of allowing
the kitchen island to become the dumping ground. So I picked up this
cute wall organizer when I was in
Thailand last year. Now the first
thing I do when I get home is open all the mail, trash what I don’t need
and the rest goes into the wall organizer. I also got a sunglasses
basket so they are all in one place that I keep in my coat closet.
I replaced the shoe shelf with the
Kallax shelving unit from Ikea. In fact if you google Kallax hacks you'll find a lot of ideas for using it. I’ve been loving it every since it
was built as it's fantastic and keeps my entry way tidy and organized. I finally have a place to display all my travel
guidebooks from the trips I've taken. I haven't taken a vacation this
year but I do
have a business trip to San Francisco next month.
Let me show you a close
up of the cute gold bulldog tape dispenser I picked up at Target. I love all the gold desk
accessories and the glass jar filled with roses. I feel it looks bright
and organized. The picture is from my
strawberry picking adventure this summer.
On the bottom shelf I got a large
storage bin also from Ikea for $5. I had wanted a
metallic one but the ones at
Pottery Barn were $29 so I thought it would be cheaper to DIY by just putting
some gold stickers on it. It’s a great place for my reusable shopping
bags, coupons and receipts. Also in the past couple years I’ve
been signing up for $2 per year magazine subscriptions. I get Oprah, Dr
Phil, Allure, Women’s Running, and Real Simple, yet I barely have time
to read them. lol I got a pack of cheap magazine holders from Ikea that I
DIY with stylish wrapping paper. With a designated spot for magazines
and papers, it really clears the clutter from the entryway area and the
magazine station is hidden away.
