A Mudroom for COVID-19

Of all the rooms in our homes, a mudroom may be one of the most important spaces going forward after this COVID-19 outbreak.

Typically, we leave our shoes and jackets and the kids stash their bookbags in the mudroom. But going forward I can see our mudrooms becoming a holding space for even more including clothing, dry cleaning, lunch bags, cell phones and many more items.

I’d like to share a few tips to keep your mudroom organized and functioning during this virus outbreak as well as a few tips for going forward once we get back to leaving our homes more often.

1. Seating – Make sure you have a place to sit down in your mudroom, preferably a solid surface seat that can be wiped down. A place to sit down and take off your shoes and clothing will prevent items from being simply tossed around.
2. Laundry Baskets – Many people are now in the habit of taking their clothing off in the mudroom before making their way into the rest of the home. To keep organized and prevent piles, laundry baskets or laundry bins are going to be beneficial.
3. Small Item Landing Spot – A landing spot for all those smaller things such as wallets, sunglasses, earbuds, cellphones, tablets and more is going to be important. Make sure it is a tray or shelf that can be thoroughly wiped down.
4. Lunch Bags & Water Bottles – Fortunately, everyone will have a while before worrying about kids’ lunches but go ahead and implement what you can now. Designate a space to store lunch bags and water bottles especially prior to cleaning. A waste basket in the mud room is necessary but perhaps an even larger one will be needed to empty out lunch bags in the future.
5. Cleaning Supply Shelf – Designate a space where you can store items for cleaning those shoes, phones, wallets and more. Have a supply of a cleaning solution, paper towels as well as a Lysol spray or wipes.  
6. Containers, Shelves & Drawers – Having an organizational system is going to be very important going forward. Whether you have a piece of furniture with some storage cabinets and shelves, or you have a full built in mud room system, having spaces for everything will be important. If struggling with organization, add in storage bins and containers that, again, can be wiped down.

Just a few tips to help guide you in the right direction as this will soon (if it hasn’t already) become one of the most important rooms in your home.


*Thanks to my friend Stephanie Chiuchiarelli with  Closet Factory for these pics of amazing storage systems that she's designed.  Interested in creating your very own custom mudroom design? Check them out!
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