A mudroom is a hard-working transitional space that can easily get cluttered and dirty. From dirty boots to school bags and dog leashes, the room requires a thoughtful organizational system to house a variety of items in a functional but also visually appealing way. To help you clean out the mudroom and keep it tidy, we asked four interior designers to share their best tips for decluttering a mudroom.
Their professional advice includes coming up with a weekly routine to declutter the space, giving every item a designated home so it’s not just “floating” around, and getting creative with storage solutions. There’s no reason a mudroom can’t be a practical and beautiful space, and to make the most out of yours, keep reading to learn how to declutter a mudroom so it stays a functional and tidy space.
Implement a Weekly Reset
Having a mudroom routine is key, Caroline Kopp, an interior designer, says. She recommends resetting the mudroom on a weekly basis and taking the following steps to declutter the space:
- Put coats away into a closet.
- Place shoes back in closets or on shoe racks.
- Move any miscellaneous boxes, bags, and objects where they belong.
- Incorporate closed storage as part of your strategy to keep the mudroom tidy, as it allows you to hide clutter behind closed cabinet doors.
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Give Everything a Specific Home
“The best way to declutter a mudroom is to consider what functions the mudroom needs to accomplish and give every item a specific home”, Andrea Lackie, an interior designer and founder of Andre Lackie Design, recommends.
If everything has a designated home, it’s much easier to put things away and keep the space tidy. She suggests taking the following steps:
- If there isn’t enough space to accommodate everything, go through the mudroom and pare it down to avoid clutter forming again.
- Before you start purchasing organizational items such as baskets, drawer dividers, and hooks, consider the desired functions of the space and buy storage vessels accordingly.
Incorporate Built-Ins
Sarah Hargrave’s, an interior designer at The Collective, suggests incorporating built-ins into your mudroom. In addition to addition functional storage, she points out their visual impact and recommends playing with paint color, inset shapes, and decorative hardware. Hargrave also suggests storing items such as the following inside mudroom built-ins:
- Sports bags
- Dog leashes
- Briefcases/backpacks
- Grab-and-go essentials you use regularly
Discard Unused and Broken Items
Rebecca Ward, an interior designer at Rebecca Ward Design, recommends removing damaged or broken items that haven’t been used in a year.
“It’s easy for old shoes and bags to pile up when they aren’t being used anymore,” she says. Here are a few categories of items to declutter to check for unused and broken items that can either be donated or discarded:
- Shoes
- Coats
- Bags
- Sports equipment
- Dog toys and leashes
- Seasonal products such as sunscreen and bug sprays
- Seasonal gear and accessories
Get Creative With Storage Solutions
A lack of functional storage options often leads to a cluttered mudroom. If built-in storage is not an option, get creative and incorporate these designer-approved storage solutions to keep your mudroom functional and tidy:
- “Add more hooks and floating shelves so everything has a place”, Ward recommends.
- Hargrave suggests using decorative trays and boxes to place important items like keys and wallets.
- Bring in a rolling cart per Ward’s suggestion: “For open spaces, consider a rolling cart that could house frequently used items or things that need to go to other parts of the home,” Ward says.
- Ward also recommends using the height of an open wall to hang hats or less used items.
How to Maintain a Tidy Mudroom
- Install hidden outlets. Minimize clutter by strategically placing hidden outlets within the mudroom.
- Maximize natural light. “The more natural light, the larger the space will appear and while this does not increase physical square footage, the effect is still worth it”, Hargrave says. She recommends opting for a cafe curtain or a sheer Roman shade to maximize natural light in your mudroom.
- Incorporate closed storage if possible. Whether it’s built-in cabinets, a mudroom bench, or lidded storage baskets for shoes, closed storage is essential if you want your mudroom to look tidy.
- Take regular inventory. Go through the mudroom every couple of weeks and take inventory of items that are no longer being used or are broken, and remove them to save space.
- Deep clean seasonally. A mudroom gets dirty easily whether from muddy shoes or paws, so in addition to regular weekly cleanings, make sure to deep clean the space with every new season. Remove everything from shelves to dust them, clean washable storage baskets, shake out any rugs, vacuum and mop floors, and wash windows and window treatments.