It’s been just over 2 years since we finished our glorious mudroom addition between the back door of our house and our garage… and we have used and loved this tiny space every single day since then.
Dave and I have both shaken our heads in disbelief so many times, wondering how on earth it took us over 3 years to realize that we could simply “wall in” our existing covered stoop to make a fabulous 120 square-foot mudroom for ALLLLLLL our coats, snow pants, boots, hats, gloves, bags, purses, car seats, shoes, bathing suits, towels, sunglasses, etc. etc. etc.
Before our mudroom, we had absolutely NO place to put any of that stuff! We had no back closet, no front closet, no hall closet, no closets at all (except in our bedrooms).
This meant we kept all our shoes in our bedroom closets (which was messy and dirty) and that our laundry room was always crowded with bags, coats, and shoes — and this was when we only had one small child!
I can’t even imagine living without any closets or a mudroom now that we have 3 very active kiddos!
As you’ll see below, we packed a whole bunch of fabulous storage into a fairly small space. Aside from our massive kitchen renovation, our mudroom might just be my favorite home renovation to date!
The “before” picture.
A couple “progress” photos…
What it looked like last week!
Here are a couple more posts about our mudroom if you want to go back and look at the progress we made, or read about our thought process.
- The full tour of our mudroom when we finished it
- The back-story behind the mudroom and our thought process
- How we used to store some of our things before we had a mudroom
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Over the past 2 years, we have changed a few things in this room and made a few tweaks to help the room function better for our growing family. Nothing too crazy or dramatic, but since I always love seeing how other people utilize their mudrooms, I figured it might be time for an update!
Here’s how our mudroom is set up right now.
The closet area (see below) might look a little crazy — but we have a place for everything!
We keep all sorts of misc. items in the pockets on the right door (sunscreen, bug spray, lint rollers, umbrellas, flashlights, hats, shoe polish, ear plugs, binoculars, etc.)
All our coats are on the right side (all shoved back right now since we aren’t using them) and all our swimming stuff is in the 3-drawer container under the coats (this works SO well because the kids can access anything they need!)
The pockets on the left door are for snow hats, gloves, mittens, scarves, beach hats, swim diapers, goggles, sunglasses, etc.
All our bags, coolers, backpacks, etc. are also on the left side of the closet.
One of my main goals with this mudroom is to keep ALL the “mud” and dirt in one single location — this means that EVERY SINGLE PAIR of our shoes and boots is stored in the mudroom.
I use the pull-out cabinet for my shoes, Dave has the bottom 2 shelves for his shoes, Nora has the top 2 shelves… and the boys keep their shoes in the basket under the black bench.
I LOVE that we can all “dump” our stuff when we walk in the door, and the kids are surprisingly really good at putting their shoes, sunglasses, bags, and coats away right when they walk in the door.
I have all their things at THEIR level, so they can get their own shoes and sunglasses… and they can stand on the black bench to reach their coats and hats if they want them.
I realize we’ll have to continue to tweak our system as the kids get older, but for now, this system is working well for us.
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Just for fun, here’s a picture of Nora back when we were working on the mudroom — she is EXACTLY the same age in this picture as Simon is right now (2 yrs. 6.5 mos.)
And here’s the whole group last week.
Pam says
This is a great use of space. I wondered how much a small project costs? I can see a huge value, but what’s the budget on something this size?
Erin says
This looks so nice!! We have a mudroom that was added the same way yours was (waaaay before we bought it, though). We have no closets in ours, but I redid four full size lockers (one for each family member) and we use those for our coats, sunglasses, hats, etc. We also have a bench with room underneath for the adult shoes we wear all the time. For guests, we have a tray right when you come in for shoes (making it pretty obvious, you need to take your shoes off) and I want to get some hooks for coats. You’ve inspired me yet again!
Debbie says
I can’t even believe it’s been that long since you added your mudroom. Nora has certainly changed a lot in the 2 years. I wish we had a mudroom. Ours is kind of a landing area after we come in from the garage with our coat closet in the same area. Problem is there’s no space to put a little bench or chair where we can sit when putting or taking off our shoes. We could put a bench/chair in the garage but then we’ll have to carry the shoes along with whatever items we already have inside and put it away in the closet. There’s just no easy solution that comes to mind right now, and your mudroom is something I wish we had to space to add.
Tara says
Ummm, holy cow I could have sworn you guys finished your mudroom maybe a year ago. This post is messing with my mind. Look how tiny Nora was! Man it goes so fast! I freak out when I look at pics of my little ones from two years ago too. Its amazing how these long tiring days at home with them sure do seems to race by when I stop to look at how much they’ve changed.
Andrea says
I know — I even had to go back and look at the pictures to make sure it was actually TWO years ago and not just last year! Time flies!
Allison says
When I first saw your email in my inbox I thought it said a mushroom update. WHAT??? lol Great use of space – everything with a place and I love that clock. Is it vintage or just retro look?
Andrea says
haha — no mushrooms here!
And the clock was brand new (for about $10). I’m sure it’s super cheapy, but I like how it looks! I think I got it from Hobby Lobby with a 40% off coupon!
Karen says
I WISH we had a mudroom, or a space to put a mudroom. Yours looks amazing!!
Andrea says
Thanks Karen. Surprisingly enough, we thought we had “no place to put a mudroom” and then all of a sudden, it just dawned on us. It seems SO obvious now… and I’m so happy we had this idea 2.5 years ago!
Tina says
Ditto. No mudroom here either. We rent. But I’m covering your mudroom Andrea. It looks great. I love that the kids can get stuff by themselves. Any little bit kids can do independently is a huge help to mom!
Tina says
Lol. I meant “coveting”.
Andrea says
yes Tina — we just love this mudroom area. It’s so great that the kids can get their own shoes, coats, bags, etc. without extra help from me!
Olga says
We don’t have a mudroom. I have 4 tiers wire shoe rack in the garage, right next to the door, and the area next to the door is covered with floor rag. We take off our shoes stepping on the rag and store the shoes on the rack. Dirty or rain boots get washed a little, just to take off the dirt, or anything else that’s not part of the shoe. ☺ newer shoes along with coats go to the coat closet right next to the garage (it’s small, under the staircase type of thing, but it’s enough for everything ). My dressy shoes, high heels and newer boots are thoroughly wiped after each use and stored in the master closet.
Perhaps I have no idea what I am missing without mudroom, but it works for now. 🙂
Leigh says
We just built a house and with four kids under eight in Minnesota the Mudroom was a big deal. Right now we are loving having a counter for my husband to drop his stuff and he babies main floor change table along with the laundry basket.
Andrea says
yeah, I really don’t know why no one thought of putting mudrooms in houses until that past decade or so — our house was an old farmhouse and there was literally NO WHERE to put anything. You know people were coming inside with dirty, muddy boots — where were they putting them? Glad you got your mudroom!
Amanda says
These are great ideas to help me get organized not that my boys are back to school. I have been looking for a shoe cubby/bench like the one in your picture, do you know where it came from?