Creating a useful (and tidy) entryway can be a challenge, particularly in a small space. If you find yourself in an entryway pickle, allow me to share some small entryway ideas.
As I often say, our family lives in a “smallish house”. Our home is far from a tiny home, but it is certainly smaller than the average American home – especially for a “largish family”.
Living in a little less than 1,200 square feet comes with many perks, but it does pose occasional logistical challenges. For us, one of the challenges was creating an entryway that works for us.
The key to any entryway is to be sure things have a place, so that coats, shoes, and bags aren’t destined to spend their days scattered across the floor. In a small entryway, the trick is figuring out how to do this with limited space. After some trial and error, our entryway has become a very usable space for us.
Allow me to share some practical ideas for small entryways.
Ideas for Small Entryways
1. Declutter things you don’t need.
I know, I know. Half of my posts have made at least some mention about getting rid of stuff…but it is really the only way to make it work. If three people were living in the same space, each person could have more coats, but with seven people in the house, we have a little less space for each person. But I’ll tell you, I’d much rather have my passel of kids than a few extra coats. I’d probably wear the same coat 98% of the time any way.
Until you streamline your coat collection, none of these small entryway ideas will work.
2. Use bins to create clear boundaries and keep things tidy.
We have used bins in a few ways in our entry way. One of the most helpful things we have done is to give each shoe-wearing kid (our youngest is not walking, and therefore does not need shoes…if you have more than one kid, you know what I mean) a bin. These bins live on the closet floor and hold their shoes. This creates order and makes everything easy to find. It is amazingly more organized, and provides more space, than simply having all the shoes loose on the floor.
Let these spray-painted Dollar Tree bins, which have survived three organizing locations, be a reminder that, despite what Pinterest tells you, you can use what you have!
3. Use the inside of the closet door!
We are very fortunate to have a small coat closet in our entryway. This makes a world of difference! To make the most of this small closet, we mounted wire baskets to the inside of the door to hold hats and gloves. Practical tip: Assign baskets based on age/height. Put the youngest child’s things in the lowest basket, and work your way up through the family. This way, everyone can reach their things.
4. Divide vertical closet space to maximize hanging storage.
I am forever grateful to my husband for thinking of this. It is perhaps the best of any of our small entryway ideas. He added a second rod in the lower half of the closet. We still have room to hang our coats on the top rod, and use the lower rod for the kids’ coats.
5. Use color coding.
We use color coding a lot in our house. It happened naturally as kids developed favorite colors. When I can, I use this to make things more simple. I have purchased hangers in five colors, so that each kid has a hangers in “their color”. It creates a visual guide as to where each person’s things can be found, and also answers any question about who has a coat missing, or who tossed their hanger into the living room. Plus, it’s just fun.
6. Consider a bench – or some place to sit.
This may not be practical, depending on the size of your space, but it can be extremely useful. Having a bench gives adults a place to sit when putting on shoes. It also gives a place to set a kid while you help with their shoes. We also use our bench as a “staging” place for things that need to go out the door with us, or a temporary drop-zone when coming in the door. This keeps things off the floor, and gives them a momentary place even when in transit. I am pleased to be using my grandma’s cedar hope chest, which is also where I store my sewing machine, fabric, and all sewing notions.
Let this be another reminder to “use what you have”.
7. Find ways to use potential “dead spaces”.
No matter the size of your house, you undoubtably have areas prone to becoming totally useless. Little nooks between furniture…awkward corners of the room…the backside of doors. I would never advocate for filling each of these spaces, but when creating an entryway in a small space, these little nooks can sometimes make all the difference. There is a space between the wall and our “sewing bench” as we call it. This sort of naturally became a place to set wet boots, or slippers, or just-removed shoes. Observing this pattern (and mess), I decided to lean into it. I purchased a large plastic basket that is now know as “the boot basket”. The kids rain and snow boots are stored this bin. It may not be aesthetically pleasing, but it contains the boots, and allows them to air out between uses.
The Bottom Line
Of course, all even the best small entryway ideas won’t keep shoes from being left on the floor. You have to use the system you create, and teach your children to do the same. But having a place for your things, and making these places easily accessible for everyone in the family, will make things much easier.
For more tips on making the most of small spaces, check out my post on toy storage and homeschooling in a small space.
Here’s to an organized entryway, and bins filled with complete sets of shoes.