The following is a guest post from regular contributor, Sharon at Mom of 6.
It may not be the first place you see when you walk into your home if you enter through your garage or perhaps a side door, but most of the time your front entry way is the first thing your guests see when they pay you a visit. Your front door/foyer/entry way sets the tone for your whole home. Is it neat and pretty and smells yummy? Or is your entryway cluttered and messy? Taking just a few minutes to create an inviting entryway (whether or not you are planning to receive guests!) is a perfect way to make your whole home feel fresh and organized!
Minute 1: Remove the clutter
Grab a laundry basket and use it to pick up everything that doesn’t belong in your front entryway. I know at my house it is often filled with things that belong to my kids- shoes they’ve kicked off when they’ve come inside, backpacks from school, bags of sports gear, coats, etc. I grab everything and just stuff it into the basket, then I take the laundry basket to a room where I ask everyone in the house to put away what’s theirs (in our case it is our bedroom).
What you don’t want to do (especially when quickly straightening up because guests are on their way) is to toss everything into a closet. That just makes for a bigger mess that you’ll have to clean up later!
Minute #2: Make a place to hang coats and place a handbag
Okay- if you front coat closet is over-stuffed, then yes, this could take more than a minute. In that case make sure that you plan to tackle a closet clean out one of these days soon-removing items that you no longer wear and donating them to charity. But in the meantime, grab a few extra hangers out of a clothes closet in your home and make sure that you have room to hang a few coats on the bar. If you can clear a small amount of floor or shelf space for a handbag- great, if not, leave some room at the end of an entryway table for a handbag.
Minute #3: Create a place for wet shoes and umbrellas
This is the kind of thing you want to think about in advance rather than when your family or a guest is standing there dripping onto your hardwood floors! Take one minute to tuck a plastic bin into your coat closet that you can pull out on a rainy day for wet shoes and dripping umbrellas. Be sure to fully dry out the bin before storing back into the bottom of your coat closet.
Minute #4: Create a welcoming aroma
Nothing sets the stage like a fresh inviting scent. I prefer the scent of cinnamon in the fall and winter and warm vanilla in the spring and summer. You can use a candle to quickly make things smell yummy- or you can follow any of the ideas from this post: 5 1-Minute Ways to Make Your Home Smell Fresh!
Minute 5: Pretty it up!
It takes just a moment to add a wreath or a welcome sign to your front door. I also love to add a small piece of framed artwork that welcomes and inspires (like these). Be sure to take a look at your entryway decor with a critical eye. If your entry hall table has too many items on it- it makes the space feel cluttered rather than clean and welcoming.
How are you feeling about your entryway these days?
If you get a chance, I hope you’ll stop by to see me at Momof6 – a place where I write about organizing your home, using a family calendar, creating household routines, hosting at-home birthday parties, and making meals that kids will actually eat!
The post 5 1-Minute Ways to Create an Inviting Entryway appeared first on I'm an Organizing Junkie.