Tidy the daycare way: how our entryway always stays organized
Shoes are the biggest challenge in keeping the entryway tidy, writes Tytti Kontula, our Editor-in-Chief of DIY & Nordic Lifestyle.
Our home’s entryway storage solution includes an open coat rack with two shoe racks underneath, plus a small chest of drawers for accessories and other odds and ends. This setup is perfectly sufficient for three people. Everything stays neat because I treat our entryway just like daycare coat cubbies.
In daycare, there’s a strict seasonal mindset. Anyone whose children are or have been in daycare remembers the dread of realizing that in the morning rush, they left their child with caregivers wearing the wrong seasonal clothing.
When summer arrives, remember to bring a sun hat, sunscreen, and lightweight protective clothing to your child’s cubby. In the fall, well before the rainy season, the coat rack should hold rain gear and rubber boots. In winter, of course, you need a woolen mid-layer and warm spare gloves.
“In spring, taking those thick down jackets out of the coat rack and into the wardrobe feels almost cleansing.”
To avoid the wrong-season panic, the key to organization in my home is a strong focus on each season. In our entryway coat rack, we only keep the items we’re currently using. In summer, the rack holds windbreakers and linen blazers. When the weather starts to cool, I add mid-season jackets, lightweight down jackets, and eventually thin wool coats.
In spring, taking those thick down jackets from the coat rack to the wardrobe is almost a cleansing experience. In the fall, bringing out the “real” cold-weather gear signals that everyday life is starting up again. Making the effort to swap items out keeps the amount of clothing in the entryway reasonable, making it easy to find what you need. It’s also a chance to check whether a jacket will still be usable next year or if something needs repair.
In daycare, everyone has their own cubby, at least in Finland. Shared boxes of wool socks or mittens aren’t anyone’s responsibility, so they can quickly become messy heaps. In our home, each family member has a single “glove box,” preventing us from ending up with ten mismatched black cotton gloves. Everyone keeps track of their own accessories, and we also sort them out when the season changes.
In daycare, it would be unthinkable to just fling shoes off your feet, but in our home, that does happen.
At daycare, there’s a shoe rack where footwear can dry with plenty of airflow. We have one at home too! But this is our biggest challenge in staying organized. In daycare, it’s out of the question to fling off your shoes any old way, but we do that in our house. On the other hand, it’s easy to pick them up and place them on an open rack. A shoe cabinet with doors would probably lead to an even bigger footwear mess.
I also recommend borrowing two more ideas from daycare for your entryway: durable furniture and cheerful colors.
