How to keep your front entrance organized

Keeping your front entry free of clutter makes a great first impression for your guest. Here are some easy ways to make sure everything stays organized throughout the seasons.

The limited options for storage in most closets — clothes rod, shelf and floor — almost inevitably contribute to a crowded clutter. If you want to really revamp the closet nearest your front door, first make a list of everything that needs to go into it, then decide whether you need an extra stack of drawers and a shoe rack or a brand-new organizational system. To make a traditional coat or hall closet more practical, try these suggestions.

• Add a caddy of pull-out baskets to hold gloves, scarves and other accessories (coated wire won't rust and the mesh design allows air to circulate and dry wet accessories faster).
• A second shelf overhead holds more hats or other items previously jammed onto one shelf.
• A full-length mirror, mounted on the inside of the door, gives you or your guests the chance for a last-minute look before leaving the house.
• Put in a light, either a battery operated one that you put up yourself (it may be dim) or a permanent light installed by an electrician. In a seldom-used closet, you may want to simply keep a large flashlight on the shelf.

Coats, hats, scarves and mittens can clutter your entryway, utility room and kitchen table all winter long if you haven't allocated a convenient place for them.

• For coats and scarves, install hooks near the entry door that your family uses most often. Make sure some hooks are at a child-accessible height so your kids can put away their own outerwear.
• If you hang coats in a closet, allow enough space between them so they can dry, or hang them on the shower curtain rod to dry before storing them in the closet.
• To keep mittens, gloves and scarves in order, place bins on shelves in a pantry, utility room or closet close to the main entry door.
• Choose bins with mesh sides to allow airflow to dry damp gloves and hats.
• Label a bin for each family member and make sure some are low enough for kids to reach easily.

To keep family members and friends from tracking snow and mud into the house, create a convenient area where they can remove their boots and shoes. Your family will cooperate more readily if this area is just inside the primary entry door.

• Include a bench or chair for boot and shoe removal.
• For storage, purchase a boot rack with a drainage reservoir or waterproof mats with raised edges so you don't have to contend with puddles.