Entrway Drop Zone: Organizing the Drawers

Earlier this week I shared with you all how I set up my entryway table and created a little drop zone for the mail.  I want to share the other details lurking in the drawers and cabinets today :)  On one of my trips to Target, in the dollar section I found some drawer organizers and thought they would be perfect for the entryway table.

The items we cannot leave the house without: keys and sunglasses!!!  I decided to use two of the drawer organizers I purchased from Target for these items.  In the past we used the key hook we have installed in the pantry, but as the front door is used more often now we found our keys laying on the kitchen counters or misplaced.

This tray has been the perfect solution for us and so easy to just drop them in the drawer when we get home.  We also store extra gum and tissues in here as well, which are easy to grab when needed!

My sweet babies, especially Olivia, have an aversion to the bright, bright sun...solution is to have lots of sunglasses on hand.  Enter the next drawer :)

I wish I could say this was all the sunglasses we had, but alas, there is a pair for each girl in our vehicles too!

We don't have a changing station downstairs, but I keep extra diapers and wipes in one of the drawers.  This drawer has been a lifesaver, and a time saver I suppose, since I don't have to go upstairs to change a diaper every time.

The last drawer is kinda random, but for now totally works for us.  Some items might find a new home, but currently this drawer holds Ava's dog leash, an extra umbrella, flashlight and my little folder of coupons.  

Now for below the drawers, I decided at least one cabinet would be the best place to hold our arts and crafts supplies.  Most of them used to be in our home office, but we have actually been reassessing how our home office is set up so I decided it was best to bring them out.  I wanted them in an easy accessible place, but nicely hidden behind a cabinet door.

The entryway table used to hold lots of random things for us and we have been rearranging a lot lately and finding a new home for things.  Items that we have kept have found a new spot within our home and other items were either sold or donated.  Since I decided to tackle this cabinet late at night and spur of the moment, I don't have any before pictures.  I do, however, have a picture of its current state and hopefully it will stay like this.

Luckily, the arts and crafts we use downstairs all fit in one cabinet so I have an empty cabinet to work with later #onehappymomma!!!

I purchased a second letter tray from Ikea a few months back and decided this was the best place for it.  It holds all the loose paper in one neat spot!!

When Target starts to put their summer items on clearance, that is a good time to grab a utensil caddy, which is what I did the past two years to grab these cuties.  I love using these caddies for multiple things, including my cleaning products.

Also purchased some inexpensive plastic containers at Target to store extra items like pom poms and the dollar wooden crafts from Michaels, Hobby Lobby and/or JoAnn's.

Happy almost weekend!!

With much love,

Kristin

Entryway Drop Zone

Another project I started before Emma's arrival was to organize our entryway table and make it more functional for our family.  It is still in progress, but I wanted to share with you all what I have set up.

Something that is a continual battle for us is the pile of papers...it is never ending!!  I have tried several organizing solutions and they have ultimately failed for us.  I feel they have failed for us because we didn't invest in the time to think about our daily habits and how areas in our home were being used.  So back to the drawing board again, but this time I started taking notes on how we used certain areas in our home and what habits we developed.

One of the biggest things I noticed was that we were entering our home through the front door as opposed to the garage door like it was in the past.  We had already converted our downstairs closet into a mini mudroom, where we keep our daily shoes, coats (when needed), etc.  Now, I felt we needed a drop zone right at the entrance.  We already had this great table at the entrance, technically it is a buffet table from Ikea, but for us it is our entryway table.  Now of course, I didn't want this area to become the "drop everything when you walk in the front door area," so I have come up with a "system" that is working really well for us.

Since our biggest problem was the mail and what to do with the ever growing pile, I want to focus on that for today's post.  I wanted a holding place for the mail until I was able to sort through it properly, which is usually when the girls are napping or after bedtime.  In order for it to work for me, it has to be easily accessible and done quickly.  After checking the mail, I do a quick sort through it and immediately take out the junk mail and shred it.  We moved our shredder into the kitchen a while back and that is about the one thing that has been working for us.  What is left is placed in a bin on top of the table until later that day or the next.

Now what is left is usually the grocery ads, magazines, and bills.  Most of our bills are electronic so that has definitely helped on managing the paper piles, but those that are still paper are placed in my home binder.  The magazines are in a basket next to the table, so that really only leaves the grocery ads and a few other things.  Let's talk about the bin on top of the table.  I purchased a wooden bin at Home Goods on clearance a little over a month ago, it wasn't the perfect color for me, but nothing spray paint couldn't fix!!  

The color I was originally thinking of going with wasn't a paint+primer combo, but I did have a white semi-gloss that did have a primer built-in.  So I decided to put a coat of that spray paint on first and see if I wanted to keep it white or use the other color I had leftover as well.  I did like the white, but in the end I wanted a little more color in the entryway.

After that first coat of primer dried, I sprayed two thin coats of my favorite spray paint color - of course letting it dry about 20 minutes in between each coat.

I should probably find a new spray paint color obsession, but why fix what isn't broken (at least for me)!!

The yellow chevron tray is used to not only hold my sunglasses, but also a spot for the outgoing mail.  The spot makes it easy to quickly grab and go, and I can't leave without my shades!

Here is a full shot of the entryway table so you can get an idea of where everything is placed.

I do need to dwindle down my pile of magazines and I am slowly working on that, but for now they have a nice little spot.  Some of the magazines I will probably never be able to part with it and that is definitely my Better Homes & Garden Storage ones....I just love looking at their covers #dorkalert!!

On my trip to Home Goods, I also found this cute little bowl and thought it would be perfect to hide/hold my chapstick and ponytails.  I typically need both in an accessible spot (home of all girls except for my hubbie)!

That only leaves the lamp, which I just absolutely love.  I know #dorkalert again, but I am really crushing on Navy and Teal right now.  So I wanted to bring in a navy lamp that I have had my eye on for some time at Target.  And to top it off, I found a lamp shade for it that was on clearance...score one for this momma!!

I am also loving the soft touch of gold for the base of the lamp, although nobody tell that to my twenty year old self!!  So, what solutions are working for you when it comes to paper piles??  Please share!!!

With much love,

Kristin