Where do you enter and exit your home most often? That door should be near to what we call a "Destination Station." It's a place for your purse, your briefcase, your keys, your chargers, your sunglasses, and kids' backpacks and gear– right where you need it most.
I want to show off another one of our brilliant members of our online program… she just shared this great before and after photo in our member message boards, which is of her Destination Station by the back door in her home. She was able to set this up using what she had, not purchasing new shelving or anything. (Click photo to enlarge)
Several things to note here:
- She is awesome. (Congrats! You know who you are! 🙂 We love working with you!)
- Old before picture shows those shoe cubbies that DON'T work. They look like a good idea, but open shelving typically works better.
- Lots of hooks. There are very high-quality removable adhesive hooks available now that work wonders and don't require complicated installation.
- It requires regular maintenance. No, the kids will not put their shoes back in such a lovely way as this photograph shows. Of course! It's real life. She'll need to periodically clear out and straighten the shoes that end up there. Some of the big mistakes people make in their organizing projects are not considering maintenance during the process, and then not doing the maintenance tasks that are required to keep it up on a daily, weekly, and monthly basis.
In newer homes we are starting to see that builders are thinking about this concept, with "lockers" and nice beadboard cubbies with hooks. If you don't have the wonderful option of a built-in, you can buy "entryway" or "mudroom" furniture instead. Do a search for these terms on Google and you'll be surprised how many benches and cubbies are available. Even a normal bookshelf or table can make a big difference when dedicated to this purpose.
Here is a list of elements to consider for your Destination Station:
- Errand shelf: A place to put things to be returned to other places or people. Videos, library books, store return items, and borrowed things can go here and wait to be collected when you leave.
- Key hooks: Hang up hooks for your keys so you will have a home for them right when you walk in. Decorative accessory stores now sell these kinds of hooks that look really nice in your home and will match your personality. You can also use a beautiful pottery bowl or dish to hold your keys if that works better.
- Family baggage: Purses, backpacks, and briefcases all need a home here. Since you are doing this work, give yourself first pick at the best shelf.
- Cellular phones & pagers: Leave these here and charge them when you come in.
- Incoming & outgoing mail: It doesn't have to be here, but it is a consideration. A wastebasket is helpful here for this purpose.
- Equipment for regular lessons or practices: musical instruments, sports gear, or other items needed regularly.
- Small “purse refill” items: Gum, mints, tissues, lotions.
- Sunglasses: Now they have a home!
- Shoes and socks for kids: It is efficient to have these ready by the door to go out, as otherwise they get sent to their rooms to put on shoes and that can take much longer, especially for young children.
- Coats and scarves: If necessary and possible in your space.
- Bench for taking off/putting on shoes or boots
Do you have a Destination Station? Share in the comments! And if you need help figuring yours out, our service provides unlimited online access to our team of organizing experts for about the price of a pizza. Learn more about our program here, where we help people, like our brilliant member above, 7 days a week.
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Any ideas on how to do this with toddlers around?
I have a ‘half’ destination station I suppose.
An Ikea expedit 2 x 2 unit with baskets for shoes. We use the top of the unit for work and school bags and things that need to go out of the house with us so they don’t get forgotten.
However, I do not like the idea of having a shelf / space near the door where you would keep keys & phones etc, they just make easy targets for burglars. I am particularly sensitive about this as my living space is upstairs from the front door but it applies anywhere, IMHO
@ Michelle – for your toddlers – use a basket on low shelves to corral their stuff. Oh, and lots of labels! One day the WILL be able to read (promise!).
In our destination station we have an over the door shoe organizer, the kind with lots of little pouches. In the summer, it serves as the destination for sunscreen, bugspray, sunglasses, ball caps, and any other small items that we might need before heading out. Then in the winter it switches to a place for the gloves, mittens, scarves, hats, etc. The pockets on ours are clear so everyone can see what is in them and each person in our family has their own row (or two).
We – my 10 year-old and I – saw this and loved it. He loves organizing and I am glad for his help. We have an old wodden toybox near our front door with couch throws in it. We removed the throws and replaced them with hats, gloves, scarves, etc. We are hanging a rack by the door for keys, purses, the daily jackets, etc. with a rug below for boots. Thanks for the wonderful idea.
Karen, I agree this can be an issue if people have a lot of visibility to their front door areas, either through a side door window or because of a lot of exposure when the door is opened & closed.
If that is an issue for anyone, by all means, use your common sense and locate these tempting items elsewhere. For many people, however, they enter from a garage into a hallway with no windows, or a similar non-threatening situation.
Thanks for your great point!
– Lorie