Set up your shopping list for a mudroom
Avoid tracking in all the slush, snow and mud from a messy winter season
It’s that time of year again, the kind that comedian Katt Williams described as, “You’ve got to buy your coat from here for here.” And he was talking about Chicago where I was born, raised and bought a condo. Even in a no-shoes household — with or without a dog room — maintaining clean floors can be a task in itself when snow, ice and mud have a meetup.
Creating a dedicated space to remove winter clothes helps with all of the above. Whether you have a full room that you can dedicate to a mudroom or a small corner of a closet, living room or kitchen, here are eight suggested purchases to create one.
Mudroom Shopping List
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1. Ceiling fan with winter air circulation
Why? In the winter months, reversing the blade direction invites cold air toward the ceiling. Then, cold air mixes with the warm air to make walls toasty. Additionally, in multi-units with baseboard heating where some rooms are hotter than others, winter air circulation helps balance the temperature overall.
2. Emergency backpack
Why? It is never a bad idea to have a first-aid kit, along with other supplies that would be needed during an emergency. Regardless of whether you live in a city prone to hurricanes, tornadoes, floods or earthquakes, keeping accessible supplies near an exit or entrance door makes it that much easier to find. You clearly won’t need them on an everyday basis, but just like having pet insurance, auto insurance or homeowners insurance, the goal is to have it before an emergency can happen.
3. Raised Bamboo Soap Holder
Why? While that plastic or ceramic dish you’re used to buying for your bathroom works, it takes a considerable amount of time for soap to dry when it’s buried in a puddle of water. An elevated bamboo soap holder works faster because of the bamboo material and allowing the water to drip off the platform.
4. Rubber doormat
Why? Choose a doormat that can properly catch dirt and moisture on the bottom of shoes so when you wipe your feet, you’re not leaving footprints inside. Even in a no-shoe household, having a dry place for rainy, snowy or muddy shoes to dry is still just as important.
Recommended Read: “Rental walk-throughs: Pet-owning renters should inspect the floors ~ From pet-friendly rentals to homeowners, dodge pet floor damage early”
Keep outside shoes as far away from carpet as possible too, and make sure to keep your winter boots away from laminate floors. If laminate wood gets wet, the material can bubble and it never goes back to its usual appearance.
5. Coat racks
Why? In addition to making your mudroom neat and not flinging coats onto benches or chairs, a coat rack also gives your coat the chance to dry completely instead of patchy, wet spots. Some coat racks also include hooks for hats and scarves, and drawers for gloves. Keep one drawer for house shoes and footies, so you can step out of wet shoes and immediately step into dry ones before moving through the home.
6. Storage bin
Why? For bigger mudrooms, a storage bin would be useful for winter apparel, winter shoes and other supplies during the other three seasons that aren’t always needed but should be accessible when needed. (Avoid stuffing this full of Christmas and other holiday decorations. Once you start, you may be tempted to buy even more decorations you barely hang or light solely because the bin is big enough to do it.)
7. Clean microfiber rags
Why? From wiping hands to wiping shoes and everything else, there are a number of reasons to have clean rags nearby. If the mudroom is near a sink, microfiber rags also come in handy for drying hands.
8. Umbrella holder
Why? While opening an umbrella will help it dry faster, there needs to be a designated place for them to say once they are dry. A holder with hooks for small umbrellas, as well as an opening for large umbrellas, helps to easily organize them to grab or return as needed.
While a mudroom doesn’t need a laundry list of things, these eight should help you set up this corner space (or full room) for the winter and any other wet-weather season.
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