subject: How To Keep Your Winter Essentials Tidy [print this page] So, if you are like me and have a boat load of kids having just coats and school bags when they come in isnt bad enough you have tons of hats, gloves and scarfs. That is where the mess and clutter lies. I must have 30 sets of gloves but for some reason I can never find matches for everyone in the house, I mean why is that? If only I had a way to keep everything a little more organized.
Well, you can decide to just run out and get one of those entry way storage benches or you can do as I have done. I have a beautiful Ipe bench on my porch that is absolutely able to stay out all year because Ipe is a very strong naturally weather proof wood, but the fact is I dont get to enjoy it near as often once the weather drops. Soooo I started bringing it indoors for the winter season, and with a few more added touches I have crated my own entry way storage bench from a beautiful piece of hardwood outdoor furniture.
So, I started with the Ipe bench, I found a good clear area in the front entrance of my home right when you walk in, you will need a space about 4-6 feet long. I put the bench there and added coat racks above head, they need to be high enough so when you are sitting to remove your shoes the coats are not hitting your head but not so high you cannot reach them. For me I placed them about 5 feet above the ground, too much higher and no one in my family would be able to reach the jackets. I had a 6 foot bench and put one coat rack every foot give or take giving me 6 racks and then built a shelf just above them, noting crazy just a simple shelf for any items I didnt want the little ones grabbing or things that didnt quite fit on the racks. This would also be a great place to build in shelves with storage slots, I thought about that but never got around to it, you could use them for your home incoming and outgoing mail, if you have pets you could keep their leashes inside, or even use one as an emergency snack slot. I cant tell you how many times I ran out the door realizing I forgot to grab a snack for the day, you can have emergency granola bars in there and when in a rush reach in and you are set.
Now for under the Ipe bench, since we have the long one we went with a shoe rack and baskets, you could go with shoe rack only if you live in an area you dont need hats, gloves and scarfs as much. Or remove the shoe rack if you tend to remove your shoes outside and add more baskets, whatever will be more useful to you. No matter how you go about organizing your baskets and shelves, how many coat racks you have high or low, starting with a beautiful natural Ipe bench gives your home an automatic warm lived in feel.
