Make an Entryway out of a Dresser

I used to dream of a separate, formal entryway and then when I painted the door, I kind of got over it. Now I'm happy with the set up we've got. I eluded to it a couple times and thought it was time to open it up and show you exactly how it makes our entryway secretly work. This little dresser - just makes it look so easy...

We'll start at the bottom and work our way up. The baskets under it house the shoes the kids wear on a daily basis, so nothing dressy or off-season. 

The dressy and off-season shoes go in the bottom drawer...which is a little hard to open because the bottom is bowing. Anyone know how to fix that? For now, we're just glad we only get into it once in a while!

The second drawer's divided into three sections so we all put our hats and gloves in there. To divide it, I used an old shoe box that fits almost exactly the depth of the drawer. By putting it in the middle (to house Cadence's things) two more sections are created: one for Brian and I and one for Chandler. Obviously, we don't use this drawer during the summer, but it's really nice to have it all waiting there when that first unexpected cold day comes. No rushing to the basement to see where I stashed the cold weather gear! 

The top drawer on the left holds spare sunglasses, a few pens, receipts we need reimbursed, membership cards, school IDs and random things I'm not sure if Brian needs. 

The final drawer (small one on the right) holds shopping bags and my coupon book when I don't want them in my purse, Chandler's wallet, sunscreen, clip-on mosquito repellent, and the chalkboard we use when we take these. Which brings me to one of my favorite ways that minimalism makes life easier: you have room to store things WHERE you use them. Even this chalkboard we only use once a year, gets to be handy because we've cleared out all the stuff we don't actually use. I have room to put my hammer, this amazing tool and an Altoid box of nails in the buffet drawer, where it's handy. Our sheets moved to my dresser drawers, as did my folded off-season clothes. No more running to the basement a thousand times during fickle spring weather. In the days before minimalism, I'd finally tire of frantic dashes and bring the tote up, only to trip over it and glare at it because it didn't look pretty with my bedroom decor. No more folks. If you'd like to keep things where they're handy, get started with your underwear drawer. What? That's what I did.

But back to our entryway. Truth be told, my purse is almost always here, when I'm home. We use the dish for keys, stuff we want to remember to take with us or give someone who's visiting. This tabletop is basically my "to go elsewhere" reminder. Which means that it's, at times, covered in library books, the toy a visitor left behind, mail to go out and more. But then I see it, it drives me a little bonkers eventually, and I get it done! If it was tucked away somewhere, I'd have no hope of remembering. None at all.

The other thing I'd never remember is my yoga mat, which lives in my car or next to this dresser. Even then, it's so stealth, I often have to come back inside for it!

You may be wondering, "Okay, but where are your coats and backpacks and lunch boxes and sports gear and..." Brian and I have a bedroom that's super close by, so our coats and shoes go straight to our room,  if not closet. The kids' coats and back packs go on hooks in our back stairwell. This photo was taken in the easy, breezy summer, so you can imagine they are quite a bit more full, er, crowded now. But they work, so long as Cadence keeps her things off Chandler's hooks and vice versa.

more stairwell pics here

 

One day, this back stairwell may become our main entry, but not until my dream of a mini cooper comes true and we can park in the old garage. (I think it was built with a model T in mind.) So small...The kids lunch boxes park it here, in our kitchen island that was once a bookcase. 

more kitchen pics over here and here

So that's what happens to our stuff. As kids get more into specific activities and sports, we'll have to figure out systems for stuff that goes along with that, but for now, this is working smoothly. Oh, and I almost forgot. Happy St. Patty's Day!