Improved Small Coat Closet Organization for our Entryway

Earlier this year, we added storage space to our entryway with this IKEA hack storage console. The KALLAX cube shelves and the added drawers and baskets have been perfect for smaller items like gloves and umbrellas and hats and even scarves… but our small entryway coat closet was another story. This has been a busy season and between we two adults and the two girls, this was its current status… and remember, Remodelaholic is a judgment-free zone!

Behind that beautifully painted blue door was a total eyesore, not to mention practically impossible to find what we needed!

So the day after Christmas, with both trees boxed up and put away, I decided to declutter and reclaim the closet along with the rest of my house from under the winter sludge and Christmas clutter. Watch the video below to see how we moved the shelf and hanging rod, added a lower kid-friendly shelf and hanging rod, and cleaned up the front closet to fit our needs and our stuff (including the vacuum) so much better!

(And be sure to subscribe to our YouTube channel here to see which embarrassing cluttered space we clean up next… JK, we’re more likely to build (or hack) something awesome instead 😉

Maximizing Small Coat Closet Organization Space in the Entryway

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The first step to decluttering any space: remove everything! This gives you a fresh slate while also letting you see everything in the closet and decide if it actually needs to go back in the closet. (Spoiler alert, most things don’t!) This is a great multi-tasking time since you can catch up on a favorite podcast while pulling everything out of the closet. Currently listening: Jody Moore – Better Than Happy, Awesome with Allison, and Business Boutique.

Tools and Supplies for a Hall Closet Makeover Like Ours

First things first: If you’re planning any projects like this for your house, we simply cannot live without our nail gun! I remember during our first remodel when we bought our first pneumatic nailer, and it was like angels singing from the heavens! Nail guns and compressors are pretty affordable, or I’ve heard great things about the battery operated nailers, too.

We reused the previous hanging rod, added one shorter hanging rod and bracket, and the hook rails on the door were installed previously as well. For the shelves and supports, we used scrap lumber and MDF pieces – closets are the perfect project for odds and ends to get used up!

As you can see in the video, we even used leftover shelves from our kitchen cabinets as the new shelves in our coat closet. That’s the #remodelaholic way! (And the video shows how we made them work even though they were just a smidge short for the space.) The melamine coated shelves (similar to these) clean up so nicely, plus it saved us the work and time of painting. Win-win!

Related Reading: How to Paint Interior Doors Like a Pro

We also used:

one additional hook rail
additional hooks for the broom and dustpan and mop
spackle and a trowel or putty knife
caulk and a caulking gun (plus be sure to read our tips for caulking here and here)
sanding block or sponge
shop vac
paint and rollers (and a couple of willing painter assistants!)

PS: Did you see our trick for hanging the mop on the regular old hook? The hanging hole on the mop handle goes the wrong direction for the inexpensive hooks, so just add a sturdy ring to the mop handle, and voila, it hangs on the hook. It’s a super simple trick but the first time I saw someone do that, it blew my mind, so I thought I’d point it out! (The video or the pic farther up in the post shows it best.)

Once all was said and done, we now have room aplenty for what needs to live in this closet: coats, cleaning supplies, kitchen aprons, a small tool kit, plus purses, backpacks, and keys. This is our entryway closet, but we don’t have a traditional pantry space in the kitchen for things like aprons OR an adjacent closet or laundry room for the broom, mop, vacuum, etc — so this is a pretty multipurpose hall closet and now it’s organized and clean and ready for real-life storage and function. Here we come, January….