Back Entry {Landing Zone}

I was so excited when we bought this house!  I envisioned this awesome mudroom with little lockers and baskets to store back packs, jackets, shoes, etc.  The only problem with this vision - the laundry room, which is right off the entry from the garage, is a whole lot smaller than I realized.  Once we put our washer, dryer and upright freezer in there, there was barely enough room to open the machines and do laundry.  There was no room for storage.  Bummer.

So, I moved to the hallway.  It is narrow but I knew that we could squeeze in some hooks and a small command center.

I decided the wall between the powder room and laundry room was perfect to offer a small landing zone for backpacks and coats.  I had picked up some simple brushed silver hooks at Ikea.  From experience, I knew that these hooks would take a beating so the board they were attached to needed to be adhered securely to the wall and studs.  The studs in our home are 16" on center and most of the installation holes for the pre-made hook racks I looked at were closer together than that.  So by stretching the rail from moulding to moulding across the entire span of this space, I could take advantage of the studs to hold the rack to the wall.

Over the weekend, I got my husband to help me out.  I painted up the board, figured out the measurements and spacing and manned the power tools.  After pre-drilling the holes, we secured the board to the wall and the hooks to the board.  The screws for the hooks were long enough to go through both the board and drywall which will hopefully make them more sturdy.

The kids were a great audience watching Daddy use the drill.  They were very impressed.  They were also excited to hang up their bags!  Hopefully that enthusiasm lasts and they remember to hang up their bag and coats (if we ever need them here in beastly hot Arizona) every day and I don't have to hound them.

Above the hooks, we hung a small command center that I found at a thrift store.  It will allow us to hang our keys and post notes and reminders as we are walking out the door.  With the alarm keypad right there, we shouldn't miss any reminders.  Again, time will tell!

I am very excited about this new landing zone.  Since it is right next to the door to the garage it should be easy to use and help control some of the chaos before we get into the main living area.

I know, a Mom can have a dream!

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