Home Drop Zone Guide: What is it and Top Organization Ideas

Every home has a drop zone – it’s that space of frequent footfall, where the shoes and coats accumulate. It’s often the first area guests will see, but it can be difficult to keep it clutter-free. It’s not as easy as shoe racks and coat hooks. Keeping things clean, pretty, and practical is a challenge that needs clever storage solutions. So, here are our top ten drop zone organization ideas, to help rejuvenate your home.

Before you consider designing a home drop zone, take a moment to reflect (without judgment) on your habits, and what you want from it. If you know you like to throw your shoes off, keep keys, cards, and clutter close by, or sit down when you get in – make a drop zone to service your lifestyle! Think about the kind of “stuff” you “drop” at your front or back door. This could include things like cleaning products, schoolwork, and hobby kits. Think about whether it’s truly the most ideal place and where the most convenient drop zone could be. Anything that doesn’t work – it’s time to move.

Built-in Storage

Borrowing from the old mantra of “out of sight, out of mind”, this is the adult version of tucking things under the bed when cleaning. Built-in storage can be a great way to tidy a drop zone in a house, keeping shoes, cleaning products, coats, and other important items out of the way. It doesn’t all have to be closed storage – open access could be great for those items you need to grab on your way out. Whether that’s your bag, purse and wallet, keys, or even a hat. For more storage ideas, read on here.

Seating

Sometimes, the drop zone in a house should also accommodate you – having a place to sit down, take a moment, and gear up in comfort is necessary for some people’s space. Seating can also work as a low cabinet or hidden storage space, giving you places to slot in baskets, shoe racks, or built-in solutions to tidy equipment away.  This space can be a great place to socialize while you wait for everyone else to get ready and also stops that awkward shoe shuffle as people go to leave.

Pet Gear

Pet paraphernalia adds up quickly, especially for active pets like dogs who require walking. Having doggy bags, toys, and leads near the entrance to your home (or the exit to your garden) can be super convenient. Tidied away in a cute basket, it means they always have a place to live. If you’re a boots-off home, getting ready in your walking shoes and then having to tiptoe back through the house for your pet’s gear can be a bit of a nuisance. Having your gear in a home drop zone can be convenient, especially if your puppy gets muddy. This means you can keep the mess all in one place.

Message Boards & Calendars

Drop zone organization ideas don’t need to stop at storage – it’s also about lifestyle. Keeping calendars, message boards, or to-do lists can serve as great reminders and prompts when you’re about to leave the house. This can keep you organized and makes a great “base of operations” to start your day if you keep everything important bits close by. Not only that but sharing messages with those you live with can be an uplifting start or end to someone’s day.

Baskets

Wall-mounted baskets can be great for grab-and-go solutions for a home drop zone. They give you places for your keys, important papers and mail, and even winter accessories. If yours is a family home, you could have a basket for each person to organize themselves. Baskets can also fit neatly under seating, be hung near message boards, or slotted into shelving to hide away. They’re versatile, multi-purpose, and can be used for almost everything – from cleaning equipment to those things you need every day.

Label & Organize

If you’re creating a drop zone meant to help with organization, you may want to consider labels and sensible layouts to better organize yourself and everyone else who might use it. After all, you don’t want your wallet put in with the doggy bags or schoolwork in your folder station. Think carefully about what items go where, which sections belong to who or what, and what the most convenient places for items are. Look to perfect a layout that compliments your day-to-day. Which items do you need to grab on the run? What do you pick up every day? This is where reviewing your habits can come in very handy.

Slim Bookcases

Slim bookcases are a great choice for creating easily accessible storage solutions – think of them as open cabinets. With the right accessories, they can become command centers for the home. By adding portable drawers, racks, hooks, or baskets you can create a handy and affordable drop-zone solution with ease. If you’ve got the space, they can even fit some homey decorations. Don’t forget – a home drop zone can be as great for organization as it can for décor.

Small Solutions

From pots and bowls to a small, stand-alone drawer, even the smallest additions to your entry or exit spaces can reduce mess and boost organization. If your home drop zone needs just a little extra organization, consider where you can place a dish for loose change, a drawer for documents, or a bowl for keys and wallets. With a wide-enough drawer, you could even add a shoe rack beneath it, and decorate the top. If you’re the type to read on your travels, maybe keeping a small set of bookends for your favorite books could be a nice decoration and practical addition.

Pegs & Hooks

What is a drop zone in a house if it doesn’t have hooks? Coat hangers, basket hangers, and hooks on multiple levels can be incredibly useful for organizing your home drop zone. Having a dedicated set-up for coats, and another row for bags can be handy – especially if you often find yourself getting tangled in quickly-hooked clothing and bags all in one place. Having important documents or mail storage at eye level can be convenient at a glance and reduces the chance of you forgetting about it. You could even have a small peg board to hold your different keys. But why stop there? Hats, glasses, or even a hanging basket are all possible.

Does creating your ideal drop zone have you in the mood to organize more than just your entranceway? Click here to find 21 home organization tips that can help you refresh more of your home space.

Find Storage Near You!