My No Mudroom Solution

 We moved into our home last year and one thing I really miss from our old place is a mudroom. When you have three kids coming and going, it is nice to have a place for everything to land that is not the kitchen table. In our new home, the kitchen door (which is our primary entry) opens directly onto the kitchen eating area. There is a long blank wall that leads from the door to the laundry room that I could use but it has to be narrow to not get in the way of traffic flow so I can not do any built ins or furniture. As we approached the new school year, I turned to Pinterest for some organization ideas.

 Inspired by this....

I made this for $65.

I found the mail sorter boxes in a catalog. They are not extremely sturdy, but they will do and I love the chalkboard note area. There is a slot for each child, my husband and me, as well as for mail. I got the letter hooks for $1 a piece at Michaels. Since my husband and I both have a first initial that is the same as one of our kids, we got M and D for mom and dad. I am just missing the narrow bench and baskets you can see in the inspiration picture. I will keep my out at the Goodwill and antique shops for the perfect bench. Overall, I am happy with the knock off.