Is Your Coat Closet Ready for Company?

As we get closer to the holidays I like to try to set up my home to be inviting to my guests. Since we live in the rainy part of Oregon you can just about guess that every guest who comes over will be wearing a coat. So, around the holidays I like to clear out my coat closet. This way, as soon as our guests arrive, I have a place for them to put their coat, hat, gloves and shoes if needed.

Having a place for their outdoor items when they come in our home is great. The coats, hats and gloves don’t end up over the couch where they can fall off, or on the floor to be stepped on. If you have more guests coming all that stuff near the entryway can be a real hazard. So, long before my guests arrive I like to clean out my coat closet.

Organize the Shoes

Earlier this year when I was decluttering my home, I purchased some inexpensive plastic shoe boxes with lids. They were just a dollar each and I love what a difference it has made in the tidiness of my coat closet. No longer do we have an avalanche of shoes coming out at us each time we open the closet door.

Tuck away any cleaning items

I also store my vacuum cleaners in my coat closet. I try to keep my small broom vacuum tucked into the back so it’s not falling out and striking anyone as they are putting their coat away. I store the small vacuum behind the larger one to keep it from falling out. I also tuck away my long wool duster and Swifter behind the larger vacuum too.

Clear out Extra Coats

I removed any extra coats we don’t use regularly from the closet and tucked them away in the other closets for the holiday season. We have lots of coats in the coat closet, so many that you really couldn’t fit anyone else’s coats in there. By removing some of them to the other closets it freed up the room we needed for guest coats.

Add a bag for hats, scarves and gloves

I added a hanger and hung a book bag over it. This makes for a great place to drop in hats, gloves or scarves from your guests. By having the bag handy the gloves don’t fall to the bottom of the closet and get lost. When your guests are ready to leave it’s easy to take the bag out of the closet for them to retrieve their items.

Add Extra Hangers

Now that you have removed the extra coats, you will want to add a few more hangers for your guests to use. You don’t want to have to run around to find a hanger while your guests are standing around holding their coats.

With just a little planning you can be prepared to meet your guest and welcome them into your home without any mishaps.

What’s a task you like to do before you have guests arrive around the holidays? Do you usually clear out your coat closet?