As in, I use lots of hooks for lots of different purposes in my home. {Gotcha. I thought that title would grab your attention.} Not only are hooks inexpensive and easy to install, but they also keep clutter up off the floor {somehow it looks a little better on a wall?!}. That leaves more floor space open below for traffic flow, furniture, playing, parking, closing/opening doors, or just breathing room. Right inside our front door, I have a row of wall hooks for guests to hang up their coats, hats, or bags.
There’s even a lower set of hooks for little people who visit us: our kids’ friends, neighbor kiddos, and our nieces.
In fact, we have no closet on the entire first floor of our home. That’s not to say we never had a closet on the first floor. We did. But we found the closet door to be cumbersome in a small, crowded hallway so we DIYed it into a mini mudroom sans door. There are hooks for coats, purses, backpacks, and lunchboxes.
I even hung a double hook at kid height just inside the mudroom on the doorway wall that we opened up to accommodate the mudroom. When the kids are sitting on the bench removing their shoes, the hook is just to the left and in front of them. It makes a great spot for them to hang their bags and jackets. It’s amazing what kids will put away if you make storage options accessible to them.
Across the hall from the mudroom is a half bath. I attached a wall hook at kid height between the sink and toilet to make hand-drying and towel-hanging easier on the kiddos {which ultimately is easier on me!}.
Having a large pantry off the kitchen area makes living without a traditional first floor closet doable. Behind the pantry door I hang a broom, dust pan, and small rechargeable sweeper. That leaves plenty of room for the actual vacuum cleaner to sit on the floor without crowding the small space.
Handy Hubby installed a similar hanging system in the garage for outside brooms, shovels, trimmers, and other long miscellaneous items.
We have ceiling hooks in the garage to store our bikes. {I can get my bike down but need help putting it back.}
And we hung two rows of hooks at the door where we enter the house from the garage to keep reusable shopping bags, swim gear, and helmets in check. In the summer, we also use these hooks for wet swimming trunks/suits and drying beach towels. {Our neighborhood has a community pool within walking distance.}
Right inside that same door, I hung a cork board organizer that has a trio of key hooks. When we come home, before we even close the door to the garage, we always make it a point to hang up our keys. Handy Hubby has a nasty habit of hoarding all sets of car and house keys in his coat pocket, leaving me stranded at home when I need to be at work or elsewhere. Figuring out a simple, no-fail key hanging system was a must for our marriage!
I’ve utilized hooks upstairs in my home too. Three of the four bedrooms have hooks located right inside the door for items that get used more frequently than things stored in the bedroom closets. I hang up the kids’ comfort blankies {my guys have a fondness for silky blankets…especially Layne who chews on his…which is why I have to hang it up every morning to dry…it still smells awful to me but awesome to him}, a special kindergarten bus hat, toddler sleep sack, and guest towels on these bedroom hooks.
In the second floor laundry room, I have a row of hooks behind the door for hanging ‘line dry only’ items. It works great! Not only are my wet bras hidden out of sight, the heat from the nearby dryer shortens drying time.
And, finally, I used a double hook to hang my ironing board on a skinny wall in the laundry room. That way it’s up off the floor but not hidden in a closet somewhere further away from the laundry room. Not that I iron all that much. But still.
So those are a few ways I’ve incorporated hooks into the whole storage scheme over here. Currently, we have over 2,500 square feet of living space and plenty of closet space. However, that’s all about to change when we downsize. Finding even more clever ways to store things on a wall/ceiling, off the floor, with a hook or two is going to be a must. Have you ever used hooks to resolve a storage problem? Share, please!
images: 1) TR Woodworks for Etsy…all the rest) Dana Miller for House*Tweaking
DIY, kid-friendly, organization