Home Organization Begins With A Drop Zone

As clutter accumulates in your house, it can be a bit overwhelming. Sometimes it may feel as though you will never catch up, and the mess will continue to grow despite your efforts. Before you know it, you have a mess the size of an elephant to deal with.

As the old saying goes, the best way to eat an elephant is one bite at a time. The bite we are going to take today comes in the form of a drop zone. This is a great way to start organizing your home, and the beginning of your journey towards a clutter-free home. But what exactly is a drop zone?

A drop zone is an area that you can designate where you will “drop” everything when you enter your home. This can include items like your gym bag, purse, coat, children’s bookbags, and mail from that day — anything, really!

At times it may seem like you leave a trail of items from your front door of all of the “stuff” you have gathered throughout the day. Before you know it, you can’t find something and have to retrace your steps in hopes of finding your long-lost item.

With a drop zone, everything can be in one designated area to grab and go as you enter or leave your home. The best part of a drop zone is that you can make it what you want! Whether you need to keep a few essential items in one spot or you want an area to organize everything you need throughout the day, a drop zone can get the job done for you! Creating a drop zone will help keep your things tidy and should be one of the first steps you take when organizing your home.

When creating a drop zone, examine the tendencies you and your family have when entering or exiting your home. Are you always looking for your keys? Do you take your shoes off as soon as you get home? When coming home from a long workday, where do you dump all of your “stuff”?

Observe these behaviors and figure out your needs before creating a drop zone. There may already be some areas you have in mind for a drop zone. In most cases, the best place to create a drop zone is where your family enters or exits the home most frequently.

Some of the most common spaces that have a drop zone are:

• Entryways/foyers
• Kitchens
• Mudrooms
• Entrances from garages to the home
• Enclosed patios

Once you have picked a spot, start by clearing the area of everything currently there. This will help you decide what you want to fill that space with to help you organize. If it is not something you will need in your drop zone, move it somewhere else.

So, what should you have in your drop zone? Perhaps it is as simple as a small table with designated areas to drop things. You could also add a shelf with some baskets. Maybe you have a large family and need some storage built into the wall.

Whatever your needs are, there are many options to choose from. Whether your ideas are big or small, contractors can help you bring those ideas to life. Home One Services is a cut above other remodeling contractors because we have served Lancaster, PA, and its residents with the best quality work, backed by our 5-Star Guarantee. If you have plans for a drop zone, we can help!

While there are lots of options for organizing a drop zone, we want to highlight a few common ideas to serve as inspiration for you. Once you have figured out what you want in your drop zone, you can decide how to lay it out.

Mail Station

Something that comes into your home almost daily is mail. Some of it may be important, but the fact of the matter is that most of it is not. Why bring unneeded junk mail into your home? This could consist of a box to hold important letters for sorting, along with a trashcan or shredder nearby for all of the unnecessary clutter that fills your mailbox.

A Spot for Keys

A designated area for your keys will keep you from losing them, since they’ll in the same place every time. Whether it is a bowl on a table, a tray on a shelf, or some hooks on a wall, this is a mainstay in nearly all drop zones! Just think of all the time you will save when you don’t have to go on a wild goose chase around your house!

Shoe Storage

Another must-have in most drop zones is an area for shoes. Whether it is summer, spring, winter, or fall, shoes are always tracking things into your home like grass, leaves, dirt, and snow. Create a spot in your drop zone for shoes to keep the mess to a minimum. A sitting bench with space underneath is a popular idea, along with shelving under a table or counter.

Hooks for Jackets, Hoodies, And Coats

This is an especially great option if you do not have a closet near the entrance of your home. Coats are often left on kitchen counters, dining room tables, and any number of convenient places around your home. Hooks mounted onto the wall or shelving in your drop zone will keep them out of the way and ready to go for the next time you leave your home.

Shelving For… Anything!

If you can manage to fit shelving into your drop zone, it’s a great way to keep clutter out of the rest of your home. Whether it is a single shelf for a few bins or a large built-in shelving unit, shelving utilizes vertical space more efficiently and creates an easy way to keep things organized.

One helpful tip is to designate space on your shelving for specific things. That way, this area will not become a catchall that simply shifts clutter from one location to another. You can designate a space for purses and wallets or a spot for things to take with you, such as an item to return to the store or a package you need to ship out.

There are so many different uses for a drop zone, and creating one will impact the decluttering of your home. Home One Services can help you add a drop zone! Our remodeling contractors have many years of experience with a wide range of big and small projects. 

If you live in Lancaster, PA, and have searched through lists of contractors online and found us, your search has ended. Contact us today to see how we can help you with your next home project!