When you get home from a long day, where do you drop your “stuff”?

Do you have a dedicated place for shoes, bags, keys, mail…? OR do you drop it all on the closest surface and deal with it later? No matter which is more your style, having a place where you know your items will be when you’re on your way back OUT the door is pretty important.

I’ve rounded up some great ideas to help you with your DROP ZONE. It may even get you out of the house earlier!

Shoes

Do you struggle trying to find shoes when you’re on your way out the door? Where did you leave them? Where did they go??

Create a “shoe drop”. Whether it’s a boot tray or a basket, if you put shoes in a dedicated space, you’ll know where they are when you need them. TIP - empty out the basket over the weekend, put extra shoes back in the closet and plan shoes for the next week that you may want to put by the door for easy grab-and-go.

This is a great practice to involve the kids in. If they know where their shoes are, they’ll be less likely to ask the perpetual question, “Where are my shoes?!”

Keys

Key tray, key hook, drawer… You name it, keys can be found in it. What works best for you?! Do you like to hang your keys by the door, drop them in a tray or basket, put them away in a drawer? Whichever is your fav, find a good looking option that will help you put your keys in the right place. If your keys have a dedicated home, you’ll always be able to find them.

Mail

This is a doozy. So many people have issues keeping on top of the never-ending influx of mail. You are not alone! An easy way to solve it? Create a mail drop! Whether it’s a tray that you sort through two-three times a week, or a mail sorter that you dedicate to TO DO, LATER, and SAVE/FILE, your mail and countertop will thank you.

Get in the mindset of immediately dropping items into recycling that you know you won’t need or are junk. That’s probably the majority of the items in your mailbox and you’ve just cut the sorting job in half! YEAH!!

Set a calendar reminder to sort through the rest of the items every few days, maybe Monday and Thursday, for example. Spend 5 minutes on it, it shouldn’t take all that long anyhow. Anything that’s urgent put in your TO DO pile, anything that can wait goes in your LATER pile, and anything you want to save or file away, put in your SAVE pile.

I like to use a tray and mail sorter combo. The tray is great for dropping the mail that you don’t have time to deal with until your dedicated sorting time. The mail sorter helps you organize TO DO, LATER, and SAVE/FILE items. Check the TO DO section daily to keep on top of everything. Check the LATER section on your mail sort days to see if anything can be moved to the TO DO section.

Create a system, set reminders, and watch your mail troubles disappear!

Purses/Backpacks/Bags

Instead of dropping items on the floor to get kicked around, stepped on, tripped over… Use WALL HOOKS! I am a huge proponent of utilizing wall space. There is so much more room if you add a pretty hook and put your items on it.

A good coat rack can be a perfect way to solve the backpack/purse issue, too!

By getting your items off the floor, the clutter is gone, your items are kept cleaner and in better shape, and you know where they are! There’s nothing better than getting out the door and knowing exactly where your “stuff” is to keep you on time.

Do you have any Drop Zone tricks that help you stay organized? Share them with me, I’d love to hear how you do it!

A few Drop Zone inspiration photos below: