Cleaning Your Front Entry

Your front entry is one of the most important areas of your home to keep presentable. When people visit, it's the first, and sometimes the only, area they'll see. You want to make a good first impression and make them feel comfortable and welcome in your home. Not only that, you'll feel good about yourself and your home when a clean and orderly front entry welcomes you.

The first step is to look at the area and take stock. Here are some questions to ask yourself:

• What is there that shouldn't be? Consider new homes for these items in other areas of the house.
• Do you have adequate storage systems for items that belong in the front entry? You'll probably need a place to store hats, jackets, backpacks, and shoes, which are some of the things that people take off as soon as they walk through the door. Consider a coat rack or hooks on the wall or shelving for shoes. A hall bench is great for storage because it hides everything away.
• Do you have organizational systems in place? The entry area often becomes the catch-all for the mail, keys, newspapers, etc. If you have a desk in your entryway, consider a filing system for all your mail and papers using plastic trays. If you don't have a desk, consider a wall-mounted organization caddy where you can put your mail and hang your keys. If you have a lot of newspapers, find a large basket or bin in which to collect them and clean it out often.
• Is the entry area welcoming? If not, use rugs, wall art, and home decor items to warm up the space.

Once you've made decisions about where things are supposed to go, you need to educate the other household members. If you don't, you'll either have to spend a lot more time moving things to their rightful homes, or your organizational system will fail entirely.

Now that everything is organized and clutter has been eliminated, it's time to clean the area. I'd suggest the following tasks:

1. Shake out the indoor and outdoor rugs well.
2. Scrub down the inside and outside of your front door, using a cleaner appropriate to the type of door. Don't forget to clean the knobs and all around the doorframe.
3. Sweep off your front porch and the floor inside your front entry. You should also mop this area (or vacuum it if you have carpet).
4. Dust the surfaces of furniture in your entryway. Also dust picture frames and clean the glass.
5. Spot-clean the walls if needed.

Your front entry should now be so clean and welcoming that you'll be eager to invite guests into your home.