Front Porch Organization

Follow my simple, doable 5-step front porch organization process to make this space more beautiful, inviting, and efficient.

I don’t know about your front porch but ours is in dire need of some serious organization.

Unfortunately, our front porch tends to be a collection box for anything and everything. Just like my spice drawer used to be …

In our 1910 house, we don’t have a coat closet or something like that in our entry way. Actually, when you enter our home you are right in the living room. And because we don’t wear shoes in our home, they stay on the front porch. However, over time, other things started to accumulate there and now it’s time to get it all organized. Follow along as I show you my simple 5-step process and share my most important organization tip!

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Assessing the front porch

I have to admit that I have let our front porch go, mostly because I wanted to show you how I organize it. So the first step is to take a good look at the front porch for your organization. Don’t get discouraged if you are starting to feel overwhelm! I will break it down for you!

My simple 5-step process for organizing our front porch

If you follow this simple 5-step process, you will make efficient use of your time, feel productive, and get your front porch organized very quickly.

1. Remove stuff and organize it into three piles

This may sound very Marie Kondo (and it kind of is) but the first step is creating three piles. Everything gets sorted into a keep pile, a throw-away pile, and a donate pile. Don’t overthink this process.

For example, we have this big exercise ball that I have been wanting to use for a long time. In reality, we never have and probably won’t. So it went into the donate pile.

Then I moved bike helmets, doggie toys, and antique ladder parts (am I really going to do this DIY project with it???).

2. Clean the porch

Once you have everything sorted into these three piles, it’s time to give your front porch a good cleaning. I put my gardening gloves on, got a good broom, a hand broom, and a dustpan, and went to work. It’s amazing how many leaves and how much dust accumulates in all the corners.

This step alone felt very productive!

3. Put things in their place

By “put things in their place” I don’t just mean items you keep on your front porch. As for our front porch, there were my husband’s rubber boots that really belong in the garage. So in the garage, they went. A small step ladder? Also went into the garage. A can of paint. Yep, you guessed right, it went into the garage where all the other paints are. Those boat cushions I had promised my husband to redo? They went upstairs into my sewing area.

However, there were plenty of items that remained on the front porch. Our shoes, for example. And some of my gardening stuff because I don’t have a potting shed or another place where I could keep seeds, garden shears, and such.

To keep our porch more organized, I got some boot trays. With all these pairs of shoes that we step into and out of every day, it makes the porch look so much more organized than having them strewn all over the place. They also teach my family members to put their shoes there instead of wherever they land.

4. Assess what needs to be updated or repaired

This step really depends on your front porch. Maybe yours is pretty minimalistic with very few items remaining. Ours, too, but we have a pretty wicker bench with a cushion that needs a new cover badly. Stay tuned to another blog post in which I will share how I make that cover with piping and zipper and all.

On one side of our porch, we have some inexpensive cabinets that I had painted in our house color. In between, we have a simple shelf with a curtain. I am not sure what happened but it is all torn up at the bottom. At the same time that I will be making a new cushion cover, I will use the same fabric to make a new curtain.

You might have other items on your front porch that need repairing or updating. So this is the time to schedule having it done or do it yourself.

5. Decorate

Most likely, this is the fun part! Make your front porch all pretty.

You could do that by hanging a new and seasonal wreath on the front door.

I love adding potted flowers as they really make the porch not only beautiful but also very inviting. I used a big planter and put three chrysanthemums in pastel colors in it. Right by the front door, we have a wicker table with an antique copper vessel. In it, I place a pot with colorful bulbs.

You might have some other decorative items that you would like to place on your porch. Again, this is the moment to make it personal and pretty.

The most important organization tip ever

I know you have been waiting for it! And while it’s the advice that really makes a difference, it’s not record-breaking. So what is it, you ask? Maintain your front porch organization!

If you feel let down a bit, stay with me! I know it’s fun (well … sometimes) to get a certain space all organized and pretty. But that is the first step. The second and most important part is maintaining your organization. Ideally on a daily basis. Keeping only things there that belong there. If something else creeps up on your front porch, decide what to do with it but don’t leave it there. Often that means, donating it or throwing it out. And sometimes it means finding another home for it (in your own home).

Again, this may not be the biggest organizational revelation but I assure you, it is the one tip that will KEEP your space looking beautiful and organized. Your best organization isn’t worth anything if you don’t maintain it. Whether on a daily, weekly, or monthly basis. And that, my friend, is exactly how our front porch became so unorganized in the first place.

Let me know if you have any questions or comments!

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