Eliminate The Dreaded Mudroom Mess With This Stylish DIY Boot Tray

Jul 27, 2023

Mudrooms are the most amazing transitional spaces. Instead of tracking water, mud, or dry dust throughout your house, you can shed your shoes and socks and hang up your coat and umbrella, keeping your house cleaner. If you're really lucky and there's a small powder room in the space, you can even wash up before you enter. Two of the most important mudroom features might be a bench or seat right at the entrance that allows you to sit to take off your shoes and a stylish DIY boot tray to eliminate a puddly mess. We're talking about a very reasonably priced tray made of plastic or rubber filled with river rocks. The pebbles allow water and mud to drain off your shoes, a practical and elegant solution. After a few uses, take the tray outside and hose it down to remove the mud and dirt.

Although there are easy ways to keep your mudroom clean, if you have a big family or there's a lot of coming and going while significant weather is happening, then your mudroom floor will naturally need to be mopped more frequently. However, if you rig your DIY boot tray and place it right at the entrance, you'll significantly reduce the mess. You can even use this hack if you don't have a mudroom.

What do you think of this easy #homehack? #tiktokdiy

There are many adorable and low-cost boot tray options. Although you could repurpose an old baking sheet as a boot tray, most used trays become warped from your oven's heat. If yours is level, go for it. Many of the least expensive boot trays are made from polypropylene, which, FYI, is one of the plastics considered safe enough to also be used as food-grade containers. It's durable and comes in lots of shapes and patterns. IKEA's shoe tray is about $6 if you pick it up at the store. Walmart's version is under $5 and highly practical.

Or, if you prefer the look, feel, and durability of rubber, there are plenty of rubber boot tray options like this one from Ballard Designs which is over $30. Generally, expect to pay more for rubber, but we also saw this one from Hobby Lobby ($6.50 on sale, $13 regularly). Lowe's has recycled rubber boot trays in the $30 to $40 range. If you can't easily pick up small rocks near your home, Dollar Tree has polished black river rocks for $5 plus shipping. Pour the rocks onto the boot tray; it'll drain mud and water away from your shoes.

A real mudroom is a fortunate luxury that does double duty — it keeps your house sparkling, and it's also a storage room. As a transitional space, it's perfect for storing boots and weather-related clothing. This DIY boot tray is an elegant must-try.