Adding Hooks Meant for Hanging Jackets & Shoe Storage

One of our go-to things about Richmond is that it is also known as The River City. Not because we have some piddly little stream dribbling through town, but because we are in fact the only city with class five rapids that run through the city limits. In short, we have a whole lotta river and it is a whole lotta lively to swim, sun, and hang out there. It is sort of like a beach town except think big flat rocks for sunning (and skipping across) instead of sand…

In fact, John and I can in fact be classified as river rats. We have a “secret” go-to part of the river where we can consistently find parking and a big flat rock to call our own (it is such a strong free way to spend an afternoon and even an whole weekend). But plenty of river visits lead to plenty of wet beach towels and bathing suits. And it hardly feels quite green of us to toss everything in the washer & dryer when we return home- especially when we plan to hit up the same rock the quite next day. If only we had a place to hang our suits and towels to dry until the next river excursion. Nothing that $8 and a trip to Lowe’s could not solve. Here is the bare and boring corner of our sunroom before the makeover (note that it is conveniently located right next to the back door):

And the same corner simply minutes later after we screwed our three new brushed nickel hooks into place (snagged on sale for simply $2.64 each):

Luckily since nothing is dripping wet by the time we get home (we like to lounge on the hot rocks til we are fairly dry before hopping into the car) we do not have to worry about water-logging the shoe basket below.

And because each of our Lowe’s hooks are in fact double hooks, we can hang up quite a range of things in a pinch (in case a few friends join us or I push John into the river before he gets his hat/shirt/shoes off).

It is in fact quite reminiscent of the mini-mudroom that we created in a corner of our den with an ottoman and a wall-mounted coat rack (which is especially practical when it comes to wrangling purses, scarves, dog leashes, and even paper files- which are stored in the ottoman while no one’s the wiser). We are simply a-place-for-everything-and-everything-in-its-place kinda people, so we like creating systems that make things feel organized and automatic (since the mini-mudroom installation nearly two years ago we have not lost the dog’s leash once!).

So what about you folks? Do you live in a city that calls for a little specialized corner for storing/wrangling specific items that you use on the regular? Scuba gear? Snowshoes? Farm boots? Is anyone else a fan of using plain coat hooks to keep things organized? Tell the river rats all about it.