12 Ways to Check Slush and Snow at the Door

While a snowy winter can be a beautiful thing to witness, the slush, salt, and mud it leaves behind are not quite as appealing. Keep grime contained and protect your floors with one of these quick buy or DIY fixes for storing shoes, scrubbing surfaces, and even preventing dangerous slips and falls.

By Anja Sonnenberg

Updated on Sep 9, 2016

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Rolling Rack

The chance that each member of your family owns only one pair of shoes is pretty slim—and the chance that they all put each pair away after walking in the door is even slimmer. To help organize the ever-growing pile in your entryway, try this DIY customizable shoe rack and bench. The storage underneath can hold your most often used footwear, and the sturdy bench top gives you a place to lace them up when you’re in a rush. Consider adding casters so you can relocate the unit at a moment’s notice.

Doormat Dirt-Buster

With this ruggedly constructed, made-in-the-U.S.A. indoor/outdoor water-retaining doormat, you can stop dirt and slush in their tracks. Thick fibers help protect your floor by scraping away mud and dirt, while thin fibers work to contain water and keep your surfaces clean. Quick-drying and resistant to mildew, shredding, and fading, this doormat is also available in a wide variety of colors and patterns to complement a range of decors. Available at L.L. Bean; $40.

Piping Hot Storage

Many standard shoe organizers are bulky and awkward to navigate around, making cleaning beneath them nearly impossible. This floating shoe rack solves that problem as it’s mounted to the wall instead of placed on the floor. Easy to assemble and attractive to boot, this project is perfect for those family members who are notorious for haphazardly kicking off their shoes the minute they enter the house.

Car Catchall

Heavy-duty car mats can work wonders at catching the filth that falls off your vehicle, cutting down on the amount of snow, slush, and dirt that you track into your house. Vinyl material and raised edges help to contain water, and this easy-to-install product also keeps slick garage floors clean and dry, reducing the risk of slips and falls. Available on Amazon; $298.

Dowel Dry

If the house rules demand that you leave your boots outside the front door, you may already be reaping the benefits of a slush-free entryway. But you may also be feeling the cold shock of stepping into a boot that hasn’t fully dried out. Avoid this chilly problem with a DIY outdoor boot rack that’s easy to craft out of lumber, dowels, sandpaper, and stain. This project allows your cold-weather footwear to dry upside down, ridding your boots of any snow or ice that may have found its way inside.

Residue Remover

Doormats, shoe racks, and other water-trapping products are your first line of defense against tracking snow into your home, but every so often it’s inevitable that your floors will get a little dirty. To mop up the mess caused by winter precipitation, try adding a salt residue remover to your floor cleaning solution. This easy addition will prevent permanent damage to your floors and eliminate the white haze that snow and ice can leave behind.
Available on Amazon; $65.

Upcycled Umbrella Stand

A wet umbrella can be cumbersome and difficult to store, increasing the likelihood that you’ll wind up dripping water onto your floors while you’re searching for a spot to stash it. This DIY umbrella stand fits tidily next to the front door, providing an easy drop zone for umbrellas and other oddly shaped extras. To craft your own version, you’ll need a floral bucket, spray paint, wooden spheres, and gold liquid leaf.

Nonslip Necessities

These nonslip treads are a smart addition to porch steps, garage stairs, or any other potentially slippery entrances to your home. Bound on all four sides with color matching binding tape, these helpful strips can be used indoors or out to help clean shoes prior to entering the home and prevent slips and falls caused from slick steps. Available on Amazon; $50.

Great Crates

You don’t have to spend a lot of money to build a functional mud area. Stack together a variety of wooden crates and outfit them with
curtain rods, baskets, and other accessories to help you keep your messiest extras organized. Plus, you can stain the crates to match your decor, making this project as attractive as it is useful.

Shoe Remover

Whenever your hands are too full to remove your winter boots, let this extractor help you get them off and avoid tracking mud or ice through your house. Made of heavy-duty steel and able to be screwed to the floor for a more secure grip, this quick addition to your garage or mudroom means less mess all season long.
Available on Amazon; $19.

Air-Dry Organizer

If the sight of muddy shoes on your wood floors drives you crazy, then try this incredibly simple and sanity-saving solution featuring two extremely inexpensive materials. First, fashion a box from scrap wood, or buy a
shadow box from your local home improvement store, then fill it with river rocks. Place your boot tray near the garage door, back door, or other messy entryway to serve as a snowy shoe catchall.

Boot Brush

A must-have for any entryway or mudroom, this boot scraper brush features a subtle design that looks great with any home decor—but its functionality is what will really impress you. Coir fiber construction easily removes dirt and mud, keeping the mess from getting tracked into the house. Even better, this inexpensive boot scraper can be cleaned by simply vacuuming, shaking, or brushing. Available on Amazon; $19.