Making Entrances Easier

6. Look at What Happens With Shoes and Boots

Entrances have a way of collecting footwear. Everyday shoes. Work shoes. Boots. Slippers. And depending on the season, possibly enough winter footwear to outfit a small expedition.

Notice what happens when you take yours off. Do you stand? Lean against something? Sit somewhere nearby? Carry your shoes somewhere else? Is there a convenient place for wet or muddy footwear?

You don't need to redesign the entryway. Maybe a chair, bench, shoe tray, or simply moving something that's already there would make the routine a little more comfortable.

7. Pay Attention to the Weather

An entrance that works beautifully on a sunny June afternoon can become an entirely different place in January.

Rain comes in. Snow gets tracked inside. Gloves need somewhere to go. Packages get wet. And occasionally the wind takes personal offense at your attempt to open the door.

Think about how your entrance changes with the seasons.

Is there somewhere convenient for wet shoes? A place for a snowy coat? Somewhere to put a package while you're unlocking the door?

Sometimes one small seasonal adjustment makes the whole entrance work better for several months. Then when the season changes, you can change it back.

8. Notice What the Door Does After You Open It

Some doors politely stay where you put them. Others seem determined to participate in the entire process.

Notice yours. Does it swing closed while you're bringing groceries through? Does the storm door feel heavy? Does the wind catch it? Do you have to hold one door while opening another? Do you find yourself using a hip, elbow, foot, or grocery bag to keep it open?

You've probably gotten very good at your particular technique.

But if opening the door regularly feels like a small wrestling match, there may be an easier way to make it cooperate.

9. Look at the Whole Path, Not Just the Door

Your entrance really begins before you reach the doorknob.

It might include a sidewalk, driveway, porch, garage, a few steps, a landing, or a path from where you park.

The next time you come home, pay attention to the entire trip.

Where do you start thinking about your keys? When do you pick up the mail? Where does the lighting change? Where do you begin carrying things differently? Is there a spot where you naturally reach for support or slow down?

You may discover that the door itself works perfectly well. The little inconvenience may be twenty feet before you ever reach it.

10. Notice Your "Coming Home Routine"

Most of us have one. We pull in. Grab our things. Find the keys. Walk to the door. Unlock it. Step inside. Put something down. Take off a coat. Set down the mail. Put away the groceries.

And we've probably done some version of that routine thousands of times.

So one day, slow it down just enough to notice it.

Is there one part that always seems a little awkward?

Maybe you're carrying too much at once. Maybe there's nowhere convenient to put something down. Maybe the keys aren't where you want them. Maybe you're stepping around shoes every time you come inside.

Don't try to redesign the whole entrance.

Pick that one little thing. Try something different for a week or two.

If coming home feels easier, great — keep it. If it doesn't, change it back. Then forget about it and enjoy your home.

Until someday you notice something else and think: "Hmm...I wonder if there's an easier way to do that."

That's really what Making Entrances Easier is all about.

Not changing the way you live — just giving your home a few more opportunities to work with you.

Think about how many times you've walked through the doors of your home. Probably thousands.

You know exactly which key opens which door. How far you need to push it before it stays open. Where you set the mail when you come inside. Where your shoes go. And perhaps exactly how to give that one door an extra little pull before it actually latches.

You don't think about any of this anymore. You just come and go.

But entrances are interesting places because we're often doing several things at once. We're carrying groceries while reaching for the door. Looking for keys while holding the mail. Coming inside with wet shoes. Bringing in a package. Trying to open the storm door when the wind has apparently decided it has other plans.

And because we've done these things so many times, we've gotten pretty good at working around whatever the entrance throws at us.

So for the next few days, try something different.

Notice what happens when you come and go.

Where do your hands naturally reach? What are you usually carrying? Where do you set things down? Is the door easy to open when your hands are full? Can you see the lock comfortably after dark? Is there a place to sit if you want to change shoes or boots? And what happens when rain, snow, ice, wind, or a couple bags of groceries get added to the situation?

You don't need to change anything. Just notice.

Then, if something makes you think, "You know, this part is kind of awkward," get curious.

Could a hook help? A small table? A different place for your keys? Better lighting? A handle that's easier to use? Somewhere convenient to set things down before opening the door?

Try one little change for a week or two and see what you think. If coming and going feels a little easier, keep it. If not, change it back.

Because an entrance doesn't just need to let you into your home. It can make coming home a little easier, too.

Notice What Happens When You Come and Go
For the next few days, pay attention when you leave your home and when you come back.

Don't try to improve anything yet. Just notice what your hands are doing. What you're carrying. Where you put things down. Whether you have to reach, turn, push, pull, search for something, or make an extra trip.

Then add a bag of groceries, a package, a pair of winter gloves, or a Minnesota wind that has decided you aren't closing that storm door today.

That's when you may start noticing some interesting things.

Here are ten places to get curious.

1. Notice What Happens When Your Hands Are Full

Coming through the door is pretty simple when you're carrying nothing.

Add two bags of groceries and suddenly it's a different operation.

For a few days, notice what you do when your hands are full.

Do you set something on the ground? Balance a bag against your leg while opening the door? Make several trips? Try to hold the door open with your foot?

Instead of asking whether you're doing it the "right" way, ask: Could there be an easier way?

Maybe there's a convenient place to set things down before opening the door. Perhaps a small table, bench, shelf, or other surface nearby would help.

Try something and see.

2. Pay Attention to Your Keys

Keys have an impressive ability to become much harder to find when you're standing outside holding something.

Notice your routine. Do you get your keys out before you reach the door? Search through a purse or pocket once you're standing there? Do you have several keys that look almost exactly alike?

Maybe your current system works perfectly.

But if unlocking the door regularly involves a little searching and sorting, experiment with making the right key easier to find.

Sometimes saving fifteen seconds can make coming home feel surprisingly smoother.

3. Notice Where You Put Things When You Walk Inside

Mail. Keys. Gloves. A purse. Groceries. Sunglasses. Whatever happens to be in your hands when you come through the door.

Where does it all go?

Don't decide where these things should go. Notice where you naturally put them.

If the keys land on the same corner of the counter every day, maybe that's telling you something.

Could a hook, basket, tray, shelf, or small table make that natural landing spot work even better?

Sometimes the best organizing system is simply giving a name to the place you're already using.

4. Try Opening the Door With One Hand

Here's a simple experiment. The next time you come home, imagine one of your hands is occupied.

Maybe it actually is. How easy is the door to unlock, turn, push, or pull with the other hand?

Some knobs and handles are wonderfully easy to use. Others require a surprising combination of gripping, turning, pushing, and occasionally saying something under your breath.

If yours feels awkward, get curious.

A small adjustment—or eventually a different style of handle—might make something you do every day feel much easier.

5. Notice the Lighting Before You Need It

During the day, your entrance may seem perfectly well lit. But come home after dark sometime and take another look.

Can you comfortably see the steps? The keyhole? The handle? Anything sitting near the doorway? You don't necessarily need a brighter light.

Maybe the light needs to come on sooner. Perhaps a motion-activated light would be useful. Or maybe one small light in a different place would make more difference than a much brighter one.

Try something simple and see how it feels.