The tools and hardware and junk are all piled together in giant heaps on top of the various work benches.

I’m so in love with it, in fact, that I thought I’d share this little tip with you..I thought adding in this string of lights, with all the black plasticy parts so visible like this might just be a disaster, but this simple move of tying these little ribbons flags around it changed the whole vibe.

It’s a garland and string of light in one!And suddenly the theme of the mudroom was set, and I went from there.. Can you tell where I’m going with this yet?We have a mudroom off of our kitchen side door, but it’s not quite there in terms of… well, anything really!.I use it for adding some seasonal cheer at the entrance that we use most, and for muddy shoes of course, but that’s about it..

I dream of filling it up with built-ins and hooks and benches and all that goodness sometime in the future, but for now what we have is a little drop zone inside our kitchen..I love looking at the boring functional parts of peoples’ houses so I thought I’d show you ours today!.

Chris installed this wall o’ hooks pretty quickly after we moved in here last Summer.. It’s the perfect place to casually hang your beach bag after a day in the sun.. Or grab your purse on the way out the door to go shopping..

The bench is a great place to keep your mosaic lantern handy.. Of course, it’s always good to have a bucket of burlap ready to go for when you need to head out to the garden and wrap your hedges in the Fall and Winter..Originally, I was thinking it was too close to Easter this year and I would just by-pass all my green decorating and crafting attempts this time so as to not make myself crazy when I realized I only had 2 weeks afterwards to do Easter stuff..

But of course, seeing all the fun things that everyone else is doing (and being somewhat Irish and all) makes me want to participate this year, just a little bit.So rather than showing you all the fun and brilliant things that I’ve come up with this year for St. Paddy’s Day (of which, there are none), I thought I’d show you some of my favorite ideas from others, just in case you’re in the same boat as I am and you want to throw something together lickety-split.. Leprechaun Pee at The NY Melrose Family.. St. Paddy’s Day Sensory Bin from Hubby Made Me.. St. Patrick’s Day Lunchbox Laughs from.

Kiki & Company..Recycled Beer Bottle Goblets from Practically Functional.. Green-dyed carnations from.