Small iron grates, designed to sit about an inch of the floor in older homes, look terrific mounted to the wall.  By positioning the open edge at the top, you’ve got the ideal spot for collecting mail and papers until they’re sorted and filed. Don’t want to forget bills to pay or groceries for tonight’s dinner? Fashion a grate by the front door and stick reminders in it.

Materials:

• Iron grate
• Sandpaper
• Metal primer
• Spray paint
• Drill

How to build the mail storage center:
Browse flea markets for grates to use. To get the look, simply clean and sand all surfaces of the grate before applying a metal primer. Then spray-paint the grate with your favorite color and mount it to the wall with a drill.

Renew a lamp with spray paint, too!

Need more entryway storage? Learn to make entryway cabinet units!

For more ways to keep your home uncluttered, browse our Storage Gallery.