If you live in a house – as opposed to a flat – and you have kids, then one thing that you will almost certainly need is a hallway bench.

Why do you need a hallway bench? Because kids go out to play. In the park. In their mates’ gardens. In the mud.

Then, worse still, they come home – covered in mud with muddy boots.

Now, if you don’t have a bench, you will open the front door and they will come screaming past you like a whirlwind, dropping mud everywhere they go. When you have a bench, you can issue instructions that they do not go one inch past the bench without taking off their muddy boots and putting them on the bottom shelf of the bench. Simples, as a certain meerkat would say.

It works for dogs, too. You go out for a walk in the park or along the riverbank with the dogs, and you come home with muddy boots. You just sit on the bench and take them off and put them on the shelf. You can also keep a towel on the bottom shelf of the bench so that you can wipe the dogs clean before they head off to the living room.

You Could Use An Ottoman Instead

You could also use a large ottoman instead. One of those large footstools with a lid. The same thing works. You can keep the boots in the ottoman, along with a towel. You can also keep the dogs’ leads in there. If you are really smart, you’ll keep some dog biscuits in there too.

Why? Because the dogs know that they are there, and they know that if they go past the large ottoman, they won’t get their treat. So, they will stand their like good little boys with their tails wagging and let you dry them off. Then you give them their treat and then off they go without spreading mud and water around the home. 

Another advantage of using an ottoman instead of a bench is that you don’t have a view of dirty, muddy boots in the hall when visitors come, because they are all tucked away out of sight. Smart thinking!