Earlier today, I talked a little about the Husky storage bench, and my feelings towards it as a potential garage entry mudroom solution.
Some of the comments mentioned boot trays, and I thought it would make a good follow-up to talk about my favorite one.
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Shown here is the IKEA Baggmuck boot tray. It measures 2′ 4″ x 1′ 2″, and is the best boot tray I have used in recent years.
A couple of years ago, I bought a boot tray every season, usually from the local home improvement store or supermarket. And every year, I grumbled about it, because they were all horrible creations that could never fit in anywhere.
I could never figure out why all the boot trays on display at the local stores had very rounded or flowery molded edges. I just wanted a simple rectangular boot tray, and I couldn’t find one anywhere.
I might have looked online – once or twice – but the pricing seemed ridiculous. $15-20 for a boot tray, when the ones sold locally were under $5? It didn’t make sense to me.
Back when we rented, there was no easy way to hose off or even rinse off our boot trays. So at the end of winter, it would go out for recycling. Things are different now, but I still don’t know if I could justify a boot tray that costs more than $5.
I think it was 3 years ago when I discovered IKEA’s $4 Baggmuck boot tray. I came across it and bought 2 of them. I bought a couple more since then.
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One is holding some work boots. Another is near the garage door since I never put it away. It’s my “snow shovel rest,” and has been my “sharp garden tool rest” a couple of times. I lean a tool against the wall or workbench, and the work end rests on the plastic boot tray, so that it doesn’t mar the floor or spread melted snow everywhere.
Last year I repurposed two for the snowblower, because I was tired of having to squeegee melted snow from the floor and kept putting off buying a washing machine pan. (As an aside, what do you put your snow blower on after use to avoid the spread of melted snow water?)
The IKEA boot tray is molded from thin plastic, but it’s durable. Its rectangular shape allows it to more easily fit in different spaces – under a shoe rack, against the wall, between a workbench and the walking path, and so forth.
I know it might sound ridiculous to favor one $4 boot tray over another, but I’ve had so many difficulties with the curvy and flowery ones over the years.
I’m picky about snow brushes. (Mallory’s heavy duty snow brush is still my favorite.) And also snow shovels that can fit in my car. (I have an older version of the Voile Telepro avalanche shovel.)
And for shoe and boot trays, I’ve grown a liking for IKEA’s simple and inexpensive design.
More Info(via IKEA)
See Also(Other boot trays via Amazon)
Looking at Amazon, there are a couple of designs that I might be willing to try. I can understand spending more for better aesthetics, a bigger size, or something more durable for areas that would see heavy use. IKEA’s boot tray is pretty thin, but I haven’t had it show signs of cracking, warping, or wearing out yet.
But for some of the other products, twice the price doesn’t seem to give you twice the functionality.
In my post about the Husky storage bench, Gary mentioned Gardener’s Supply boot trays, and those caught my attention. One design is made in England and has a much taller rim. Another, also made in England, has a tall rubber grid. Maurice mentioned a Pottery Barn design, which although pricey, has more focus on aesthetics, with an iron grid inside that I would also presume helps to keep the boot tray weighed down and in place.
Now it’s your turn – do you use a boot tray, or some other means of controlling dirt, mud, or snow from spreading beyond your shoes or boots when you take them off?
Scott K
Thanks! I was planning on looking into these to avoid the salty slush that our boots leave behind. The dimensions you listed seem a bit small, but for $4…
Coach James
We use these at our gym for our gymnasts to put chalk on their feet for balance beam.
jec6613
My blower has a 44″ clearance path, too wide for any pan, and the tires are a good 6′ behind the blower (it’s attached to a JD tractor), so I leave it just inside the entrance to my garage and let the natural drain slope take care of it.
TonyT
Snow?
What’s that?
I wonder if my local Ikeas (East Palo Alto or Emeryville) even have it…just checked and yep, both have it
BTW around here it’s very common to see a bunch of shoes outside (or just inside) the front door since Chinese and Japanese culture doesn’t approve of wearing shoes inside the house
Stuart
That’s where we keep our shoes too. There’s some room by the front door, but not by the back door where we often go in and out of, and I’m trying to figure things out for a neater winter while there are ample choices.
fred
We did remodeling of lots of old houses in the lower parts of New England.
Boot boxes- built ins – just inside the entrance to a house were quite common. Some owners wanted to keep them – or use the space for something else. Many came with hinged lids that could substitute for a seat – although I recall looking a some that had sloped tops.
Evadman
I have the same boot tray, it fits perfectly under ikea’s TJUSIG shoe rack. In the winder, it keeps most of the mud and snow off of the granite entry tile.
Sean
We use them for putting under the dogs water bowls. I have a Boxer that gets about a third of the water he laps up in his mouth…the rest flies everywhere. This thing catches most of it.
Benjamen
Yep, we have a boot tray under our dog’s water and food dish. My German Shepherd isn’t as bad as you say your boxer is, but it really helps to keep the floor dry.
mike
I use a boot tray for gluing up items. Dried glue peels right off it. Keeps my workbench clean.
They’re also nice for catching oil drips while doing valve adjustments and oil changes on your motorcycles.
But you’re right, a nice square shape is good, I might have to pick up a couple of these.
dave
I leave the blower in a unheated building so it doesn’t melt off much and put the front end up on a piece of rubber belting so it did start to rust it doesn’t leave marks on the floor.
Chris
The ones we have bought from WalMart have actual lasted a long long time and have really been used a ton.
Pete
Did you need your hex keys to assemble it?!?
lol
Stuart
Of course not; it’d be included. =)
Framer joe
Use mine under the boot scraper brush,outside…$15 Amazon,made in USA….clean your shoes.outside ,take em off inside ,put em on the shoe rack under the bench,close bench door, heated cabinet dries them. Done….
Gotta be dozens on Amazon…
Dave
I’m trying to picture your heated cabinet with a shoe rack underneath. Do you mean it’s heated because it’s in your house or do you literally have a heated (on its own) cabinet that has a shoe rack underneath but built in? I’ve never seen the latter.
CaveSAR
I like the Lee Valley 2 level boot tray. Expensive but real nice to have the litter box on the bottom and still be have to put boots, shoes on top. A 2nd one holds boots on the bottom and shoes on top. This is really handy in the winter – snow boots on the bottom, X-C ski boots, shoes, on the top. They are also large 31″ by 16″ wide.
Lee Valley also has a rubber boot tray – 32″ x 16″.
WeatherTech also offers a variety of heavy duty mats for the home.
Rick Hegberg
Multy Home™ Manor Boot Tray from Menards. Watch for the sales and rebates. I think I got 4 for $3 apiece 4 years ago and they are still going strong. Quite heavy duty thickness on the recycled rubber.
Inindy
Thank you for sharing this! I’ve been looking online for boot trays and some of the pricing is ridiculous!