Well podlisteners, it is time to continue with important vocabulary about the homes that we live in. There is one room which helps me keep the house both clean and organized. It's the mudroom. It's name suggests that it gets very dirty, muddy even. That only happens sometimes. The mudroom is the first room that you enter when you walk into the house from the garage. It is the place where you hang up your coats and jackets, store your shoes and boots, and even put your extra things away. In our house, the mudroom is just for the children. It is where all of their shoes, boots, coats and backpacks are. Before we had a mudroom, it was frustrating trying to locate an odd shoe, or a certain jacket, as they tended to get left anywhere in the house. Now the children know that this is the only place they can leave those important items. My husband actually made the wooden compartments where everything is stored. They are like heavy boxes of wood of different sizes stacked together. We call them 'cubbies'. Metal hooks are in the largest cubbies, and on them we hang coats and jackets. The floor is tile, the walls are painted, and we have a large mirror and a clock also in the room. There is a small mat for wiping our feet if they happen to be muddy, dusty, or wet. And there is a seating area (actually a shelf) where the kids can sit to put on shoes or take them off. So there you have it, the place that helps us stay organized, and keeps me from headaches. Grammar notes. Related vocabulary: to organize (organise), odd, hook, to wipe. 1. I love to stay organized (organised); it makes life much simpler. 2. My bedroom drawer is full of odd socks; I can only find one of each pair. 3. In Peter Pan, the baddy had a hook instead of a hand. 4. These cloths are so useful; I can wipe all the surfaces in the house.

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