Wet Mittens and Boots Solution

Ya see, I live up here in WI and this is what it looks like at my house right now...Our house was built in 1858. It is one of the older homes in our city. We had the maple floors redone a few years ago and they are one of my favorite features in the house so I try to take good care of them.
So I think I have shown this to you before but it was in the summer and you weren't thinking about mittens, gloves, and boots. I would love to say that this was my idea, but no, Martha thought of it first. To keep our wet stuff off of the hardwood floors I put out this boot tray with river rocks I bought at the dollar store.
The rocks drain the water off of the boots.

The shoe tree is great for the mittens. Set on a radiator they dry them quickly. Since I am a private music teacher I have MANY families in and out of my house daily. These solutions really save my hardwood floors. See my holiday decorating remnants. Don't worry, I am not one of those who keeps their tree up until March. I just haven't made it to the foyer yet. It was the first week back in school: I will get there...