When Sue Costello, a widow, and Jeff Keffer, a widower, married last July, three years after meeting in a bereavement group, they were prepared for bumps in the road. “We had done a lot of reading about blended families,” says Sue, 43, a clinical social worker. So far everything has gone well, except for one bump they didn’t anticipate: dealing with the avalanche of athletic clothing and equipment generated by a houseful of active people.

In theory, there was a place for everything in the long hallway that they used as a mudroom in their 1930s Tudor-style brick house in Arlington, Massachusetts. But in practice there was a pileup of boots, helmets, athletic shoes, and jump ropes, even though the only children at home full-time are Sue’s sons, Peter, 10, and Will, eight. At least Will, a beginning fencer, doesn’t keep the equipment for his new hobby at home.

And then there were the items that by rights belonged in the mudroom—like the family’s baseball-cap collection, some of which was stashed, along with all their coats, in a “teeny, tiny closet” off the front door upstairs. “I have to be thankful for any closet,” Sue says. “But it was jammed.”

Sue and Jeff, a 52-year-old lawyer, hoped to free up that closet and find a place for not only the kids’ gear but also Sue’s reflector vest, sneakers, and iPod (she’s a runner); Jeff’s walking and hiking shoes (he walks every morning before work); and the leashes for their dogs. Oh, and one more thing: “What about a nice, light paint color?” Sue asked. With that and some stylish storage, an overtaxed hallway became a household hub.