Along that same line ... when the tv is playing soft music, but you hear a weird noise. So you turn off the tv and grab some binoculars to look out the back sliding door to peer at the coop through the freezing rain stuck to the glass. You can't see, so you go to the bedroom to peer out that window between the frozen rain on the window. Every thing is calm out there and you realize the noise was just a beat coming ftom the music on the tv.
I have binoculars next to my kitchen window!
Might want to get a few metal trashcans -- they work great for feed storage and the mice, moths, etc. won't get into it.
My mudroom is the laundry room/back porch. Not much room in there at the moment for shoes, but I did put one of those boot trays there for my mucky shoes. I've got a mountain of paint cans stored in there until I build shelving in the basement. And a metal trashcan full of straw and wood chips for the chicks I have in the kitchen. Most people come in the backdoor, so it works out ok.
I have a screened-in back porch that comes into the laundry room too. I have a tote just outside, on the porch, I keep my boots in. Last night it snowed several inches and the wind was so bad, it even blew a couple inches worth thru the screen, and filled my boots!