While nothing can guarantee a completely smooth holiday, making space for your nearest and dearest -- and their bulky outerwear, plus the loads of food they'll consume -- will set your mind at ease. These tips for keeping your entryway, kitchen, and dining room organized and uncluttered can let you focus on the task at hand: enjoying one another's company.

Before guests arrive, empty your front closet and outfit it with smart storage so it's ready for every coat and scarf that comes its way.

With guests flowing in, a closet can quickly become a Wild West of bags. Wrangle totes by mounting hooks on the inside of your foyer closet's door. Chrome garment hooks, 5 1/2 inches; containerstore.com.

A closet rod extender expands your hanging horizons. Suspend longer coats on the upper level; use the bottom rod for shorter ones. Or, customize with models that are adjustable by width and height. Double adjustable closet-rod expander, containerstore.com.

Hats, delicate purses, and other portable miscellany in danger of getting crushed can take refuge in a hanging organizer. Many, like this canvas holder, feature chipboard to provide a sturdy bottom on each level. Canvas sweater bag in Natural, bedbathandbeyond.com.

Loop clear plastic bags around a hanger or two for easily lost gloves, hats, and scarves. Frost reinforced-handle bags, 2 by 5 inches; clearbags.com.

Stop grimy shoes in their tracks by setting a boot tray next to the front door. Be an extra-gracious host and offer slippers. Boot tray, target.com. Classic Nantucket basket (similar to shown), basketville.com. Felt slippers (similar to shown), makieclothier.com.

No entryway closet? Or is yours just too small or too full? While the go-to solution for guests' coats is simply to toss them all onto a bed, consider a stand-alone rack. It's a more civilized fix, promising fewer wrinkles and less wandering into private territory.

If you're expecting an especially big crowd, pick the commercial grade dual garment rack (bedbathandbeyond.com). It offers 13 feet of hanging space, and folds down when not in use.

The Best-Dressed wardrobe rack in deep-burnished acacia wood (napastyle.com) indubitably lives up to its name -- and has two handy ventilated shelves to boot.

The solid birch with walnut veneer Sven coat tree (cb2.com) has sturdy roots to keep it grounded, even if you load up its four branches with jackets and bags. With its narrow size, it's a good pick if you have a small entryway.

Don't let the wee footprint (about 19 inches square) of the Braedon coat rack (ballarddesigns.com) fool you: Hang even heavy coats on each of its eight antiqued brass hooks without worry.

Racks and shelves will help you build a more functional fridge so you can stack, not pile, the food.

Refrigerator door space is prime real estate. Free it up by moving a few necessities to a turntable, where they'll still be easy to grab. Nonskid 9-inch turntable by Copco, bedbathandbeyond.com.

To prevent small goods from getting lost in the shuffle, give them their own room with a view with below-shelf hanging organizers. Undershelf baskets, containerstore.com

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Position a collapsible wine rack along a lower shelf to keep bottles on their sides. This one holds 10 and is modular, letting you configure it to fit inside your fridge. Infinity bottle holder in Opaline, by Kartell; allmodern.com.

Group like items, such as cheese, in clear bins. Tellfresh container, containerstore.com. Two-piece glass food-storage set (with blue-rimmed tops) by Martha Stewart Collection for Macy's; macys.com. Glasslock containers, snapware.com.

Delicate foodstuffs at risk of getting smashed can take cover under these shelf risers. Go for vinyl-coated models to avoid rust spots. Medium cabinet shelf in White, bedbathandbeyond.com.

If your table is too tiny to accommodate a large group, expand its surface. The key is planning a layout and ensuring it's well supported.

To enlarge your table, layer it with a sheet of plywood, placing a pad or a cloth beneath for protection. For a narrow table, a hollow-core door would also work. Add stability at ends, if needed, with sawhorses or stools. (Tell guests to press down with care.)

DIY linens are an easy and economical way to cover your temporarily huge dining table. Buy enough material to cover plywood. Pick a second runner fabric, and finish ends with a basic stitch, or fuse with hem tape, and iron.

No fancy service for 12? Top basic plates with flea market finds. Mix colors and patterns, or make each setting different. Scalloped whiteware dinner plates by Martha Stewart Collection for Macy's, macys.com.

Set the table a few days before with your serving dishes and cards identifying which dish goes where, so you're sure everything will fit.

Layer cake stands to create vertical servers for hors d'oeuvres or desserts. Stack from largest to smallest. Square whiteware cake stands by Martha Stewart Collection for Macy's, macys.com.

No one wants to play a compulsory game of musical chairs because of lack of seating. These convenient models will have guests sitting pretty during the get-together, and their minimal postparty profiles make them easy to store.

The upholstered cherry lattice folding chair (homedecorators.com) looks like a permanent part of your dining set but can be easily stowed.

The cane and beechwood Louis folding chair (ballarddesigns.com) is elegant and supportive. It also comes in ebony and white finishes.

This bamboo folding chair (target.com.) features a curved backrest and high-gloss lacquer, meaning spills will be only a temporary problem.

More sophisticated than its metal cohorts but just as affordable, the Terje folding chair (ikea.com) is a good choice if you need to buy seating in bulk.