Yeah, I know, “Boots Tray” sounds like an indie band or something… but if you live in (or are moving to) a place that has snow, you’ll be wise to get yourself one. Imagine you’ve just come home and your boots are covered in snow/mud/water/etc. Are you going to leave them at the front door and let that melt everywhere? Nope, because you’re a smart individual that got yourself a boots tray!
When I get home and take my snowy boots off, they sit here for the night. As the snow/water drops off of the boots, it’ll fall into the tray. It’ll eventually evaporate but won’t damage the floor/carpet/etc. underneath it. I have to be careful to make sure the dirt doesn’t get spread around the genkan (entry area by the door) so each day before I use the boots again, I stomp them outside to let the dirt fall off. I’ll also empty the boots tray once a week or two so that the dirt can go back outside to live with its other family members.
We eventually went with a specific model from Duraber because it is just big enough to fit both our winter boots and one more pair of shoes and it’s a reasonable price at that time (bought it back in 2016). Today, there are other trays that are the same size but cheaper, so make sure to search for what suits you best. I would choose something less expensive these days.
You’ll want to read the reviews though… I bought one tray that I sent back because they ran plastic THROUGH the tray to fasten their label… so they pierced the product that should be stopping water from getting on your floor. Genius.