In every home, storage is a large concern. This concern becomes even larger in terms of bedrooms and closets, where the items typically outweigh the amount of space designed to store them. In addition to clothes, shoes take up a large area of space in homes. In order to make the most of the space you have, you must learn how to organize and store your shoes in the most effective way.
First, you should go through your shoe collection and decide which items should be saved. Try to get rid of anything you don't wear at least a few times a year, things that don't fit anymore, and anything that is starting to look discolored or has tears or holes. After this, your inventory should be a little smaller and it will be easier to work with.
After you've gotten rid of unwanted shoes, try to organize the rest of your space (whether it be your closet, bedroom area or mudroom) to make room for the shoes. You'd be amazed at how moving around furniture or locating your T-shirts to a new dresser can make a huge difference. Then it's time to find the best types of shoe storage for your space. Here are some great ideas for how to store your shoes.
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Floating shelves– These attractive shelves are great for showing off shoes that are interesting to look at or a designer brand. Displaying them higher up on a shelf not only makes them the focal point of the room, but it also prevents them from getting dirty or marked up from being next to other shoes.
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Over-the-door organizers- Make use of every inch of your home by hanging your shoe collection on the back of your door with one of these organizers. This not only hides the shoes when the door is open, but keeps them protected and organized in their own separate pockets.
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Bookcase– Instead of displaying your favorite reads, why not display your favorite shoes? Bookcases are usually the perfect height and width to store your typical heels, flats, sneakers and sandals. You can also group them by shoe type, season or color to create an organized area and make choosing a pair easier. Make your shoe collection look like a prized piece of art!
Regular shelves– Organize your closet so that the old sweaters or purses that took up your shelf space reside in a new home, like a dresser or hanging racks. Then use the new shelf space to store your shoes. Since shoes are shaped differently than clothing that can be laid flat, it's best to store oddly-shaped items where they will fit. The sweaters and tees can fit just about anywhere, so simply rearrange where each item goes to make more room for your shoes.
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Wire rails– Wire shoe rails can be installed to any existing drawer or shelf to keep shoes organized and stay in place.
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Pullout organizers– Drawers or shelves that pull out from a cabinet or closet help save a ton of space. They also make your closet look much less cluttered, since the shoes are hidden away when not in use. Pullout organizers and their hardware are available at many hardware stores and are fairly easy to install yourself.
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Lazy Susan- Much like the version you'd see in your kitchen cabinets or pantries, a shoe lazy Susan holds your favorite footwear on all areas of the product. Simply spin the organizer to see all the pairs- it's quick, easy and fun.
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Re-use old shoe boxes– Most of us probably throw away the cardboard boxes that our shoes come in, but you can reuse them to store some of your favorite pairs. Stack them up in a bare section of your closet or room. To keep track of which shoes are in which box, photograph each pair of shoes and tape the photograph to the side of the box. There's no need to rummage through your closet trying to find your favorite pair- you can just find the picture and open the box. If the old boxes seem too ugly, you can always wrap them in attractive paper to match your home.
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Ladder- Storing shoes is probably one of the last things you would think of when it comes to rolling library ladders. However, you'd be surprised how easily your high heels hang over the rails. The vertical height of the ladder allows it to easily fit in a room without taking up too much space. Try fitting a few pairs of your favorite heels on an old ladder for a chic way to keep them organized.