How to organize shoes
It’s really easy for shoes to become a storage challenge in people's homes. Even if you’re not a fashionista, people can own a lot of shoes for different occasions and weather conditions. If you’ve got multiple family members, and kids in sports, shoes can rapidly accumulate across the home. And they’re not the easiest objects to organize because they’re awkwardly shaped and sometimes smell!
When shoes are taken off at the front door it adds to the challenge because:
The front door area is a limited space and people often wear at least a few pairs of shoes each season. If you have four people in the home actively wearing three pairs of shoes that’s twelve pairs of shoes. If you keep the majority of shoes by the front door it can become too much and they can wind up in a jumbled heap.
Some people have house shoes or slippers kept at the front door, so that just adds more shoes to the mix.
Some people use the front and back doors, so shoes can wind up in different entry areas.
And to make it even worse, there are a lot of problematic shoe storage solutions out there. Some of these solutions can work, they just have limits.
Shoe racks are not created equal. Shoe racks on an angle, or with big gaps, can make it difficult to put shoes away easily.
Shoe pocket door organizers are great for maximizing storage options in small spaces, but they have limited space for shoes.
Shoe cubes and shoe cabinets take up a lot of space for the number of shoes they contain.
Small space solutions like adjustable shoe organizers are creative, but require extra effort to stay organized.
The height of boots do not work in many storage solutions.
Shoe storage can be quite complex! My trick for organizing shoes is to not store all shoes together (rather than follow the classic organizing principle to keep like with like). The system I often recommend is to categorize shoes as follows:
Active shoes are a small subset and can be kept together at the front door or other “prime real estate” shoe storage area. You can purchase a traditional shoe shelf, or add in a bench (without a shelf underneath, not a shoe bench) so you can sit and easily kick shoes underneath when taking them off. You can also provide a basket for smaller shoes (such as kids shoes, sandals, or slippers).
Less active shoes (like formal shoes, winter boots, summer sandals) can go in a separate place that’s less accessible. If you’re space constrained, consider using underbed shoe organizers that you can pull out easily with a handle. Alternatively, group these shoes by type in labeled boxes and stack them somewhere more or less accessible depending on how frequently you’d like to access them.
”Memorabilia shoes” are real things! They can be stored with less active shoes so you can look at them sometimes, someplace you can enjoy looking at them (I love my sneakers and have two sentimental pairs on a shelf in my office!), or with related memorabilia in a box.
So when it comes to shoes, think about your habits, which shoes you wear the most, and places that make sense for them. Group them so the most important ones are easy to access, and consider keeping the ones that bring joy and good memories out of the closet!