Let's do the math. There are 4 people living in a house. Each person has 7 pairs of winter shoes and 7 pairs of summer shoes. This includes boots, sandals, flip flops, sneakers, dress shoes, high heels. And that number is conservative. That means you will need to store 56 pairs of shoes. WOW. It adds up quickly. Here is our pile of shoes from a few years ago. Crazy right? Our pile is even bigger now.
Shoes can be difficult to organize especially in a smaller space. But to go out and have to buy yet another organizing unit to help organize these items also won't work.
Here are some unique clutter-free ways to organize shoes. Repurposing is great to eliminate the clutter.
Repurpose your dry cleaning wire hangers to hang your flip-flops. If you want to know how, here is a tutorial on the process by EPBOT.
Use vertical space to eliminate clutter on the floor. If you have a spare wall, try doing something like this.
Use back of doors in your closet to keep shoes off the floor and more likely to stay together. Using plastic shoe organizers works great for this purpose.
Repurpose bookshelves into a shoe organizer. I have some of these bookshelf tracks and bookshelves in my tool room since we removed them from my daughter's room last year. I can easily add these to our garage.
Remember to keep your space clutter-free repurpose as much as possible. We tend to have products used in other parts of the home that may work just fine to organize the shoes so go shopping in your house first before spending money.
Here are some other posts I wrote about organizing these pesky shoes. Feel free to visit.
Organized Shoe Station for the Whole Family
Before and After: Shoe Organizers
I hope this inspires you to get your shoes organized in a clutter-free way. Now it's your turn, what are your favorite shoe organization tips. Please share in the comment section.
Please note these are affiliate links through Amazon, and at no additional cost to you, I will earn affiliate fees if you decide to make a purchase.
Love the shoe ottoman idea! I've secretly always wanted one; I've got quite a few pairs ;).
I've always liked the idea of vertical storage on the backs of doors or shoe cubbies, but truth be told I have far fewer pairs of shoes than the average woman. I'm not sure why I never developed a love of shoes.
It's always interesting to go through the shoe purging exercise first before we try to figure out the best way to organize the "keepers." I'm always amazed when organizing with clients how many shoes they end up letting go of...especially when they start by saying, "I want to keep them all."
You have great shoe organizing suggestions. We converted an old dresser into a shoe cabinet in our entryway. Each family member has a drawer to store shoes. It keeps shoes from being all the floor. I also love using Container Store shoe boxes to store off season or lesser used shoes in closets.
Thanks for commenting, Linda. great idea on repurposing items. I love when my clients repurpose items.
Any solution that gets shoes off the floor is magic! Families with little kids often have not so little shoe collections and a basket by the door helps plant the idea that kids can put their shoes away too. These solutions are a lot more sophisticated 🙂
I am with Janet, I am not a shoe person, but I have friends who are, so I am always looking for new ways to help them with their "collections" Great post.
I've never been a "shoe person" so some of these collections just blow me away! However, I had a friend who put a photo of each shoe on the outside of the box so she could easily find the pair she wanted each day. I've heard that someone else I know has an actual "shoe room" in her house, and I hope to see it some day. 🙂
Wow, Janet. I am not a shoe person either but I know trying to organize 4 people's set of shoes it can get crazy really fast. Thanks for stopping by and commenting.
I love that storage ottoman. I don't have room for it, and it is a bit pricey, but such a great idea!
Thanks for commenting, Seana. Ottomans are usually not cheap. I also found them at various discount places like HomeGoods.
Wow some of those people in the pictures really love shoes! That's a lot and sound definitely be hard to organize and Keep neat. Great ideas.