Organize your footwear

When you come home from work and kick off your shoes, they tend to accumulate right there in the entryway. Having a good place to put your shoes away is a positive step in getting your home organized.

Footwear

Too much footwear can become a problem, but even a few pairs of shoes can create clutter. Many products exist to help you store and organize your shoes and boots. Which ones to use and where to put them can also be an issue.

Purge

Before you get started with organizing, a purge is necessary. Gather up all of the shoes and boots you have to start the process.

Go through your footwear. Try on each pair. Your feet can change over time and some of your shoes, especially those you haven’t worn recently, may no longer fit.

Separate the shoes that need repairs like scuffed leather and worn heels to decide if they are worth the investment. If they are old, probably not. Are they still in style? Styles come and go, but hanging onto shoes that might come back in style is not the best use of your closet space.

If the shoes are still wearable, but they don’t fit or you don’t think you will need them any more, you can donate them. Start a donation box and put the donation shoes in there as you go along.

What is left after the purge is ready to be organized.

Organizing

How do you want to organize your shoes? There are several ways. Most people sort them by season. Storing your flip flops and snow boots together isn’t ideal. But, it’s really a matter of your personal preference.

You can organize them by color, especially if they are in a display case or bookshelf. Sorting this way makes them look more interesting. Or you can organize them by their purpose. Put casual shoes together and formal shoes together. It’s easiest if you store the shoes you wear the most in the easiest to reach areas.

Storage

Cabinets, individual plastic containers, boxes, crates and baskets can all be places to store your shoes. Before you go out and buy something, think about ways you can use things you already own for your organizing project.

Shelves in the bottom part of your closet will not interfere with your clothing. Over the door shoe holders keep shoes off the floor and out of the way, but shoes sometimes fall off every time you open and close the door, making this not an ideal option for everyone.

The idea is to have a place to store your footwear so you can view them and find them easily. Keeping shoes from being a literal stumbling block will make life much easier.

Image courtesy of Wes D.