Shoes Here, Shoes There, Shoes Everywhere!
Are the shoes in your house near doors, in the middle of the floor or piled up somewhere? Are your shoe styles all mixed together and you can’t ever seem to find the pair you’re looking for? I know how frustrating it can be and I went on a mission to solve my family shoe issues once and for all. Did I find the PERFECT solution? Well, let’s just say it’s a work in progress, but we are in a much better place now and you can be too!
Keep Them Separate
I wanted to find a way for each member of our household to have a spot for their shoes. I hated seeing shoes piled by the door and nowhere to tell (ok maybe nag) them to put them away. Luckily, our house came equipped with a cubby system and an empty space under each cubby that was perfect for a laundry basket full of shoes for each person. I thought that brilliant system would work and it kind of did, but then it didn’t. The shoes were basically thrown into a heap and dirty cleats ended up on top of white canvas sneakers and it took way too long for everyone to find a matching pair. It was a good first step but not where I wanted things to stay. The good – they were separated by person, The bad- they were mixed and jumbled and hard to deal with, The Ugly – a laundry basket full of shoes thrown under a cubby looked like a mess. But hey, separate is better than a big pile of everyone’s shoes by the door. So start there!
Move Out Of Season Kicks To a Different Location
Ok… so first we sorted by family member. That’s a great first step and you can pause here or you can take the next baby step. You can sort your shoes further and move the out of season shoes to a different location. If it’s summer, you really don’t need your winter boots right next to your flip flops. It’s ok to move shoes out of the main hub of the house. I moved mine to the upstairs coat closet where we have a shelf and a tiny adjustable shoe rack. Oddly that closet isn’t used very much, but it’s still accessible in case anyone needs an odd pair of shoes in an off season. Separating your shoes at the end of seasons also gives you a chance to decide if you need them at all, if they need to be cleaned or if they need to be replaced. You can often find deals on things like winter boots at the end of the season so that would make it a great time to grab that nice new pair to greet when the snow falls next year. You’re welcome:)
Where Are Your Nice Shoes?
If your dressy shoes are living next to your smelly sneakers, you might want to change that up. When I started dealing with my shoes I realized that I loved my high heels, but I didn’t want them with the rest of my shoes. I don’t wear them very often and they didn’t need to be out in the open. I also didn’t want them to be dusty or scuffed the next time I pulled them out for an event. So, I moved these special shoes to my closet and bought shoe boxes for each pair. I purged them first and kept only my favorites and now I always know where they are and I know they are in good condition and ready to wear. You can get shoe boxes in a variety of price ranges. I splurged on mine because I only needed a few.
Here are some great choices from The Container Store:
Ways To Organize Your Shoes
Ok… now you have your shoes separated by family member, you moved your out of season kickers to a different spot and you put your nice shoes somewhere away from your winter boots. Now what? Shoes are messy to look at… but just because you hide them away doesn’t mean they are magically organized. (I learned that the hard way). I decided to have my very open cubby system changed into a closed cubby system and that included a shoe drawer for each person TA DA… no more messy colorful basket of shoes. But guess what? When the drawer was open there was that pile of shoes to deal with again. The outside looked better, but the system was the same and it didn’t work. This is when I had to get creative. I measured and searched high and low for something that would make sense for all of us. A FORCED organized system, because in a family sometimes organization has to be FORCED and people need to be boxed into spaces so they can’t ooze out all over the house. Here is what I found and it works!
Products That Worked For Me
I tend to spend a long time researching products and this project was no different. I measured my spaces, counted my shoes and took my time finding just the right products. I had a few fails… but that’s ok… I finally found a solution that has been working. Check these out and see if they could help you too:
What Should I Do With My Old Shoes?
When you start this process you are going to find a few tired pairs of shoes that you think just need to go. Before you toss them in the trash – STOP! First, decide if the issue is that the shoes are dirty or need to be repaired. If you still like the shoes, try to save them. Cobblers specialize in giving your shoes a new life and my local cobbler has resoled my winter boots, cleaned my Uggs and made them new again and he repaired a chewed pair of my leather boots (thanks to my bulldog). If you want to keep them, most likely you can.
If you are ready to let them go – the rule with footwear is “When in doubt, donate them.” Old to you might be new to someone else. Let me tell you a few places that will gladly take your old shoes:
- Goodwill – Goodwill will gladly take your old kicks. If they are too worn out to resell them, they will recycle them for you.
- Soles4Souls – This company really wants your sneakers. They will even send you a shipping kit so you can send them your sneakers for free. Click HERE to read more about this charity.
- DressforSuccess – Looking for a place to donate more formal shoes? Consider DressForSuccess. They will get your dress shoes to people in need looking to enter the workforce. Your pumps could be part of someone’s new interview outfit!
*Bonus*
I had one more shoe issue going on in my house that I wanted to address here. My husband used to have his crocs stolen all the time- ok… I will admit that even I was guilty of stealing them. After watching it happen all summer, I realized it was because he kept them near the back door, they were oversized so anyone could easily slip them on and off and they were easy to clean so you could run out in the rain in them with no worry. So guess what I did? I bought guest shoes that belong to no one to keep by the doors. And of course I bought grey to match my house. These shoes are a big win in my house. We all go in and out all year and those shoes are just there waiting for anyone to wear them. I bought them in size men’s 11 and even my daughter’s tiny feet slide into them when she wants to walk out to the trampoline with friends. So, if you have a house with a revolving door to the outside areas, get some guest shoes. I went with a garden shoe that can easily be slipped on and off and easily cleaned.
Give a girl the right shoes and she can conquer the world
Marilyn Monroe
