How to Organize Shoes

By Elizabeth Larkin, About.com Guide

Assess Your Shoes

Go around your house and gather all of your shoes including flip flops, slippers and sneakers. If you have a sneaky suspicion that shoes are lurking in places not immediately visible, check the following:

• Under the couch and bed - I once found a pair of shoes wedged between my friend's night table and the wall.
• In your gym bag - especially if you have extra pairs of sneakers.
• Luggage - Missing a pair of flip flops and just returned form a beach vacation? If you had no place to store your shoes and no organizational system, you may have just "forgotten" them in your suitcase. In general, it's much easier and more pleasant to unpack if you have a proper place for every item.
• Under your desk at work - this is especially true for women who commute in sensible shoes and change into three-inch heels once in the office.

Most likely, they are all by the door - usually in a pile.


Declutter Your Shoes

A common theme in personal organizing is editing and purging your collections - everything from clothes, books, take-out menus and old receipts. If you're not using something or you don't love it, it's just clutter. With this in mind, create three piles of shoes:

1. Toss: Shoes beyond repair, or shoes you haven't worn in over a year.
2. Keep: You love them, you need them and you wear them regularly.
3. Maybe:The ones you're oddly attached to and can't bear to part with.

If you're still hoarding shoes, I've compiled a list of tips to stop the hoarding habit here.

Options for Shoes in the "Toss" and "Maybe" Piles:

1. Cobbler: Cobblers can mend heels, recondition linings and re-sole just about any pair of shoes. More about How to Use a Cobbler.
2. Donate: Many charities will gladly take your shoes. Find a donation center Where to Donate
3. Swap: They may not have fit you perfectly or exactly gone with the outfit you thought they would, but your "maybe" might be a friend's new perfect pair.

Plan Shoe Storage Solutions

Now create piles of shoes by type and size, and be specific: work flats, snow boots, dressy shoes-you get the idea-and decide how much space you need for each type of shoe. Here are your storage options by size, from smallest to largest. There are several different options for shoe storage. Here, we'll focus on the most simple.

Small Collection:

• A Hanging Canvas Bag: if you're especially short on space and have a relatively small shoe collection, this option should work for your non-boot shoes.

Medium Collection:

• Over the Door Shoe Organizers: This is another good option if you're short on closet floor space.

Large Collection:
I recommend using the original boxes for shoe and boot storage. This is by far easiest method for three reasons:

1. The boxes are very easy to stack.
2. Shoe boxes always come labeled. If you have more than one pair from the same brand, label the boxes accordingly.
3. Boxes are easy to move when you swap out your Spring/Summer shoes for your Fall/Winter shoes. 

Maintain Shoe Organization

Now that you have the proper storage solutions, think about location. Here are some tips:

• Boot Storage To preserve the boot's shaft, store them upright or in a box, and stuff them with tissue paper. Unless they are super-sturdy work boots, rain boots or snow boots, I don't recommend boot hooks. They tend to stretch the boot shaft. Check out our Boot Storage Guide.
• Swap Your Shoes Twice a Year If you live in a four season climate, out of season shoes should be stored in boxes or bins very high up in a closet. Your knee-high black leather boots should not be taking up prime closet real estate during the summer months, nor should your strappy sandals be front-and-center in February. If you decide in the middle of July to take a ski trip to Argentina then you can take the snow boots down from the top of your closet. (And bonus, since you just moved them up there a few months earlier for storage, you'll know where to find them when you're packing.)
• Keep Frequently Worn Shoes Nearby If, like me, you're the kind of person who takes their shoes off by the door and never bothers to store them in the bedroom closet, then allow yourself some flexibility here and carve out a storage space in your entry way. This will keep your shoes from piling up by the door. Remember: you should be storing shoes by utility. They don't all have to be lined up next to each other in the same space.
• Store Dressy Shoes in a Closet or On A Shelf Your dressy shoes are likely to be your most expensive shoes. I recommend these are stored either in their original boxes or in clear plastic shoe boxes on a shelf to keep them clean and safe from kids, pets and spills.

Test out your new organization system for a few weeks and then ask yourself the following questions:

• Is it too complicated?
• Do I have a good idea of where most of my shoes are stored?
• Is it a hassle to keep my shoes organized?

If the answer is yes to any of the above, adjust accordingly. If you find the over-the-door rack is not realistic for you, try the under-the-bed bag. If you're having trouble getting your shoes into your bedroom closet daily, move them to a closet closer to your door.

In short: your system should fit you; you shouldn't be struggling to use a product.