If your shoes are among your most prized possessions, you’re not alone – the average UK woman now owns 19 pairs. But how can you look after your footwear to ensure your shoe collection is organised? Read on for details.
Make use of vertical space
Shoes can be difficult items to store because of their shape so, unless your footwear is all boxed up, you might want to invest in a shoe rack or storage unit. These items can take up space in the hallway or the bedroom, so a good idea is to choose a unit that extends vertically up the wall, rather than widthways.
A tall shoe rack with plenty of levels is ideal, or even a hanging shoe storage alternative can be useful, as the latter tends to have a slim, lightweight design and doesn’t take up as much room as its bulkier counterparts.
Another option is to invest in a bench-style shoe rack, which can have wire caddies slotted in for storing shoes. Take a look at the changing room-style benches offered by Big Dug for some inspiration.
Trim your collection
If you’re a shoe lover, you might make a number of new footwear purchases each year, so it’s worth checking to see if you can make space in your collection for these new additions. You might be surprised by how many pairs of shoes you have that you no longer wear or that are broken.
Spend some time working out which shoes can be fixed by a cobbler and which really need to be thrown away, or can be donated at a shoe recycling point; perhaps the style has gone out of fashion or they don’t fit very well, in which case – if they’ve been out of use for months – it might be time to purge your collection.
Keep it organised
Shoes can be difficult to keep track of if they’re not organised, so it’s worth sifting through your footwear and categorising the shoes to make your collection more manageable. Once you’ve assembled all your shoes, divide them into piles based on colour, style or occasion.
If you often match your shoes to your clothes, you might want to organise your footwear by colour, while if style is more important to you, you can arrange your shoes into groups of sandals, wedges, platforms etc. Alternatively, you may prefer to organise your shoes by occasion, grouping formal pairs together, and creating sections for nights out or holidays.
Choose your position
If you usually store your shoes by the front door and are developing quite a collection, you might find you stumble over shoes that have fallen off the rack, or have to dig through a growing pile to reach the pair you regularly use for day-to-day outings. With this in mind, sort through your shoes and decide which pairs you can move elsewhere, so that only the shoes you need every day or at the weekend are taking up space by the door or in the cloakroom.
Moving shoes for nights out or formal shoes to a separate enclosed storage unit – perhaps upstairs in your wardrobe or in a second shoe rack in the cloakroom – can keep your house neat and tidy, while also offering more protection from damage they may be open to by the door.
