Tips and Tricks to Store and Protect Your Shoes

Are you a shoe fanatic? Can you not pass up a shoe sale? If you answered "yes" to any of these questions you probably also have an overwhelming amount of shoes and very little space to put them. We can't all have huge walk in closets with shelf after shelf of shoe space like we see on television. If you are like me and you have a mountain of shoes looking for a home, check out this guide to organizing an important and fun possession.

Step 1: Sort through the shoes you already own (yes, this needs to be done before you buy any more, whether they are on sale or not!).

Open your closet doors making sure not to topple over the mountain. Pull all your shoes out and slowly start to sort through them matching up each shoe with its mate. Next start sorting the shoes in piles. Group your dressy shoes, your casual shoes, your gym shoes and so on and so forth.

When you have enough groups take a good look at all the shoes in each group. If you no longer wear them, have never worn them, or they're leftover from 1987, make a separate pile.

Now you can either throw these shoes away, give them away, or my personal favorite, sell them! Try places like Ebay or consignment stores. You may even make enough to buy a new pair!

Step 2: Gather the supplies needed to store your shoe collection.

Now that you have all your shoes sorted out (and probably scattered about your bedroom floor) you need somewhere to store your shoes. There are many expensive ways to store shoes, but there are a few easy and cheap methods that will save you money in the long run.

For heels and other dressy shoes consider buying shoe boxes (or using ones you already have) to store these types of shoes. For casual heels, sandals and other casual shoes you can use either over the door shoe racks, shoe trees or my favorite bookcases with cubby holes.

If you still need more space, consider using under bed storage containers. You may want to make a note of what shoes are in there, so you don't need to rush around to find a pair quickly when you need them.

Step 3: Organizing your shoes.

Start with your dressiest shoes. To preserve shoes whether they be a really good pair of heels or a dressy pair of flats you want to place them in either the boxes they came in, or boxes especially designed for shoes. This will keep them from getting cluttered with your other shoes and keep them free of dirt and dust.

For your casual heels, sandals and other casual shoes you can organize them in an over the door shoe holder or if you have the space a bookcase with cubby holes. A trick for the bookcase is to lay it down on its side on the floor of your closet. It takes up no vertical space and is still easy to access. Put shoes that you wear often in the cubbies and you should have no trouble finding what you need when you need it.

For out of season shoes one of the best ideas is to store them in under bed boxes. There are ones specially made for this or you can just use a plastic under bed box. Remember to swap out the shoes as the seasons change and you won't have any trouble finding a weather appropriate shoe. You can also use this solution to store extra shoes and shoes you don't wear frequently.

Tips:

If you store shoes in boxes you may want to take a picture of the pair and tape it to the outside of the box. Or if you are feeling really ambitious you can use a digital camera to photograph all your shoes , upload them to your computer and create a visual gallery.

Try to avoid keeping shoes from piling up in bins. This can cause damage and is not good for the shoes. If you still need extra space or one of the above options do not work for you, consider installing an extra shelf in your closet.

To keep shoes from cluttering up your entry way a good trick is to find an old dresser (resale shops are great for this) take out the drawers and use the inside to serve as a shoe holder.

Shoes are a great accessory to have but watching them pile up is an all too common occurrence. Once you take some time to organize them you will realize that it is easier to find a pair when you need them and an incredible time saver. You can have an organized shoe collection and chances are you'll find you need yet another pair. From one shoe fanatic to another, go for it, life's short, walk tall.