9 Clever Storage Solutions for Organizing Your Family's Shoes

This post is part 5 in the series How to Organize It.

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Shoes have a sneaky way of walking themselves where they don’t belong. Kids’ shoes especially wind up under beds, strewn across floors, and underfoot in doorways.

It’s messy, it’s disorganized, and it drives you crazy when you constantly hear, “MOM!!! Where are my shoes?!”

So it makes sense that the right shoe storage solution for your family must be kid-friendly. (If they don’t use it, it won’t work!) Your shoe organizer has to sit where it makes the most sense for how you live your lives. And it has to meet your mom standards for functionality, quality, and even aesthetic appeal.

I have tried a number of approaches to shoe storage over the year, and these are some of my favorite products and solutions:

Closet Shoe Storage

Hallway and bedroom closets are great options for keeping shoes out of sight and out of the way.

Shoe Boxes

Skip standard shoe boxes if you intend to stack them. You’ll constantly unbuild and rebuild shoe box towers just to get to the pair you put on the bottom of the stack.

Instead, look for front-access shoe boxes. Each box has a drop-front door that allows you to reach in, grab your shoes, pop up the door, and go! You can stack them easily in a closet on a shelf or floor. Or run them horizontally along a high shelf or even under the bed.

A Shoe Rack

A utility shoe rack lets you take advantage of vertical space in your closet. Shoes are easy to grab from or deposit back on the rack. Plus, many racks allow you to choose from different sizes or even stack racks to get more storage space. Tuck a shoe rack into your closet, in the corner of your room, or even by your outside door.

Hanging Shoe Organizer

Want to move your shoes entirely off the closet floor? Go with this space-saving, vertical, hanging shoe organizer. The rack swivels for easy access to your favorite kicks. Plus, it comes loaded with pockets on the sides to keep belts, small purses, scarves and more accessible and tidy.

Over-the-Door Shoe Storage

If you’re short on storage space or just can’t stand to see the back of your door going to waste, consider these smart over-the-door products for keeping organized.

Over-the-Door Shoe Rack

Want the benefits of a shoe rack but don’t have the floor real estate to own one? Invest in this clever, over-the-door shoe rack. Choose the 24-pair rack or go big with the 36-pair storage option. The rack keeps your shoes looking sharp without damaging your door or requiring you to pick up a tool.

Over-the-Door Pocket Organizer

Another great space-saving option is this mesh pocket, over-the-door shoe organizer. Great for adult and kid rooms alike, this inexpensive product holds it all — shoes, stuffed animals, toys, cleaning products, grooming products, and more.

Mudroom Shoe Storage

In our home, the laundry room bridges the gap between our not-so-clean garage and the kitchen I desperately want to keep tidy! So our family requires laundry room storage solutions that catch dirty shoes, contain lots of sneakers in a smallish space, and look nice too.

Shoe Tray

Wet, muddy, or snowy shoes? You need a drip-and-dry boot tray. We’ve got a few of these tucked under our laundry room’s wall shelves. Plus, we put one by the front door when visitors come over with soggy shoes.

Stackable Wooden Organizers

I love using this stackable wooden shoe organizer in our laundry room! It holds and displays our sneakers, dress shoes, beach shoes, boots, or whatever we’re wearing often that season. Large families can put two side-by-side or even stack them up for a tall organizer using very little floor space. And my son’s been grabbing and putting his own shoes away since he was two!

Cubby Bench Storage

Want your shoe storage to do double duty? Consider a shoe storage cubby bench. Pairs of shoes are easily accessible underneath, and you can plop a few kids on the seat when it’s time to take shoes on or off.

Storage Chest with Seat

Finally, if you want the benefit of a bench while hiding the shoes away, go with a storage chest with a padded seat. (These are great not just for your mudroom but also for a foyer entryway, a family room, or a bedroom.) Drop in your shoes, pop on the lid, and you’re instantly organized!