Organizing your shoes can be a difficult task! When designing a custom closet, we are often asked which way is best. Below are three popular shoe storage ideas, with the pros and cons of each method. My Custom Closet has a preferred method, but read on and decide for yourself!
Shoe Storage Ideas: Top 3 Methods
Shoe Cubbies
Pro:
Shoe Cubbies are an efficient way to store shoes and they can fit many pairs heel to toe inside of the cubbies.
Cons:
We have found that this method ends up with one shoe in each cubby since people are often rushed and putting them back the correct way does not always happen.
This method also tends to be expensive to install, almost three times more than our preferred method.
Shoe Fences
Pros:
Using this method is great for the shoe admirer. The shoes are more on display with angled shelves and the toes hitting an attractive metal or wood stop bar.
If your shoes are in a highly visible area, shoe fences are more elegant and tend to look more organized.
Cons:
While it looks cooler, you will lose about 15 percent capacity to hold more pairs of shoes.
This is also a more expensive method, costing about double to our preferred method.
Flat Shelves (My Custom Closet preferred method/most popular)
Pros:
This organization style has flat shelves oriented close together and looks very appealing.
The shelves are fully customizable and can be positioned in a way that allows for boots at the bottoms and gets narrow as you go up. Interested in more ways to store your boots? See our boot storage blog post here.
The shelves can also be used for other items like clothing or anything else!
Cons:
Sometimes the shelves are deeper, so some shoes, like sandals and flats, can get “lost” in the back.
Below are some examples of our “preferred method” of flat shelves for shoe storage – one closet from a project in Collegeville and the other one in Harleysville.
Shoe Storage Ideas and Tips
Keep your out-of-season shoes in clear shoe boxes! You can label them “winter” and “summer” on each side and store them at the top of your shelves.
If you have not cleaned your shoes recently, always clean them before you store them. Use shoe trees or a DIY method for form and use silica pillows to avoid moisture in the containers.
If you haven’t used a pair for the whole year, consider donating them before storing them.
Like all things, there are benefits and downsides to each shoe storage method. Contact us and our experts will help you design your closet with the perfect shelving and organization to fit your needs. Click here to contact My Custom Closet.