Shoe Racks Blog

Often times the messiest spaces in a home are the closets, where a mess can most easily be stored out of sight. While it’s important to keep a tidy home to share with guests, don’t underestimate how seeing a cluttered closet everyday makes you feel. Keeping a well organized closet, with personal touches and favorite pieces or images on display ensures that you start your day on the right foot and can even make getting ready in the morning fun!

Try thinking of your closest as a display space for all your favorite pieces. Consider taking a page from the way clothing stores present items, with special displays that are designed to show off each type of clothing. Larger or open closets offer the opportunity to display a favorite dress or jacket, hung facing out at the end of a rack. Sorting clothes by season, color or type, whatever works for you makes dressing in the morning a breeze.

15 Pair Stackable Shoe Organizer

Shoe collections can be the most fun to display, with so many different colors and styles. Proper shoe storage keeps them in good shape and ready to wear for years to come. The 15 Pair Stackable Shoe Organizer by Stack A Shelf is a stylish way to display and store shoes. Place shoes with one toe out and the other heel out so you can see the style and heel height, making the right shoes easy to find.

With multiple 15 pairs stackable shoe organizers you can gain enough storage for all your shoes. A shoe organizer with a solid top makes a great display space. Use it to store a jewelry box or create a display space for favorite photographs or accessories. No matter how small a closet, think of it as a room you live in, with decorative touches that make you smile every time you open the door.

10 Shelf Men's Hanging Shoe Organizer

Shoe storage is always an issue at my house; my wife and I are always tripping over loose pairs of shoes that are lying about in our hallway.  The problem is that we have so many shoes for every different use imaginable; it is more convenient to have them sitting on the floor.  Who would want to dig through the mess that is their closet in order to find their ice fishing spikes?  I know I certainly do not.
My wife was getting fed up with all these shoes littering our otherwise spotless living room area.  It was quickly becoming a point of contention until I found the solution on StacksandStacks.com.  I was able to find the perfect shoe organizer for my many different styles of footwear. “What is this magical contraption?” you may ask, and indeed it is the 10 shelf men’s hanging shoe organizer.
By placing this shoe shelf in my closet, I instantly had quick and easy access to ten of my most used pairs of shoes. The openings face the front of the closet, so I am able to pick out the appropriate pair at a moment’s notice.  I also love the fact that this organizer is so slim, allowing me to have plenty of room to hang my jackets and other clothes.  I never have to worry about rips or tears with this hanging shoe rack because it is made from extremely durable cotton canvas.
This hanging shoe organizer is large enough to accommodate my big, manly work boots so it obviously is also perfect for storing my wife’s dainty high heels and night time slippers. The metal hangers make it really easy to hang from the center pole in the closet.  Now my entryway is nice and clear and I never trip over my shoes anymore!

20 Pair Stacking Metal and Plastic Shoe Rack

Looking for an affordable shoe storage rack can sometimes be a headache, as you have to take into consideration sturdiness and usefulness.  This 20 pair stacking metal and plastic shoe rack does the job just beautifully and can be used in every room of every home for a more organized, polished look.

This shoe organizer holds up to 20 pairs of shoes.  That makes it a great choice for a variety of shoe storage situations.  First, in the mudroom or by the front door.  Everyone can easily place their shoes on this rack when they come home and then find them with no problem when it is time to leave the house again.  And we all know that making shoe storage easy is the first step in getting all members of the household to comply with the policy.

Living on your own?  This affordable shoe rack is sized perfectly for those who live alone.  Use it in the back of your closet, in the hall, or in the bedroom for easy access to twenty pairs of your favorite shoes.  This shoe organizer uses a sturdy combination of metal and wire which keeps the cost down.  One of the additional benefits of these materials is that they are easy to clean.  If you prefer that everyone take their shoes off outside your home, this shoe rack will send that message gracefully.  If it gets caked with mud and dirt over time, simply hose it off and let it air dry for years of use.

For those of us who really REALLY love their shoes, this rack is very lightweight and therefore is a great choice for use high up in the closet.  Stack boxes of out-of-season shoes on the shelves to keep the rest of your closet (think: floor) neat and tidy. Get yours at Stacks and Stacks!

Shoe racks come in all shapes and sizes!  What we typically think of as a shoe rack is a set of open shelves or bars, shoes lined up side by side where you can see each and every pair.  This is a great way to organize and store shoes, as it allows you to see very clearly what pairs you have available, every size, making it easy to choose the right accessories for your outfit that day.  Another option for storing shoes, however, is very simple - something you probably already have around the house, or, at the very least, can pick up very inexpensively at a store, and that item is a drawer!  Drawers come in all shapes, sizes and styles, so it’s easy to find one to fit in with your decor and budget. 

Some of the benefits of shoe drawers are the following: 
1.  First of all, shoes can’t fall out of drawers when they are closed.  If you (or others in your family) have trouble keeping your shoes on the rack and off the floor, drawers may just be the right answer for you.  They will keep shoes stored in the drawer, offering a more neat and tidy look to your closet or hallway, wherever you keep your shoes handy.
2. Second of all, drawers keep shoes out of sight.  Some people might find that they don’t want their shoes in their face all the time, they would rather have them hidden away.  And a drawer can easily solve this issue.
3. Thirdly, drawers offer relief from any shoe odor that is bothering you.  A plastic drawer will keep odors totally contained, but it you want a little airflow, try a woven or fabric drawer system, like this versatile 3 Drawer Chest.   Set it up in a closet or even out in the open and keep your shoes out of sight (and smell)!

Shoes:  Front and Center!  Give your shoes a prominent location in the closet to avoid clutter and damage. 

A custom closet allows you to design a closet organizer that fits your needs exactly.  Custom closets, though, can be pricey.  But now you can buy closet organizer kits to give you the “custom” closet of your dreams, at a fraction of the price.  If you have a lot of shoes, pick one that has a tower capability, so that you know that your shoes will be front and center, ready for putting on, taking off, organizing and keeping neat and tidy in general.  This shoe tower kit is made of laminated MDF which is a great choice for shoes, as it is a very easy to clean material, so you don’t have to worry about scuffing, dirt and mud.  Another good choice would be wire, although of course then the dirt can fall through to the floor, but hey, that’s why vacuums were invented, right?  Some of these closet kits have adjustable shelves, if you choose one that does have adjustable tower shelves, you might want to take a careful look at what types and sizes of shoes you have before you build it.  For example, high heels can lie flat on the shelves, so that’s not a problem, but high top shoes (your husband’s) will take up a lot of room vertically, so you’ll want to plan accordingly when setting up your closet.  The nice thing about a shoe tower is that it is perfectly suited to this important piece of apparel, because it is narrow and tall, making the best use of what is usually wasted vertical space in the closet.  Some closet organizers allow you place the tower anywhere you want.  If you would rather look at your shirts and dresses hanging than stacks of shoes, you might put the tower in the corner or back of the closet.  If you are like me, then you will love to put your shoes away every night and pick out the next day’s, meaning the shoe rack should go front and center!

Traditional Shoe Boxes get a makeover with updated materials and style.  Read On.

There’s no question about it, shoe boxes are one of the best ways to protect your footwear from dust, insects and moisture.  I remember that my grandmother always kept her cardboard shoe boxes from the shoe store and piled them high on her upper closet shelf, mostly for dress shoes that she didn’t wear everyday.  There were probably about 20 boxes.  This was great for protecting more expensive shoes. 

The cardboard could certainly keep dust off of the shoes, and she would even stuff the tissue paper back into the front of the shoes to maintain their shape (this problem can now be solved with shoe pops or shoe trees, both affordable and readily available at StacksAndStacks.com).  The problem with this system of shoe preservation and shoe organization was that you had to dig through dozens of boxes to find the right pair of shoes to match your outfit.  So while the cardboard boxes are protective (for a while, at least, until they start collapsing), they are also very secretive, each protecting the identity of its contents from our eyes. 

This problem can be solved with some great new inventions in shoe boxes.  These are permanent solutions that will last for years.  They are not free, like the cardboard variety, but they are a wise and cost effective purchase, because they will protect shoes (not cheap either) from the usual damage.  Clear plastic shoe boxes is the choice of many people, because they really let you see what’s inside, and allow you to almost create a display of your favorite shoes, perfect for shoe lovers like me!  A more discreet choice are fabric shoe boxes.  Now you may think that you can’t see through the fabric, and you are correct.  But, the manufacturers thought ahead and made these shoe boxes with a little window, so you can still see what’s inside – a great, neat look for any closet!

Product of the Week:  A Shoe Rack Specially Designed for the Mud Room

You’ve probably heard me go on and on about mud, muddy shoes, mud on the carpet, etc.  And, yes, you guessed it – I’m a neat freak!  In fact, I am hereby declaring this to be MUD WEEK!  It has been raining buckets where I live on the beautiful Northern Coast of California, and since we live out in the country, buckets of rain eventually just means buckets of mud.  We have mud flowing down the driveway, into the front yard, then around the house and down the backyard and into a creek, where, no doubt, it meets up with its muddy friends! 

If it were up to me, I probably wouldn’t venture outside, but you know kids and mud.  Since they’ve been cooped up for about a month now, there are no more excuses, it’s time to visit the world that exists outside our cozy home.  The question then becomes:  How do we keep the mud outside?  I can’t possibly allow mud on the carpets, especially since we are renters, so I have to think of a way to trap it at the door. 

That’s where this week’s product of the week comes in:  It’s a great new shoe rack designed specifically for mud rooms.  Even if you don’t technically have a mud room, this is still a must have mud control shoe rack that can be kept at the entryway to your front or backdoors.  At the front, it begs visitors to take their shoes off before entering your home, and, at the back, it begs your kids to take off their muddy boots!  A win-win, either way!  There is nothing really that different about this shoe rack except that whoever invented it had the great idea of putting a metal tray on top for muddy shoes.  It’s a nice looking shoe rack, made of solid beech wood and stained an elegant walnut.  When the weather turns better, simply remove the tray and use it as a regular old shoe rack in your closet! 

Now get outside and make some Mud Pies!

Find More Shoe Storage Space in the Closet!

If you can find just five inches of hanging space (that’s right, just 5 inches), then you have great potential for getting a little extra shoe storage in your closet!  An over the rod shoe rack is, in some ways, even easier to use than a freestanding shoe rack.  This is because many of the shoes are at eye level or just below, making it a cinch to find the pair that you are looking for. 

Another benefit of these shoe organizers is that, as long as you don’t completely overload them, you won’t have shoes falling on the floor – a common problem with bar style shoe racks.  They come in all different sizes, the smallest ones being 5 inches wide, and the larger ones at 12 inches. 

The 5 and 6 inch Hanging Shoe Racks have a great space efficient design, because they make use of vertical space, which is often wasted in most closets.  When you hang your clothes on a closet rod six feet off the ground and don’t put anything underneath it; that is a no-no in the organizing world.  An over the closet rod shoe bag solves this problem by really only taking a few inches of space that you were likely to be wasting anyway. 

If you choose one of the wider racks that are up to 12 inches wide, you can greatly increase your storage potential for shoes and other things too.  These wider over the rod shelves can hold accessories, including scarves, belts, and small purses, making them an all in one closet organizer.  Stacks & Stacks has a great selection, with everything from basic canvas organizers to cedar lined models.  If you want something with a little more pizzazz, the striped shoe organizers are very cute, and come in blue or pink tones.

 Shoe Bags for Athletes, Travelers and Shoe Fanatics 

Shoe Bags are like a shoe rack on the go!  It is nice to keep a shoe bag on hand for a lot of reasons.  Here are a few different shoe bags, and a few different ideas for how (and when) to use them. 

1. Travel – Here is a nice travel shoe bag, it is made of a thinner material than traditional, hefty shoe bags, so you can squish it into your luggage more easily, without taking up any extra space, (which means you can bring more clothes, right?)  Throw a few of them in your suitcase, just in case you bring home more shoes than you left with J. 
2. Car – Keep a shoe bag in the trunk of your car in case you make an unexpected trip to the beach or have to change a flat in the mud.  Better yet, put a spare pair of shoes in the shoe bag so that you can swap them for the ones you just got muddy.  This is especially a great tip if you have kids (you moms know what I’m talking about).   
3. Athletes – Golf shoe bags are great for serious golfers, and also for every other athlete.  If you have little soccer players at home, get them a bag for their cleats – they will think it is a gift for them but you know that it’s more about you and your car.  Leather is a great option for athletic shoes, especially the sharp, pokey kind.  Young athletes will love something from Adidas, Nike or another trendy athletic gear company. 
4. Shoe Fanatics – What can I say, a nice shoe bag can get your nice pumps to and from a party without damaging them, and you can wear something more comfortable (think Slippers) in the car, no one has to know! 

Need a New Year’s Resolution?  Nike Offers Another Type of Shoe Recycling

Almost everybody is getting on board with the environmental movement, including big name athletic shoe maker Nike!  A great way to start the new year off right is to clean out your closets.  Donating what you don’t need anymore is great for your family and it’s also great for thrift store shoppers. 

So, if you are starting spring cleaning early this year, as I am, you may run into a few pairs of running shoes in your shoe rack.  Some shoes can be donated for reuse around the world (see my Holiday post about shoe donating charities) or even sent to the goodwill.  But, some gym shoes are just too warn (a good sign that you are getting your exercise, right?) for use by anyone else.  In this case, resist throwing them in the garbage, where they will pile up with others in landfills for decades to come. 

Nike Grind has been collecting shoes (22 million and counting) for almost twenty years, and the results are amazing.  And no, they don’t have to be Nike brand to be recycled – any brand of athletic shoe is accepted!  Basically the shoe is sliced into three pieces and each piece is used for a different product.  Track surfaces, gym tiles, basketball court cushioning and consumer products like zipper pulls are just some of the many things that your shoes can become in their next life.  It couldn’t be easier to do – there are many dropoff locations around the country and they will handle the shipping for you.  Read up on more of the benefits and details about donating at http://www.nikereuseashoe.com/. 

There are some great products available at StacksAndStacks.com that use recycled products:  Recycled Aluminum Doormats, Recycled Office Organizers, Recycled Plastic Luggage.  Do your closet and the world a favor by having your shoes recycled.