You're probably thinking, easy fix - shoe rack. Well, I have another problem. I have limited space. (Jeez, I'm just full of problems!)
Shoe racks are about 12 inches deep and my shoes are only about 7 inches long, so that's 5 inches of unused space... and I can't afford it. Unless you go the "over-the-door" route. I'm not a fan for several reasons, but mostly because although my shoes are cheap, I don't treat them as such. I don't want to shove them into bags. Then there's the "shoe carousel", which doesn't work for boots or booties, and again, I don't want to shove my shoes onto metal prongs.
I like to store my shoes in or around my closet, and with all the clothes I have, that leaves very little space.
Here's my solution - DVD shelfs! They're about 6 inches deep, so my size 7 shoes hang over a little bit, but to me, that's better than 5 inches of unused space. Plus, they're cheap and I think they look nicer. Most shoe racks/shelves are white plastic unless you have the extra $ to spend on a nice one.
Here's the first one I did. (Sorry for the poor picture quality.) I picked up 2 of these for $10 each on Craigslist. They're actually pretty sturdy. They have 5 adjustable shelves, plus the shelf on the bottom and the top, for a total of 7 shelves. Each shelf fits about 2.5 pairs of shoes, for a total of 17.5 shoes. I keep high boots on the top shelf, along with some shoe boxes and a purse. The first shelf is a bit short, so I keep some clutches there. This is just on the inside of my closet, next to the door, as you can see. My original plan was to decoupage the inside back of the shelf with pictures of amazing, unattainable shoes, but I haven't had the time yet.
Pretty soon after I got my first DVD shelf, I ran out of room on it. So I had to get another, and I was already utilizing the second of the set with actual DVDs. So I ordered this from Amazon.com.
The only downside to this, is that it only works with shoes that have a heel - no wedges. What I've done is I've used the bar on the back (which is higher than the small shelf in front) and I've put the heel of the shoes behind it. It's hard to explain, think of a shoe store display. As you can see, this fits 15 pairs of shoes (5 shelves X 3 pairs/shelf). I've put this in the space just outside of my closet door, but the door can open all the way (it just doesn't bang into the wall).
Do you have any space/organizing conundrums you'd like my help with? Send them my way - cheapandchicinchicago@gmail.com!
