I hope you all read my post on organizing your closet and the need to declutter your closet in order to declutter your life. The same goes for shoes! Organizing your clothing, accessories, and shoes is a necessary first step in organizing the rest of your life. Might seem excessive, but think about it – how do you plan to do other work if you can’t find shoes to leave the house with?
Let’s make this simple.
How to Organize Your Shoes
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Step #1 – Find Them
On your next free day, spend a few hours doing a scavenger hunt around your apartment or house looking for every single pair of shoes you own. Get them in a pile all in one room. Make sure you check under every bed, in every closet, and don’t forget the trunk of your car. You’ll be surprised to find there are pairs you definitely forgot you had!
Step #2 – Toss Them
Same as your closet, go through each pair and ask yourself when you wore them last. I don’t care if they’re from a first date that was really fun or a gift from your mom – if you haven’t touched them in over a year, it’s time to say goodbye! We all love our shoes and have anxiety about getting rid of them, but just like clothes, it’s imperative that we do. Remember, quality is better than quantity.
Step #3 – Categorize Them
Hopefully you’re left with only the shoes that you truly love. Now it’s time to categorize these. Take the shoes that are for the current season and organize them in any combination wherever you keep your shoes. Take the out-of-season shoes and organize them in a separate storage area. I personally like to organize them by season and each pair in their own box, but you can do whatever you want! But remember that just because they’re out-of-season at the moment doesn’t mean your storage area can be messy or cluttered.
Step #4 – Get Help
Look into buying a shoe organizer. These come in all different shapes, styles, and sizes. You can buy an over the door hanger, extra shelves, or a standing rack – whatever you prefer! If you do choose to get an organizer, make sure the shoes you wear most frequently are at the front or in the most accessible area for your convenience. You can also sort by shoe type – flip flops with flip flops, heels with heels, boots with boots, you get the picture. Another organizing strategy is by color. The key is figuring out what works best for you.
When the season ends, repeat this process to clean out anything you don’t like anymore and replace the in-season shoes. Getting rid of old shoes should be seen as a positive mechanism for starting over as opposed to a negative of letting go. You can always buy newer and better shoes, so don’t hesitate! When all’s said and done, you can now take a step back and see how organized your closet, shoes, and life are.
Have any other ways you organize shoes? Let me know in the comment section below!
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