The Storage Container That's Actually Hurting Your Shoe Organization System

Clear plastic stacking boxes might seem like the perfect solution for tidying up a chaotic shoe collection. After all, they provide a neat way to store your shoes and free up valuable closet space. These boxes allow you to see every pair, get your shoes up off the floor and organized on a tight budget. They are also far more attractive and durable than the cardboard shoeboxes. However, this seemingly ideal storage option has a sneaky way of creating more problems than it solves. In order to get the shoes you want, you have to unstack an entire column of boxes one atop the other.

When you have built up a truly beautiful collection of kicks, you want to show them off and peruse your footwear options easily. The standard clear plastic stacking boxes enable this, but there's something that happens once you choose a pair. You have to grab all of the containers stacked on top of your choice, hoping they are not at the very bottom. You need to find somewhere to set the stack and open the container with your shoes in it. You take your shoes out, put the lid back on, and stack all the other shoe boxes back up again. Then, finally, you can put on your shoes. This disruptive process turns an attempt at organization into a time-sucking chore. Standard plastic boxes can still lead to messes if they topple over. Why bother re-stacking them? Most people just end up leaving their shoes on the floor because the whole thing feels like a total bother.

Fortunately, there is a simple alternative that solves all of these issues: the front-opening shoe box. This plastic stacking container design has a door or lid that opens at the front. You can grab any pair of shoes with a single, effortless motion. They are readily available at The Container Store and on Amazon. You can also check out Costco's stackable closet essential for neat and tidy shoe storage and organization. With them, you can retrieve a pair from the bottom of a stack without moving any boxes above, maintaining your perfectly organized system. This simple change in design transforms a frustrating chore into an easy experience, which is just how it should be.

Front-opening boxes deliver on the promise of their traditional counterparts but skip all the hassle. They provide the same visibility and space-saving vertical shoe storage that is a game-changer for small closets, but add fast accessibility. This, in turn, makes you more likely to use the system consistently. You'll want to put your shoes away after each wear because it is no longer a time-consuming task. Ultimately, any organization system you implement in your home should work for you, not against you. And these cleverly designed containers do just that.