The Viral Dollar Tree Shoe Storage Hack You'll Be Using On Repeat This Fall

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When the driving rains and slushy sleet of fall and winter descend upon us, they leave the ground full of wet mud that sticks to the bottom and sides of our shoes. All of this muck subsequently tracks into the house and cubbies where we store our shoes. However, if you have a Dollar Tree nearby, a solution to this mess is close at hand: A rubber-backed mat. It's an item that you can make to fit those cubbies with just a few alterations. 

Left as is, dirty shoes stashed in shoe cubbies/compartments leave a mess not only on the floor but in cracks and crevices as well. This clever shoe storage solution makes cleaning easier. It modifies the mats, allowing you to make a fitted barrier between your muddy shoes and the interior of the shoe shelf. Instead of having to wipe out an entire cubby, you just remove the mats from each one, rinse them off, and replace them once they are dry.

In their original form, the Dollar Tree Assorted Patterned Rubber-Backed Door Mats measure 18 by 30 inches. For perspective, an average shoe storage unit, such as the DINZI LVJ Shoe Bench, features cubbies that measure 11.8 by 9.6 inches. As such, a single mat won't likely work for your current shoe storage solution, so if you want to employ this trick, you'll need to do a bit of MacGyvering on the mats. To make that happen, you'll want to arm yourself with scissors, a large piece of scrap cardboard, a pencil or a pen, and a measuring tape, then get to trimming.

The measurements above are specific to the cubbies in the DINZI shoe bench, though most will have similar dimensions. In any case, you must make inserts for your cubby that fit its exact dimensions. To make this easy Dollar Tree shoe DIY, measure the compartments in your shoe shelf. Once you have those measurements, create a pattern using the scrap cardboard and use that to cut the Dollar Tree mats down to proportions that will fit your cubby. Working with the pattern means you don't have to measure each cut with the tape. You can just trace around the pattern, then cut the piece out. After you cut each piece, insert it into one of the cubby holes until all are filled.

And if you really want to keep the area in and around the shoe cabinet clean, don't just line the compartments with the rubber mats. Lay them down in front of the shoe cupboard, too. If you're concerned about them moving out of place, use some command strips on the bottom of the mats to keep them stationary. You may also find it helpful to put the MyGift Boot Scraper With Brushes outside, too. Boot scrapers are a tool that allows you to remove stubborn chunks of mud and grime from your boots and shoes. Adding this extra step to your shoe-cleaning routine means that the shoes that go into your cubbies are as clean as they possibly can be, cutting down on the mess.