Smart Ways To Store Shoes Without Baskets Or Shelves

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On average,women in the US own around 19 pairs of shoes, with men coming in a little behind with 12 pairs. Add on outdoor boots, walking shoes and gym trainers, along with the children's shoes and you've suddenly got a lot of footwear to find a home for. If you want to avoid improper shoes storage mistakes in your home, but haven't got the space for huge built-in shoe shelves or baskets, you might be wondering how best to keep your shoes neat, tidy and out of the way. Fortunately, there are plenty of clever ways to store shoes that will fit neatly into your existing home, from repurposing coat hooks through to using a shoe holder on the back of a door.  

Shoes aren't one of those things that you can leave lying around in a heap. Not only do piles of shoes take up a lot of space, they are also something of a trip hazard if left in a well-used pathway. Plus, there's nothing ascetically pleasing about a pile of mixed up shoes lying around your house. Decent shoe storage will also keep your shoes in better condition, keeping them better protected from accidental damage. 

Ditch your shoe bench for a more clutter-free way to keep boots and shoes organized by utilizing a humble hook. The logic here is simple — hooks sit flush against the wall, which means they'll take up far less space. Invest in some large individual hooks so that you'll be able to hang heavier boots alongside lighter pumps and heels and make sure that you hang them on the wall with suitable gaps both in between as well as above and below, so that there's plenty of space to fit the shoes themselves.    

Back-of-the-door shoe organizers aren't a new invention, but they can be particularly useful if you live in a smaller home or one that lacks a lot of storage space. These useful products contain soft pockets that are big enough to fit either a pair or a single shoe into. Many of these shoe organizers are also washable, which makes them easy to keep clean if you get any outside dirt or mud on them. And the best bit is that, once your closet door is shut, you won't even know the organizer is there.

An ottoman is an ideal hidden storage solution for anywhere in your home, so why not utilize one to store your shoes? This ottoman from Target is specifically designed to fit shoes inside but if you already have a storage ottoman at home, you can easily convert it using a little DIY. One of the simplest ways to do this is to cut up a back-of-the-door shoe organizer and use the pockets to store shoes in your ottoman. This is another ideal solution for homes that are short on storage space.  

Under-bed storage is often an underutilized space, but it's an ideal spot for storing your shoes. There are plenty of ways to DIY the spacious under-bed storage drawers of your dreams, but one of the simplest is to use a salvaged drawer. This is a particularly eco-friendly solution as it doesn't involve buying a new product. Alternatively, if you have some offcuts of wood lying around and are good at DIY, you could consider making your own custom drawer to fit the space. It's then easy to stack your shoes in neatly. 

Utilize your wall space for a unique and quirky way to display your shoes. This look was put together by Ikea's designer, Anna Cardell and uses a curtain wire that's been strung with wooden balls to create a trainer hanging display that's reminiscent of sneakers thrown over telephone wires. There are lots of crafting opportunities here, with another simple suggestion being to use a curtain rod as a useful hanging point for shoes with laces.  

Clear plastic totes are a great way to store shoes. Not only do they come in many different sizes, allowing to choose whether to store one pair or multiple, but they also allow you to see which shoe is inside. If you've got a robust shoe collection, this could make it far easier to dig out that perfect pair when you're in a rush to get out the door in the morning. 

For another space-saving shoe storage idea, take a look at wooden shoe racks such as these from Etsy. Slim and wall hugging, a wooden rack takes up minimal space by allowing you to store shoes and trainers inside vertically. This is another project that those with a good DIY bent could consider building themselves using sturdy offcuts of wood to craft a bespoke rack.

Towel rails are slim and sleek, usually coming in a choice of either wood or chrome finishes. Attached to the wall, they create the perfect amount of space to slot shoes vertically, reducing the amount of space those shoes would take up on the ground. This is an ideal solution for flat shoes such as trainers, sneakers, and men's dress shoes, but you will struggle to fit boots or heels into these slim gaps.