It’s Why Not Organize Something Wednesday! Yay, time to organize again. Andy has a lot of kids and was wondering what to do with all those shoes that are always underfoot. And why can you never find the match? Having eight kids, we’ve always had hoards of shoes in the house. We’ve had to make a few rules and tweak ideas as we’ve gone along. Here are some ideas to help you keep those shoes organized. Use the ones that work for you and your family and hopefully no more stepping over shoes by the front door.
1. You might think a pretty basket by the entry door for shoes is a good idea. Uhmmm, not so much. You end up with kids dumping out the whole basket to find their shoes, muddy shoes on top of clean shoes and so many shoes that they’re pouring out of the basket. So baskets by the front door don’t work.
2. Pack away seasonal shoes. Okay, if you have snow boots out in August your 2 year old is going to want to wear them. The same if you have flip flops out in January. Make it easier on yourself and pack away those shoes that aren’t being used this season.
3. Dance shoes, Soccer cleats, Baseball clets, Wrestling shoes, etc, etc, etc. Have a separate bag for each sports activity and have their shoes in the bag with the other needed equipment. Now you’re always able to find them and you can just grab the bag and go.
4. Dress/Church shoes. How often do your children wear these? Probably only once a week, so put them away right after they’re used. You can use an over the door shoe organizer, cubbies or on a shelf in their closet. Again, with young children, out of site, out of mind. It they see them, they’ll want to wear them.
5. Have a designated place for shoes by the entry to your home. If you give kids a designated place for their shoes and make it their responsibility, they’ll usually live up to the challenge. The exception is teenagers. Here are some ideas: a shelf with their name or a number on it, cubbies with their name or an outline of their shoes on a decorated cookie sheet under a bench. You can use a small basket per child that only holds 2 pair of shoes each. Put a cute label or tag on it with a picture of them on the front. Kids love a picture of themselves on things.
6. I have a rule of only 2 shoes each in the entry area. The rest have to be in their room. If I find more shoes per child, they get a warning to put their shoes away. If they haven’t put their shoes away before bedtime, they get put in jail and they have to do a small chore to get them back.
I hope these ideas helped you be able to keep your shoes more organized. I still don’t have the mudroom (I can’t wait) finished so this is what we’ve been doing for the last few years. I always say “Use what you have” so this is what we had (the bottom part of a hutch). I know I need to paint it and change the hardware (that used to be in style). This is what’s working for us right now, little people shoes on top, bigger people shoes on bottom. By the way, I also have foot spray and a scented candle in the cabinet too.
Have a wonderful, organized day!
It really only helps to have to basic shoes for each season for each kid, too.
Although someone needs to tell this to Nana, who likes to buy new shoes with every outfit!
This post is full of GREAT ideas!! You make a very good point with the shoe basket. Thank you so much for sharing.
These are all wonderful ideas!! That was so sweet of you to spend so much time and effort making that post. I really appreciate it!! You’ve got me thinking about a few things I hadn’t considered before and I love the idea of putting their picture on their special place. That could me really fun!
Thanks so much!
~Andy
Thanks for sharing. I always leave one shoes per person by the front door. Other shoes keep it in the shoes closest. Otherwise, it will be a mass by the front door.