Taking off shoes at the door

[crunchy_mommy]

I'd like to start doing this, but how do you keep it organized & not a big messy pile of shoes? We have a closet in our entryway but it's kind of in an awkward position (and not very big) so that's not a great place for them. Then we have about a 1-foot-square area right inside when you walk in but I can't figure out how to make it look nice if we put the shoes there. Plus we have a lot of shoes (for different weather etc.) so how do you keep it from becoming ALL your different shoes ending up in that pile? Am I making sense? I'm kind of tired/stressed today so not sure if I'm asking this correctly...

[Owen'nZoe]

You need a good shoe rack for whichever location you choose. :) In our case, we have a small entry way closet, and on the floor is a small shoe rack that fits exactly 1 pair of shoes for each person. We have a larger shoe rack in the laundry room (which is the entryway we generally use, anyway). If your spot is full in the front closet, you carry your shoes to the rack in the laundry room.

When guests come over, they just line their shoes up on the entry way floor. This may or may not be acceptable where you live - here, everyone expects to have to remove their shoes in someone's house, so no one bats an eyelid at a big pool of shoes near the front door. :)

[HollyBearsMom]

We have a plastic mat for dirty/wet shoes and a wooden cubby (four slots) for the extra shoes we keep in the mudrrom area.

What about an over the door shoe rack inside (or outside) the closet?

[emmaegbert]

have you found an over-the-door shoe rack that works for kids and large man shoes? we're going to need a shoe solution for our soon-to-be tiny apartment for the 4 of us. We are a shoes-off house and yeah, in our old apt the entry closet was sort of a shoe disaster zone. I am also currently trying to think through the whole "landing strip" idea... we'll have *very* limited space and I don't want it taken up by shoes and backpacks...

I do limit family members to 1-2 pr of shoes in active rotation, plus waterproof boots. But there is 4 of us so that is still potentially 12 pr of shoes!

[boobybunny]

we do shoes off.. a family of 5

by the front door gets cluttered.. I personally had three pairs there this afternoon..

It is just a matter of picking them up and taking them back to the bedrooms. 

Boots and muddy get taken off in the garage/laundry area.

We have one set of flip flops by our back door that "kinda" fit all of us..(not the youngest) we use those for running out the door for chicken chores.

[justmama]

Could you hang one of those shoe organizer things?  That might work.  Or one of those sweater organizer things that go in closets.  Give everyone a pocket.  Or even just those shoe rack things that are like stacked bookshelves.  .  You need to use vertical space to stack them up.

[justmama]

Originally Posted by emmaegbert 

have you found an over-the-door shoe rack that works for kids and large man shoes? we're going to need a shoe solution for our soon-to-be tiny apartment for the 4 of us. We are a shoes-off house and yeah, in our old apt the entry closet was sort of a shoe disaster zone. I am also currently trying to think through the whole "landing strip" idea... we'll have *very* limited space and I don't want it taken up by shoes and backpacks...

I do limit family members to 1-2 pr of shoes in active rotation, plus waterproof boots. But there is 4 of us so that is still potentially 12 pr of shoes!

[crunchy_mommy]

Hmm the closet doors slide so I can't use an over-the-door organizer, and there's not enough space inside for a shoe rack (that's also wear we store the vacuum etc.)

I hate the idea of having essentially a narrow bookcase of shoes... I feel like it will look messy & unorganized lol. I really want something that conceals them. I guess I need to make a mini shoe closet (shelf with doors) lol.

[HollyBearsMom]

Originally Posted by crunchy_mommy 

Hmm the closet doors slide so I can't use an over-the-door organizer, and there's not enough space inside for a shoe rack (that's also wear we store the vacuum etc.)

I hate the idea of having essentially a narrow bookcase of shoes... I feel like it will look messy & unorganized lol. I really want something that conceals them. I guess I need to make a mini shoe closet (shelf with doors) lol.

Cant be any messier than them strewn all over the floor, right?   

What about a rack that hangs from the closet pole, not on the door or one for the floor since there is no room.  Kind of like this: 

http://www.amazon.com/Shelf-Mens-Hanging-Organizer-Natural/dp/B0000TQEZ6/ref=dp_cp_ob_k_title_0

or this

http://www.amazon.com/Closet-Complete-22116-18-Pocket-Organizer/dp/B002AKKE1I

or this:

http://www.bedbathandbeyond.com/product.asp?SKU=14511237

[nd_deadhead]

Is there any other place you could put the vacuum to free up the closet space for shoes? Either stacking from the floor or hanging from the rod - or both! I would think that shoes get used a lot more than the vacuum.

[crunchy_mommy]

Originally Posted by nd_deadhead 

Is there any other place you could put the vacuum to free up the closet space for shoes? Either stacking from the floor or hanging from the rod - or both! I would think that shoes get used a lot more than the vacuum.

LOL not in our house!! DS's favorite 'toy' is the vacuum (and we also use it several time a day because... well, we have a toddler!) But that closet is the only one on the whole first floor (besides our bedroom & bathroom closets which are both too narrow to even fit a vaccum)...

HollyBearsMom, something like that just might work! I'll have to check the dimensions & move things around a bit to see if we can fit that kind of thing. Will be a tight squeeze, but maybe it would work. The other thought I just had was something like a mini storage ottoman type of thing right around the corner but that probably won't fit DH's giant shoes (seriously... his feet are huge!!) Maybe I'm overanalyzing this, it's just hard to start a new routine (taking shoes off upon entry) when I can't figure out exactly how it will work but the house is such a mess I don't know why I'm focusing so much on this one thing lol!!

[Climbergirl]

IKEA has some good solutions.  We have shoe racks along the wall, but it looks like furniture, so it is nice.

[omamasmama]

I would say set up a place to sit for guests to take their shoes off, a rack or we have a basket or old wooden crate to store shoes in and we also on keep out the shoes we use for that season. (we store summer ones in winter and vice versa). We also have a covered area outside of our door and kick our shoes off there. Guests usually pick up on it and then come in and do the same. (everyone except my mom, who refuses and has so for years )

[zoebird]

look for asian-style shoe cabinets. these typically are waist or chest high, not too deep or wide, and come in a variety of finishes. they typically have two doors, and inside two drawers on top (great for things like keys, wallets, etc on one side, and mittens, hats, scarves on the other), and then below, a grid of 4, 6, 8, etc "shoe boxes" for individual shoes.

they can cost anywhere from $50 (for MDF painted in asian motifs or black) to thousands of dollars for antiques. they look nice though; i really like them. :)

[matey]

I've seen those plastic mats at kohl's for $10. I couldnt talk myself into it though.

We converted to no shoes maybe about 2 years ago. We have a limit. It is more unspoken, but when dh and I both respect it. There are only 3 adult pairs thgat stay out.My everyday shoes, dh's shoe of the day (he changes each day, but I dont) and dh's slippers, which fut both of us. In the summer, instead of slippers we kept a pair of burks by the door. That way we can slip them on to run out side if we need to. My son has two pairs of shoes, and we use our fireplace brick part as a shoe shelp for him. We have taught him to place his shoes neatly in their spot. We keep the rest of the shoes in our closets. We just make a point to be neat about.

It is harder in the winter. In the summer shoes go off and on so easily. My dh wears laced combat boots a lot, so it is annoying for him. But, my ds keeps on him and tells him to take his shoes off.,

[foxsmama]

DH and I used to live with my family in Hawaii before DS was born. It was a shoes-off house (very common in Hawaii), and there were 7 people total living there. My Mum had a wooden shoe cubby by the front door. It worked great because it got all the shoes off of the floor, and kept the pairs together each in their own slot.

[Katie T]

Could you put the hanging over the door shoe rack on the entry way door? I don't know if that would still look messy. I have the little cubbies from Target like this but mine is white and doesn't hang on the wall http://www.target.com/Rubbermaid-Configurations-Shoe-Cubby-Unit/dp/B000MPQM2S/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&searchView=grid5&keywords=shoe%20cubbies&fromGsearch=true&sr=1-2&qid=1304638605&rh=&searchRank=target104545&id=Rubbermaid%20Configurations%20Shoe%20Cubby%20Unit&node=1038576|1287991011&searchSize=30&searchPage=1&searchNodeID=1038576|1287991011&searchBinNameList=subjectbin%2Cprice%2Ctarget_com_primary_color-bin%2Ctarget_com_size-bin%2Ctarget_com_brand-bin&frombrowse=0

I hope that link works. For the littlest 2 I can fit 2 pairs of shoes in each cubbie front to back. And for slim shoes like sandles I can stack one on top of the other and fit several pairs. I don't know if something like this would fit your space. Also mine was on a great sale so like $20.

[newbymom05]

Our main entry is through the garage and we have a teeny tiny entryway. I'm thinking of getting a shoe/boot tray from Ballard Designs. It'll still be sloppy but in a fancy container, lol. I've tried racks and bins but for us they're not practical--everyone wants to slip on their shoes from the floor, not search and find. I agree w/ the other posters who say the key is to only have out the shoes everyone's wearing at the time. So in theory there'd only be 4 pairs of shoes in a tray for my family of 4. When we have guests they enter through the front and they just leave their shoes on the foyer floor.

[St. Margaret]

I didnt read the whole thread but here's what we have-- a basket for shoes and it slides under our old coffee table which is now our table for entryway stuff/the take-upstairs basket. So you can reach in a bit or slide it out and it's pretty concealed. You could get a bin that is even more hidden but I like I can pop shoes in and out easily and it's mostly hidden. So small table plus small basket might work for you. We just kinda haul shoes up to closets if it get too full of random pairs. Mostly just our daily one or two

[ChristyMarie]

Google "shoe cabinet" and you'll find a ton of narrow options good for small spaces.

Ikea has some great basic ones for not much cash.

Others get nicer and really look a bit like furniture. 

You could also do vertical shelves in your 1 foot space with a basket in each for shoes.  One per person.  When it is full, you gotta take your shoes up to your closet.  Lining it in a good plastic will prevent drips and make clean up easier.