Good Morning, Cowboys and Cowgirls!

Hats off to you and your newly organized bags!

Today we tackle a category that I see scattered all around the homes I work in–Shoes!  They find their way into closets, entryways, hallways, bedrooms, you name it.  Whenever a client and I do a shoe-wrangle up, they inevitably re-discover long lost favorites to add into their rotation and find that it’s time to part with other pairs that are taking up valuable real estate in their home.  It’s time to bring some order to our shoe collections!  Fair warning: for some shoe-lovers out there, this may be more than a 10 -minute task…

Saddle up, put 10 minutes on the clock, and Get Ready…Get set…GO!

1. Grab a bag or box and lasso all the shoes in your home. 

2. Spread out the whole kit-and-caboodle. Sort your shoes into categories. Sort by season, by occasion, or whatever makes sense to you.

3. Take a look at these piles and notice what’s accumulated.  What is unnecessarily building up?  Do you really wear all of these shoes–if the answer is no, is it because you’ve simply forgotten about them or because they’re no longer something you’re interested in wearing?  Ask yourself which shoes you’ll realistically wear and donate or toss any footwear that are broken, irrelevant, or you no longer have a use for.  Side note to those who, like me, tend to get attached to shoes even when you know you won’t ever wear them again–by donating these shoes, you can give them a whole new life, a new chance to be loved and worn by someone else, which is better than relegating them to marinate in your dust bunny collection.

4. For the remaining shoes, make it easy on yourself to find what you need when you need it next.  Designate a station where your shoes will be kept, one or two central location where shoes can be easily stored and accessed.  Store like items with like, and consider protecting your nicer shoes form the elements with shoe boxes or bags.  Be sure that your system is intentional–no more mindlessly stashing away shoe wherever you are when they come off your feet.

Over-the-door shoe pockets are a great way to make use of otherwise wasted door space.  My friend Karla make this shoe storage unit for herself out of bricks and shelves she found–I LOVE it!  For heels, consider a storage option that is also a way to display your collection, like I have done here with this old ladder.

Time’s Up!  Kick off your boots and congratulate yourself on completing your tenth challenge!

Happy trails and happy organizing!