I’m always trying to think of new solutions around the house to ease the chaos and clutter. Just before Christmas, I decided that I was fed up with the mess in the downstairs hallway. The rest of the family (and sometimes me) would literally kick shoes and other footwear towards the half height under-the-stairs cupboard with a tiny chance that at least one shoe would land in there.

I was working on another home project at the time and my coach suggested that it might be a distraction to try and fix the shoe cupboard issue as well. I knew he was right and decided that whilst working on one thing at a time was out of my comfort zone, I could treat the shoe cupboard project as a reward for actually completing something else.

I had previously seen some shoe racks on Amazon that might do the trick, but decided to wait to purchase anything until I was completely focusing on it. No impulse buying until ready!

Fast forward to the beginning of February, I reviewed the shoe racks that I’d put in my basket, and selected one. I made the choice based on the maximum space available in the cupboard and the fact that it had wipeable shelves (no one would even think about wiping the mud off their shoes before shoving them in). I also remembered to pay particular attention to the height of each shelf for things like ankle boots.

It arrived the next day and putting it together took hardly any time at all. Here is the the final result and all the research paid off.

Now, what I haven’t told you is that there is a built in shelf structure behind this shoe rack that my husband built many years ago, and although it’s useful, it’s too far back for anyone to be bothered to put their shoes away. I’m assuming this was because (a) they might have hit their head on the cupboard or (b) no one had the patience.

My thoughts on the shelf behind is that we can rotate what shoes appear on the front shoe rack each season.

So, the most exciting bit for me (but then I’m easily pleased) is that two months on, the shoe cupboard looks exactly the same. I never labeled the shelves or told anyone where to put their shoes, they just remember where they go. And… they all like it. And… I now have one less thing to worry about around the house whilst juggling everyday life stuff, work and a multitude of other things.

Have you got any shoe cupboard stories or challenges to share?

Until next time…

Sandra

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