Day 5: Shoes {31 Days of Easy Decluttering}

Welcome back to 31 Days of Easy Decluttering! Throughout this series I’m sharing easy decluttering projects that you can complete in 10-15 minutes.  If you do them, then by the end of the month you’ll be enjoying a less cluttered home!

If you’ve missed any of the previous posts, there are links to them all here.

Today’s Easy Decluttering Project

Today we’re decluttering shoes.  I’m focusing mainly on the day-to-day shoes near the entry or in a hall closet.  Those should only take 10-15 minutes to declutter.

If you want to also tackle any shoes stored in your bedroom closet(s), you can apply the same decluttering tips for those shoes too.

Entryways can easily become cluttered with shoes so it’s good to go through them a few times a year (at least once per season).  That keeps the shoe clutter under control, which helps us get in and out of the door with less stress.

Easy Decluttering Steps

Throughout the series, you’ll follow these steps to complete each daily task.  {Don’t forget to take before and after pictures to share too!}

Note: The main purpose of this series is to declutter so don’t get overwhelmed doing too much cleaning.  Once your house is less cluttered it will be easier to clean so you can always come back and do it later!

Also, if you have the time, you can organize the space while you’re doing this step, but don’t get overwhelmed with too much organizing this month.  We’re focused on decluttering!

Purging Tips for Your Shoes

Follow the steps listed above, and use these tips as you purge (step #5) your shoes:

• Throw out any shoes that are worn out or broken or that are missing their mates (note: many textile recyclers will take shoes which is a great way to keep them out of landfills)
• Store shoes that you want to hand down to a younger child in your family
• Store off-season shoes that you know will still fit and be worn next season
• Give away or donate all shoes that don’t fit anyone in the family
• Donate or give away any regular shoes that have not been worn in the last few months (if you’re not sure, you may be able to tell by how much dust is on them)
• Consider the amount of space you have for your shoes.  If you still need to purge further, give away or donate shoes that you have multiple, similar versions of.

Using these tips, you should be able to maintain a clutter-free entryway.  At least when it comes to shoes 🙂

Pictures and Links to Inspire You

If you’d like to keep the shoe clutter under control on an ongoing basis, it’s important to have a designated place for shoes to go.  Whether that’s the same place for kids and adults is up to you, but everyone in the family should know where their shoes belong and be expected to put them back in that spot.  Every. Single. Time.

There are tons of shoe storage options you can purchase:  over-the-door shoe organizers, hanging shoe organizers, wooden or wire shoe shelves, shoe cubbies, shoe baskets, and shoe cabinets, to name just a few.  Depending on your space and budget, you can decide what option(s) work best for you.

Here are a few options to consider:

• Wire shoe shelves (link also contains a tutorial for DIY hangers for flip flops!)

• A flip-down shoe cabinet from Ikea (I love that it hides the shoes in something that looks pretty!)

• Plastic baskets or bins (one per child)

• A DIY option using PVC pipes to make cubbies for shoes

• Here’s a combination of shelves, bins, and baskets for shoes.

• And here’s a great example using plastic drawers to store shoes.

*Please share from the original source if you choose to share these pictures.  If you want to share this post please use the image at the top.  

If You’re On A Roll…

Here are a few other posts about shoes if you want to read more:

31 Days of Organizing Tips:  Day 25 (Entry)

31 Days of Organizing Tips:  Day 23 (Master Closet)

Organizing Our Hall Closet

My Daughter’s Closet is Finally HER Closet

• For ideas on how to organize your shoes, check out my Entryways, Drop zones, & Command Centres board.
• And for DIY shoe organizer ideas, take a peek at my DIY Organizers board.  
• You can find more decluttering tips on my Decluttering/Purging Tips & Ideas board.
• For cleaning tips, you’ll find a bunch on my Cleaning & Cleaning Supplies board.

Good luck with today’s decluttering project!  I’d love to hear how you did, so please leave a comment and use the hashtag #31DaysEasyDecluttering when you share your pictures.

How many shoes did you declutter today?  How do you organize your shoes to keep the clutter at bay?  Any purging tips I missed for shoes?

If you need help decluttering, contact me for in-person organizing services in the Mississauga area, or virtual organizing services anywhere else.

Happy organizing decluttering!