How to store and organize your shoes at home with 5 expert tips and three products

Shoes, boots, slippers and heels. We have them in every shape and condition. Some suffer the day-to-day battle and others have the privilege or misfortune of getting out of the box once a year for special occasions. But they all have one thing in common: they take up space, and coming up with the most effective (and aesthetic) way to organize and store them at home is one of the most universal fashion dramas.

That is why after a decade of failing in the mission of finding an order system with which to store the shoes we have at home, we have decided to seek expert help. Vanesa Travieso is the professional organizer, trained by none other than the order guru Marie Kondo, behind the Ponoden.com platform, to whom we have turned with this widespread problem. She reminds us that the first step to an effective home order involves going through all those items that are causing the space problem at home and possibly discarding, donating, or even throwing something away. "Be honest with yourself," she warns.

Which space in my house is the most appropriate to store shoes?

"It is advisable that they be separated from clothes, let's not forget that they can cause a bad smell," explains Travieso. "Take a good look at your house and think about where you could put a shoe rack that you can find already made in any furniture store according to the decoration of your house, or study the possibility of making one with 35 cm deep shelves." What are those recommended corners where perhaps you don't have anything and you haven't considered its possibilities as storage space? “It can be under a window or from side to side of a wall where you have nothing, take advantage of the gaps between columns. There is always a gap that we can take advantage of”, advises Travieso.

And what about those “dead spaces” that don't seem to have a chance? Well, there are some who give more of themselves than we think, with the right objects. "Take advantage of the space under the bed for shoes that are not from this season," suggests Vanesa Travieso. “Put some drawers with wheels or a platform where you can order your shoes. Another option is to keep them in compartmentalized bags that you can find in many places”.

And once I have found the space, how do I store them?

“To optimize the space in your shoe cabinet, intersperse one shoe facing forwards with another facing backwards”, recommends Travieso. "Take advantage and order by colors or types, it will help you find them faster." Also, to make it more organized and take advantage of the vertical space, there are some organizers that help to place a shoe on your partner without crushing each other. “A plastic adjustable shoe organizer is the best option to reduce shelf space by 50%. One on top of the other without spoiling them: comfortable and very practical”. For those who do not have more space than the last shelf in the closet, Travieso recommends transparent or mesh boxes whose exterior is visible from the outside, to find the pair you are looking for more quickly.”

And what do we do with high-heeled shoes and knee-high boots?

“High-heeled shoes are like rigid bags, you can't store them on top of each other because they get damaged, right? why not organize them on the wall?” suggests Travieso. “Hang bars and organize the shoes by resting the heel on it. Very easy to see, they won't get damaged and you'll make use of a space that we don't think about most of the time”. To take care that the knee boots do not get deformed, the organizer advises us to use a piece of cardboard or polystyrene inside so that they retain their shape, "or even the classic pool roller," she suggests. “If you only have a couple you can hang them by the stem on a skirt hanger on the lowest rod in the closet.”

And if some of these tips have seemed practical, pay attention, because this is the biggest challenge: “what we must not forget is that when a new pair enters our closet, another should leave.” At a time when sustainability is a shared concern (or so it should be) we have to transfer it to our purchasing habits. Buying intelligently prevents pieces that fail or that do not make us happy in our dressing room.