Why Shoes Are So Hard to Organize — and What Finally Helped Me

May 8, 2025

Shoe storage is one of the most common questions I get from clients and it’s no surprise — shoes are hard to organize. It’s not just about space, it’s also about volume. We all need different shoes for different parts of our lives: work, exercise, errands, events, weather changes, hobbies etc. Multiply that by the number of people in a household, and suddenly there's a big pile of shoes by the entrance or in the mudroom — a common sight in many homes.

I get it, because I’ve been there.

My Struggle With Shoes

When I went through my own tidying journey, shoes were one of the hardest subcategories for me to tackle. At one point, I had over 100 pairs. Some were beautiful, some were practical, and some were... just there. The truth is, most of them didn’t support the life I actually lived.

Some of those shoes belonged to my fantasy self — the version of me who would attend glamorous events regularly or live in heels all day long like the ladies on “Sex and the City.” Others were beautiful but painfully uncomfortable. I held on to them thinking I might wear them “someday,” but someday never came. For years I told myself the fact that I enjoyed looking at them was reason enough to keep them - but is it?

I also used to wear certain shoes on date nights because they looked great — but I could barely walk in them so we couldn’t go for walks afterwards. What really changed was when I finally got honest with myself. I decided shoes that hurt my feet didn’t support my ideal lifestyle. I want to be comfortable to move freely, and take spontaneous walks whenever the mood strikes.

Redefining What Sparks Joy

That realization is what finally helped me and changed everything. I had created a new standard for myself: I would only keep shoes that looked good and allowed me to walk comfortably for at least an hour. That became my personal definition of a spark joy shoe.

Letting go of the rest felt incredibly liberating. I didn’t miss any of the shoes I let go of. In fact, I gained something more valuable: space, clarity, and a shoe collection that worked for me and my daily life.

Declutter First, Then Organize

When it comes to organizing anything, it’s always important to declutter first before you organize. This is also one of the 6 rules of the KonMari Method! It is truly a waste of time and space to make room and organize all the things that you don’t need in the first place. This is why it’s so important to be honest with yourself and declutter all the shoes that have no purpose in your life before you spend the time to look at the organization of it all. To organize, I always evaluate the space I am working with to see if I am able to store all of the shoes together or at least in the same area. In my own home, I have really easy access to my daily shoes in the shoe cabinets I have by the entrance but it’s not enough space to store everything so I have a couple of pairs of shoes stored in the front closet beside it - it’s still easy access but they are on a shelf stored in a clear shoe box. In some cases I do recommend storing some shoes separately but out of sight, out of mind is a real thing.

My Favourite (and least favourite) Shoe Racks

I’m a big fan of IKEA’s STÄLL shoe cabinets (or similar styles) and will often recommend them to clients because they sit neatly along a wall, don’t take up much space, and most importantly — they hide visual clutter. I have two at my front entrance and after 10+ years, we still love them as much as the day we bought them.

STÄLL Shoe cabinet, Image from Ikea Canada

For inside closets, I like using shoe racks if there is enough space. If you have a lot of vertical space, you can consider higher shoe racks or stackable ones to maximize the storage.

Are there shoe storage solutions I don’t recommend? Absolutely.

I tend to avoid anything flimsy or anything that requires constant upkeep. For example, there are a lot of shoe organizers where you can stack one on top and put one on the bottom. it’s supposed to save space but I think it takes too many steps to retrieve or put away your shoes each day so the chances you’ll skip putting your shoes away is high. I also don’t love shoe racks with large opening or holes as they’re not suitable for heels or your shoes may fall over frequently because of it.

SKOSTALL Shoe organizer, image from Ikea Canada

Shoes can be a tricky category, but once you define what truly supports your ideal life — and set up a system that works for you — it becomes much more manageable. The goal isn’t to have fewer shoes just for the sake of it. It’s to have shoes that bring comfort, function, and joy to your everyday life.

If you’d like some help with decluttering and organizing your home to make it more functional for your life, book a free consultation call and we can discuss how I can help!