How To Organize Shoes Without a Shoe Rack

Placing a shoe rack near the door is an excellent idea since that’s where you most often put on or take off your shoes. It helps organize your everyday shoes so you aren’t kicking them on the floor and making the house dirty. But how do you organize shoes when you don’t have a shoe rack?

Here’s how to organize shoes without a shoe rack:

1. Get a hanging shoe organizer.
2. Display the shoes with stackable shoe bins.
3. Use a storage bench or ottoman.
4. Hide shoes in the hallway cabinet.
5. Redefine a lazy Susan.
6. Get buckets and baskets for each family member.
7. Save space with upright shelves.

As you consider these shoe organization tips, it’s important to think about your available space, who the people using those shoes are, and aesthetics. Some solutions will be more aesthetically pleasing but not so suitable for kids if you want them to organize their shoes as well. Keep reading to learn more.

1. Get a Hanging Shoe Organizer

Good old shoe hangers are the perfect solution to storing and organizing footwear in your doorway or closet, especially if space is an issue. The hanger cleverly utilizes the vertical space, leaving your floor clear and clean.

The best thing about shoe hangers is that they are a cheap, ready-made solution that you can hang anywhere. You can choose whether you want one made of fabric or plastic and how many shoes you want to organize in it. This SimpleHouseware Hanging Closet Organizer (link to Amazon), for example, looks and works exactly like a shoe rack, except it’s way cheaper, occupies less space, and you can fold it up.

Simply drop your shoes in one of the pockets when you come in and get another pair tomorrow as you go out (source).

2. Display the Shoes With Stackable Shoe Bins

Speaking of display shoe storage, you can get a few clear plastic shoe bins where you will be throwing the shoes when you come in. Stack as many of these boxes together to make a tower, and they will still look neat. Also, since the boxes are transparent, you get to see which shoes are inside and only pick that one box.

Clear shoe boxes are a favorite among sneakerheads because you can showcase your beloved shoes while protecting them. What’s more, the boxes have small ventilation holes to keep your shoes dry and odor-free.

3. Use a Storage Bench or Ottoman

We all struggle to keep balance while tying shoes, pulling up a boot, or even wearing strappy high heels. Having a bench you can sit on when wearing shoes makes this much easier. But what if I told you that bench could double up as shoe storage?

Get a comfortable bench for your entryway with two or three shelves on the inside. You can have a door or leave it open for easier access. It may not fit so many shoes at once, but you will at least have your everyday shoes at the door waiting and somewhere convenient to put them when you come home.

Alternatively, you can do the same thing with an ottoman. Most people have an ottoman by the door or near the living room. It’s decorative, and you can also sit on it while wearing shoes. The space inside the ottoman is excellent for shoe storage, and nobody will even suspect there are shoes in there.

You can add storage pockets to your regular ottoman or simply pick up a ready-made storage ottoman like this Amazon Basics Storage Ottoman (link to Amazon). It’s big, multi-purpose, and will save you a lot of time.

4. Hide Shoes in the Hallway Cabinet

While some people have a storage bench on their entryway, others have a hallway cabinet, also known as a console table. This decorative piece can also double up as shoe storage, where you hide away a few seasonal staples.

All you need is a console table with a few shelves and probably a door, so no one will see what is inside. It’s also an excellent place to hide away guest shoes instead of leaving them lying in your entryway.

5. Redefine a Lazy Susan

Yes, a lazy susan that resembles the one used to distribute food on the table is a great shoe organizer. The same concept that makes lazy susans an incredibly convenient way to organize your spices and condiments can also be put to work for your shoes.

Take for example the Kings Lazy Susan Shoe Rack (link to Amazon). Its space-saving design fits into a small corner and spins so you can find your shoe choices at a glance. 

It is spacious, convenient, and can display your shoes beautifully. Kids and guests will be fascinated with this revolutionary storage, so you won’t have any issues convincing anyone to place their shoes there.

One great trick here is to bring out all the shoes you’ll be wearing that week and display them on the lazy susan. Then simply rotate the thing as you go out and pick up your day shoes. At the end of the week, the shoes are cleaned and changed if need be.

6. Get Buckets or Baskets for Each Family Member

If you’ve too many people in your home and all the above solutions don’t seem sufficient, you can try using baskets or buckets for shoe storage. This is better than just tossing shoes on the floor, and it’s easier for kids who don’t care about organization.

For some semblance of order, allocate one basket to each family member and label it with their name. This will be easy enough even for kids to put in their shoes and find them when they need to go out. If you are alone, however, you can allocate each bucket or basket to types of shoes, i.e., sneakers, sports shoes, sandals, and so on.

If you can, get wide wicker baskets because it’s easy to find shoes in there. You can also get transparent buckets so everyone can see what is inside before opening the bucket.

7. Save Space With Upright Shelves

Most people have a narrow hallway that won’t accommodate an ottoman, storage cabinet, or even stackable boxes. In this case, a great alternative to hanging shoe storage is upright shelves built into the wall. 

Instead of placing the shoes flat, they will stand upright, which takes more vertical space but almost zero frontal space. This is an excellent idea if it’s adults who will be using the storage since kids can struggle to stand shoes on the shelves.

If space is not so bad, consider floating shelves instead. They are easy to install and can accommodate quite many shoes.

Final Word

As you can see, there are many ways to keep your shoes organized and well-presented, even without a shoe rack. 

Some of them you can DIY, while others are available at such an affordable cost. If you can get one item to serve two masters, like the console tables, for example, go for it and maximize usage.