Throughout the years, we all tend to acquire a good amount of shoes for various occasions. Whether they are heels for a fancy date or hiking boots for the mountains or even a nice clean pair of white sneakers. Different kinds of shoes require different kinds of storage so that we can maximize the length of their shelf life and wearing life. We spend so much time walking in on our feet, so it makes good sense to take care of the things that protect them and make our outfit look better. 

Here are a few tips on how to store your shoes so they last forever and making sure the money you spent on your shoes is well spent. 

1. Cleaning

Before you even begin to store them, you want to prep your shoes for storage. That means cleaning them thoroughly, stuffing the appropriate shoes with wooden shoe horns or acid-free tissue paper, and applying a leather conditioner to leather shoes.

1. Organize

After you’ve cleaned and protected them, you’ll want to organize them into categories. The best way to categorize them is into shoes you wear often, shoes you wear less often, and special occasion shoes you wear less frequently (think high-heels and snow boots). Similar styles and purposes should stick together, i.e. running shoes with tennis shoes, work shoes, high heels, etc. This will make it easier to access and find over time.

1. Bins

The easiest and most straightforward way to store a large number of shoes and protect them for a long time is to put them in clear shoe bins or boxes. With many shoes, it’s much easier to find shoes in your closet when you can see them in their boxes. When you’re putting your shoes in the bins make sure to put them in so you can see them clearly. There are a lot of options from storage container shops to personal organizing bins that you can find online that are made specifically for shoe storage. If you prefer to use boxes that you already have, try printing out and placing a photo of the shoes on the outside the boxes to easily identify and access them.

1. Racks

 While most of us assume that shoes are best kept on the floor, that’s actually not the best case in protecting and storing your shoes. When they’re on the floor, they can get stacked into piles and get really messy. Also, you’ll lose sight and track of where shoes are worn on the floor. Opt for a rack over the floor but avoid wire racks as wire racks are very hard to organize, and many shoes get pushed to the back. If you do opt for the floor, try an under bed storage container for them.

1. Vertical

Sometimes you don’t always have a large amount of space in our closet to store shoes horizontally. Thankfully, there are many vertical options for storing shoes such as over the door hangers or hanging racks on the closet rod that help store shoes like sandals, flats, and more lightweight shoes.

1. Types of Shoe

Different shoes require different care and protection for storage. For sneakers, if they have a bit of a lingering smell, try putting laundry dryer cloths to soak up any stench and open bins to help air them out. For tall boots, you can try boot shapers to keep their form standing tall or lay them down flat in long bins. For fancy heels that you wear only every so often, you’ll want to put them up high where you know they are safe from knicks or damage.