life in *your* tiny apartment.

September 26, 2012

shoes_again

Last week, I received this note:

Hello!


I live in a pretty small apartment with my husband and I find that one of our main problems in properly storing our shoes. We each have quite a lot and they end up sitting around our (tiny) closet door. That plus the presence of our laundry bin just makes our room look…bad. I’d love to hear how you store shoes and such! 

Thank you,
Elise 
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I think I failed you guys the last time I talked about shoes. In my defense, the tip was really more about storage than shoes, but did I think I was single or something? James must have been out of the house and wearing all of his shoes at once when I took that shot. The above shot shows our shoes, currently. They’re crammed into a wooden crate that we keep just inside the door to our apartment. It gets a little messy and sometimes I worry that James’s shoes are smushing my clogs, but mostly it keeps things corralled and that’s what we’re really after anyway. For what it’s worth, we keep our “fancy” shoes hanging in our hall closet in something similar to this that we found at our neighborhood hardware store. My cowgirl boots also live in the hall closet, until it’s cool enough to wear them, and then we pretend like they’re décor and let them sit pretty in a corner.

The advice is simple, but threefold:

1. Get a bin or a box to keep the shoes you wear most often.
2. Make sure it’s pleasant to look at.
3. Get disciplined about putting your shoes in it.

As for the laundry…stay tuned.

It all boils down to habit, friends. If you want organized shoes, make a habit of putting them away. Eventually, it becomes second nature.
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Do you have a tiny apartment quandary? Send me a note, along with pictures if you’d like, and we’ll see if we can’t tackle it together.

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7 Comments

  • Reply Lottie Simm September 26, 2012 at 6:29 pm

    just a warning about using a bin, do not put slightly damp shoes in there they will get mouldy and make other shoes mouldy. just a warning 🙂

    1
  • Reply Charlotte September 26, 2012 at 6:50 pm

    I agree with Lottie, I'm stupid enough to throw soaked shoes in with my lovely clean ones.

    I love your tiny apartment posts so much, you made me laugh with your line about james wearing all his shoes at once too 🙂

    1
  • Reply Erin September 26, 2012 at 7:01 pm

    i've never had a mold problem myself, but i suppose i do leave truly sopping shoes out of the bin until they're dried!

    1
  • Reply EveR September 26, 2012 at 9:43 pm

    We keep our shoes on ladder shelves right by the door, along with some kids' toys and other knick-knacks. The kicks are in plain view, but the practicality is unmatched.

    1
  • Reply teeny September 26, 2012 at 10:46 pm

    i'm not sure if i'm more jealous of that super cute crate, or of the fact that that is the majority of your shoes?!?! homegirl might be needing an intervention….

    mylettchronicals

    1
  • Reply Neurotic Workaholic September 27, 2012 at 4:38 am

    It's hard for me to figure out where to put my big snow boots during the winter, especially because they track in slush. I always just wear the same dress shoes to work and sneakers to the gym over and over again until they wear out; that way, I only have to deal with a couple pairs of shoes at a time.

    1
  • Reply Alison September 27, 2012 at 5:56 am

    Our current place isn't even that small and I still manage to leave my shoes everywhere. I need to develop some of this discipline that you speak of before we move to a bigger city and smaller house. 🙂

    1
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