We couldn’t do all of this work in the laundry area and just ignore our sloppy shoe situation. Since the side door into our laundry room is our most-used entrance, it’s also the dumping ground for most of our footwear (since we try to keep shoes off in the house). Up until now, our “storage solution” has been a shallow woven basket from Bed Bath & Beyond about five years ago (that and a pile next to it – not pictured, because I don’t want to ruin the illusion that we’re not complete animals).
This system actually worked fine at the old house since the basket stayed in the sunroom, where it sort of fit the casual feel of the room. Plus, when it overflowed it didn’t create a tripping hazard on our way out the door or to the washer since that was a much larger space.
But since we’re now dealing with a 3’5″ wide room, we realized we needed something with a more “organized” vibe, like this cheap-o shoe shelf for all shoes for cross country running that once lived in Clara’s closet at our first house (originally snagged at Target a while back).
It wasn’t bad (especially if we had taken the time to notch out the back to fit around the baseboards). But it wasn’t great, either. Why? Well, we seem to have a mini Carrie Bradshaw on our hands thanks to Clara, so shoes often become playthings and end up looking more like this:
That’s when we agreed that concealed storage was what we needed to be hunting for.
There are lots of good options out there for shoe cabinets, it seems. Ikea even has a few different versions to choose from. But everything was too wide (we only have 24″ to work with) or too tall (we’d didn’t want it going higher than the window sill so it would look nice and streamlined since the built-ins we added lined up with the sill as well).
After a few other stores were a bust too, we contemplated using a plan from ana-white.com to custom build something (she has amazing and completely free furniture tutorials for those not in the know). But before we went out and bought a ton of lumber and worried about building something that could stand up to everyday slamming, Roberta saved the day with this comment about affordable and ready-made Ikea recycling bins that might just do the trick:
Yup, she kindly introduced us to Retur, who we met in person on a recent trip to Ikea. We liked him so much that we came home with him and his twin brother (at $19 a piece).
It hadn’t come up in our search results because, as Roberta noted, they’re technically “recycling bins” but are coincidentally designed just like a shoe cabinet. Plus, their 23.5″ width made them a PERFECT fit for our 24″ space. That was enough for us to overlook that they:
- weren’t bright white (they still read as white in the room, and we’re not really die-hard about all of our white tones matching perfectly anyway)
- were plastic (wood might have been nice, but Sherry pointed out that something wipe-able, less precious, and virtually ding/scratch proof might be good for shoes anyway)
Another little detail that we did our best to overlook: between the two of them they only came with one screw to hang them. Yup, somebody must have been daydreaming about swedish meatballs on the Ikea assembly line or something.
But after digging out some of my own screws, they were a cinch to install (four screws/anchors per piece through pre-made holes in the back). We were in business in practically no time (for those who actually want a time breakdown it was probably fifteen minutes total). And so far Clara hasn’t so much as touched them once (I think the lack of knobs to pull on has her stumped for now).
The most amazing part is that not only was the width perfect, but the height was almost too good to be true. When the two stacked units were placed right on top of our baseboard the top was perfectly flush with the window sill. We still can’t believe it. And there was about a centimeter of breathing room on either side (so it looks nice and intentionally centered between the door and the sill).
So now that whole wall is almost like one seamless shelf thanks to the window sill that visually connects the ones I built to our new shoe cabinets (which are all on the same exact level). And I shouldn’t fail to mention that although they’re made for recyclables, they store shoes quite nicely too (including room for some frequently-used pairs to be stashed underneath).
In short, we’re thrilled – and eternally grateful to Roberta The Perfectly Timed Commenter. The rooms feels sooooo much more organized without a mess of sandals and running shoes waiting to greet us. And the Returs are so danged narrow (they only stick out six inches beyond the door frame) that the room actually feels more open than it did with the more invasive basket or stacked shelf options that we had going on before.
Eventually we’re thinking that we might do something to gussy them up a bit more – maybe paint them or cover the fronts/top with decorative paper (or even grasscloth wallpaper or colorful labels) but we want to wait for the rest of the room to come together before doing anything that could end up being “too busy” in the end. You know, since the whole space is only about as wide as a bathroom stall, as demonstrated by my monkey-toed self in this photo from a few weeks back (so not every item in the small space has to scream “look at me!”):
Speaking of the rest of the room, here’s our almost-totally-crossed-off laundry room list:
Paint the odd brown quarter round near the baseboards glossy white
Redo all the dinged up trim (also in semi-gloss white)Paint the wallsReplace our dryer hose with a safer all-metal oneAdd adjustable built-in shelving in that nook next to the stacked washer & dryerPrime & paint the upper cabinetryReplace the hinges and knobs on those upper cabinetsHang the ironing board to obscure the giant metal fuse box- Get a new light fixture <- we’ll be back to share our homemade clothespin chandelier tomorrow morning
- Add a window treatment (maybe a homemade one?) <— might just frost it when we convert the carport to a garage
Add other functional storage near the door for shoes, Burger’s leash, etc- Hang some art to keep it cheerful
Now it your turn. What’s your go-to shoe storage solution? Did you repurpose something like a basket, bin, ottoman, or cabinet? Or do your kicks usually end up somewhere they’re not supposed to? Does your baby throw them in all directions while screaming shoooooooooo, shoooooooooo!? It can’t just be ours that does that…
Kate Battle says
We did the exact same thing at our last house! We also put one of their small hook sets above for coats. Then we would hang up our coat, drop keys on the top of the shoe storage and throw the shoes in the bin. Worked great!
Suz McA says
what a great shoe storage solution! we use a big basket by the front door which works for us since we don’t have kiddos yet (just a 2 year old niece who is fond of snatching the shoes from the basket & trying them all on when she visits).
funny you should mention missing hardware from ikea…we ran into the same problem & didn’t have anything at home we could use so we called ikea and they sent us the missing piece… ALL THE WAY FROM SWEDEN (baffles me that they don’t have a US distributor). that was an expensive screw to ship…. good news was… it came in a week! speedy!
YoungHouseLove says
Wow- that is crazy!
xo,
s
Gwenalyn says
Oh, shoes… my daughter also throws shoes (and hides them) everywhere. She also yells “shooooe” all the time. Can’t blame her though – shoes are fun! ;) I just had a shoe incident with her this weekend.
http://randomrantingsofaramblingredhead.blogspot.com/2011/07/shoooooes.html
Love the solution you guys used! Props (does anyone say props anymore? I do…) to Roberta for coming up with the idea! It looks great!
YoungHouseLove says
Haha, I love it. We got cocky and stuff like that happens around here too thanks to the little munchkin. Haha.
xo,
s
GreenInOC says
I have two Componibili units (on sale from http://www.TheFoundary.com for a mere $54 each!), that I’ve stacked. The bottom one is for my shoes and the top one, I’m going to get the flat paint cans from The Container Store (http://www.containerstore.com/shop?productId=10003696&N=&Ntt=tins) for various stuff (1 for socks for guest (this is a shoeless house!), scissors & pens, dog bags, etc….
Apropos of nothing, I saw this on Etsy and thought you would appreciate it:
http://www.etsy.com/listing/76747579/the-right-brush
YoungHouseLove says
Woah- I don’t know if that would be awesome or totally throw me off! Haha.
xo,
s
GreenInOC says
I forgot to say, I LOVE your solution!
I immediately got that “grass is greener” feeling and immediately went and looked and the area I’ve got to see if I could copy. However, the awesome solution you’ve got goin’ on in your house won’t work in mine so now I don’t feel so jealous anymore!
Kristi says
Our baby LOVES shoes! We too keep ours in the laundry room (which has a gate up to keep the kiddo out) but in a messy pile (sad face). I love this idea and will soon be making a trip out to IKEA.
Anne G. says
I love it when you can repurpose something like a recycling bin for a shoe cabinet!
I am curious, do the drawers pull out easily? I am thinking of getting one of these to use for recycling, but I’m wondering if you can’t pull the bin out, it would be a pain to carry the recycling to the curb for pick up.
Thank you!
BTW, today is my first day of a new job after staying at home with my baby for 1.5 years. I think your blog is going to be the one thing I have to look forward to every morning when I turn on my computer. :)
YoungHouseLove says
Good question! John’s answer: no. They’re sort of a pain to pull in and out (they snap, but you have to bend the plastic to do it so it’s not as easy as to grab and go) and they oddly don’t have a back, so things could just spill over that edge if you remove them from the wall. Weird, huh?
xo,
s
Nora says
Ikea has similar sliding under the sink trash bins for recycling as well in their kitchen section. We got them with a large one for trash but they also make two small recycling ones. The bins go in sliders for the sink but then easily come out with a handle for trash day!
carolinaheartstrings says
What a great solution! Love Ikea. There is nothing that don’t have something great for. Now I cannot wait to see what will become of that basket!
{plum} says
love this solution! add a pop of color and throw on some swirly decals or maybe letter decals for labeling. I love all things labels!!!
best – d.
post script: don’t forget, be awesome.
YoungHouseLove says
Best. PS. Ever.
-John
Emily Kidd says
Is it weird seeing your house pinned on pinterest?!
YoungHouseLove says
Crazy weird! It gets me every time.
xo,
s
Beth says
Here’s what I did:
http://justheartit.blogspot.com/2011/05/shoe-solution.html
YoungHouseLove says
Smart!
xo,
s
Kay says
We used a stack of three of these in a bathroom to hold cleaning supplies, backup supplies of shampoo and body wash. Nothing to rust, easy to clean, compact…They’re the best.
Alex says
Hah, I saw that Wendy (my better half) commented earlier in this thread. When I saw the post, I knew that she would. Our shoes in a basket under the sun porch chair is a serious point of contention in our household. My shoes overflowing or sitting along side of the basket is the bane of her existence. Too many pairs of her shoes in the basket leaving no room for mine is my point of contention. So funny.
I do like your solution. Multiple bins allow you to use your own space how you’d like to.
Now if we could only keep our pets from pulling the baskets out and emptying them while looking for toys.
alg says
I love your very clever shoe-lution! (Groan.)
And yeah, I think the shoe-toy conundrum is pretty universal among “littles” — Sonia’s almost 4 and she still thinks shoes are the greatest playthings in the world.
(Just wait until the first time Clara puts on a pair of yours and tries to walk around… it’s both adorable & hilarious!)
Roshni says
Nice!! I totally love the way your laundry room is coming up! Cannot wait to see the chandelier!! Sorry to bug but are you going to shift your attention to your kitchen area after this?!! :) I just loved how you transformed that room with paint and am eager for more updates!!
YoungHouseLove says
We have a few hurdles with the kitchen (needing a permit and an expert to help us open the load bearing wall, saving enough money to replace appliances and build an island, etc) so it’s definitely on our list but might not be started next week or anything!
xo,
s
Kristi W. says
I like those Ikea bins!
We are lucky to have a coat closet right next to our front door, so I picked up some stacked wire bins from Sam’s Club that we use to stow shoes. There’s a photo here:
http://www.chateauwhitman.com/2010/03/march-goals-closet-cleaning.html
YoungHouseLove says
Cute!!
xo,
s
Lori @ Richmond, BABY! says
Ohhh love that idea!
Mary @ stylefyles says
wow. love this storage solution. I might look into it as well. I’m always on the hunt for something that will encourage the boyf. to put his shoes away in an orderly manner, rather than just leave them in piles around the floor. These could do the trick – plus they’re svelte, which is convenient! Thanks Roberta!!!!
Also – how fun that you’re laundry room list is almost done! It’s so satisfying to see all the strike throughs on a to-do list, even if it’s not mine!! =)
Tami says
Oh my gosh- I have a 23.5″ long x 10″ deep space that I have been looking for something to contain our shoe “situation” FOREVER! I can’t believe you just found it. And all easy breezy too- like, ‘it ain’t no thang’. Grrr..
Question though- what size shoe does John wear? Just wondering if my husband’s big size 12 foot wear would fit ok in these.
What I was going to do, which I still think is adorable, is this: http://www.ohdeedoh.com/ohdeedoh/how-to/how-to-make-a-diy-shoe-rack-028715 It’s just too open though as I was really hoping to have a hidden spot for he dog poo bags and such too.
*Has my life really come to this? Goose bumps over shoe racks and storage for poo bags? Really?
My heros.
YoungHouseLove says
Haha, you’re cracking me up. As for John, he’s a size 11 and there looks like there’s wiggle room so 12s will hopefully work. Maybe bring one sneaker with you to test before buying?
xo,
s
Melanie says
We need this at our house! Why do kids LOVE shoes? Our daughter loves to nibble on them. These bins are great for so many things! Thanks for sharing.
Stephanie says
Hey! That’s exactly what we use for our shoe storage! We picked Retur for their size too–because they are thin enough, we installed it behind a door. And ours are three high. Initially it was one bin for my hubby, one for me, and one for my three girls.
Suffice to say, hubby had to eventually find a new space for his shoes because we girls have TOO MANY shoes!
karen says
very cool! I can see some fun organic decal on those puppies!
Ally says
I must be the only person without this problem after reading the comments. At my house, shoes go in the bedrooms. Only one pair for each person allowed by the door, haha. It would drive me insane to store shoes so far away from where I get dressed.
Lauren in Detroit says
Just wanted to pop in to say that when I was at Ikea over the weekend, I spotted this pillow and immediately thought, “Wow, that pillow reminds me of the vibe in Sherry & John’s family room!” Scary, right? It has the lime green of your rug, the gray of the couch, and linen/oatmeal/textured goodness. http://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/50159988
I can see it with a graphic throw like Zgallerie’s grid throw in gray.
Love how the room is evolving & the new art in your frames!
YoungHouseLove says
Cute!
xo,
s
Sarah says
I have an almost 9-month old girl, Emmalyn, who is scooting and crawling all over the place. I hate when people where shoes inside the house, but I don’t know how to tell people to nicely remove their shoes. I notice that when I’m back up north in Wisconsin (where people have mainly carpet), everyone removes their shoes. The majority of our house (in Florida) is hard woods and tile with carpet in the bedrooms, but somehow, shoes never get taken off. Any thoughts? Do you think having a bin would solve the problem? How do you get people to take off their shoes when they visit your house?
YoungHouseLove says
We’re always barefoot so that might help “signal” something. Haha. And we have those few pairs of shoes out under the bin (and used to have the big obvious basket or shoe rack) so some sort of shoe storage thing by the door might help. Good luck!
xo,
s
megan e says
I love the subtle nature of this shoe removal sign.
http://pinterest.com/pin/51358640/
And yes, I live in WI too and was a habitual shoe-taker-off-er, but since buying a house with all hard floors, I find myself keeping my shoes on more and more (shakes head in shame).
YoungHouseLove says
Haha- that’s cute!
xo,
s
Kathleen says
Love this idea! I’ve needed a new light fixture in our laundry room for some time and this will be perfect!
On a side note- my husband is labeled the same way in my phone… he actually taught me to do this since it lets anyone tending to me in a life threatening situation know who to call if I can’t talk for myself :) (and yes he’s a paremedic/firefighter)
Thais Bessa says
This room is looking really nice. I was wondering why didn’t you guys include it in your house tour gallery???
YoungHouseLove says
It’s in there I think! Were you reading the “our current house” one (as opposed to the one from our first house)? We have to update the picture but I think we have a shot from a few weeks ago after painting and adding the built-ins. Hope it helps!
xo,
s
Andrea says
I’m thinking of doing something similar to store our jewel case cds….
I think chalkboard wallies could look really cute on the front…
katie says
cute! not sure if missed this…how many pairs does each bin hold?
YoungHouseLove says
It probably depends on the size of the shoes, but we can get about three pairs in each. Maybe four if they’re flats or flip flops.
xo,
s
Kacie says
I’m soooo getting those!
Kacie
http://www.acollectionofpassions.blogspot.com/
Michele says
You could try a decal from etsy. That’s what we did to dress up Malm dresser in our nursery. http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_Md9DuJCR0O0/SslFwbYPsSI/AAAAAAAABaM/fPzbMPBDou8/s1600-h/nursery+finished+1.jpg
YoungHouseLove says
Cute.
xo,
s
seriouslysassymama says
I am thinking that these would look great in each of my girls closets. It would keep the shoes off of the floor. It is the perfect size since they only have 2-3 pairs at a time. Yeah!
Jaime says
Maybe someone already asked this so I apologize if its a repeat (at work so I cant read through 200 comments! lol) but what size mens shoe do you think might fit based on Johns shoe size? I love this idea but my hubs is an 11.5….
YoungHouseLove says
John’s an 11 and there’s still some wiggle room so I’d guess even a 12 or 13 might fit. Maybe bring a test sneaker with you before buying to be sure? Good luck!
xo,
s
Mary K says
Sorry if this has been asked already…but do you have to hang these for them to work well? I have adobe walls in the house I’m renting and can’t drill holes in them. (plus in general it’s hard to anchor to adobe walls!) Can I just use them free standing and stacked?
YoungHouseLove says
Hmm, I think you could stack them and push them against the wall and hopefully they’d stay. You could also use removable 3M stuff to hold them against the wall if you have issues with them not being sturdy enough just stacked and leaned up against the wall. Hope it helps!
xo,
s
Mary K says
Oh, good point…I use those all the time to hang pictures on the adobe walls. I’d just have to make sure I don’t exceed the weight limit for those or they pull huge chunks out of the wall! (Just saw a friend accidentally pull one off her adobe wall improperly and it was scary!)
Thanks!
YoungHouseLove says
Yikes! Good luck!
xo,
s
Hillary says
Ohhh, these are fun! Since it’s only me in my apartment, I just toss my sandals and sneakers into a cute little polka dot basket. Not the neatest solution, but good enough!
Ashley from House on Pender says
John, I had to chuckle at your comment about the one screw. Don’t get me wrong I LOVE Ikea, but we just bought some shelves for the nursery and they came with two tiny screws per shelf. Needless to say they needed a little extra love. :)
We grabbed this shelving for our foyer when it went on sale last year. It is actually on sale (again) right now!
http://www.jcpenney.com/jcp/X6.aspx?GrpTyp=PRD&ItemID=1841a03&Nao=0&SearchRedirect=True&Ne=4+840+877+878+5+961+6+968+29+3+598+11+15+12+506+10+23+585+596+963+579+1031+8+1022+1014+586+1007+879+1027+18+904+903+969+833+949&NOffset=2&Ntt=bench&SearchString=bench&N=4294959029&SO=0&PSO=0&CmCatId=searchresults
Jane says
I love it! It’s just SO perfect for your space. Good idea!! I might have to look into those too because my apartment is TINY for all of our overflowing shoes.
Ami says
I love, love, love your shoe storage solution! So cool!
And nope, yours is not the only child that loves to throw shoes while screaming “Shooooo!” Only mine likes to try to wear them around the house, and when that doesn’t go so well (tiny feet + giant shoes = not the most effective thing ever) he’ll get frustrated and chunk them while screaming “NO SHOE! NO!”
Long story short: I feel your pain. :)
Cathy says
I don’t have time today to read through the comments to see if someone suggested this already, but when you mentioned that you were disappointed that these weren’t bright white, I immediately thought, “spray paint for plastic!” It works like a charm. You sounded fine with them currently, but just thought I’d mention it. Thanks for passing on Roberta’s great idea! Love. It.
My Boys' Teacher says
Sooo…any possibility of making this mud/laundry room bigger by bumping into the garage when you turn that carport into one?
YoungHouseLove says
Sadly that would cost a whole lotta money, so I think since our last house had a small laundry area we’re ok with another small one in this house too!
xo,
s
My Boys' Teacher says
Ooh, and we have the “skar” in our mud/laundry hallway. Each kid has one drawer to hold hats, mittens, sunglasses and binoculars. My husband uses the top shelf as a dumping ground for his wallet, keys, etc., on the way in the house.
Donita says
ARRGH!!! Just realized, I commented twice on your contest post. :-( Didn’t mean to, was just asking a question. :-P BOO!!!!
YoungHouseLove says
Don’t worry- we delete duplicates before randomly picking our winner!
xo,
s
Carla says
Great concept and very creative, but the plastic looks really “plasticy” and bland. There are some great designs out there that you could easily recreate for a fraction of the cost and customize to your space … made from wood, no formeldyhyde outgassing (plus plastics are known to emit another cancer-related chemical; 20/20 or some other major show did a piece on that), and that can hold more than a measley six pairs of shoes.
Jennifer says
These bins look great, and I’ve never thought about this type of storage solution that kind of pulls out like a mailbox! Ingenious! Love from your fellow bloggers at runningwithmascara.com
Carla says
P.S. It looks one of those unattractive diaper-changing stations in public restrooms. What can you do to recreate this exact idea utilizing John’s fantastic carpentry skills? I’d love to do something like that for my home, but I actually enjoy seeing my shoes. They add color and interest and can really personalize a space, versus hiding them behind large blocks of bland plastic.
YoungHouseLove says
I take it you don’t like them? Haha. No worries, we def. don’t expect everyone to love every choice that we make for our home. As for building shoe cubbies where you can see your shoes, Benita at Chez Larsson built some for her last house I think. You can also try googling around for some shoe storage building tutorials. Good luck!
xo,
s
Sarah Miller says
Thank you, thank you for this idea! Shoe storage has always been a problem for us, everywhere we’ve lived. We have a shoe rack from IKEA, but it has always been too tempting for our kids to have all those shoes on display. We used to say when our older son was about 1 that he thought it was his job to take down all the shoes, since he made a b-line for the rack as soon as he came out of his room every morning! (He also liked to hide things in the shoes, like fruit snacks and toys!) Thanks again!
Liz says
I am SO going to try to talk to my DH into buying some of these four our shoe problems…my DS loves playing with shoes, too (although he, being a little older than your simply ADORABLE Clara, tries to wear our shoes instead of simply throwing them everywhere.)
megan e says
you need one of these hooks for burger’s leash!
http://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/60095321
YoungHouseLove says
Love it!
xo,
s
Taylor @ thehouseonpennylane says
Thank you, thank you, thank you! My laundry room is in desperate need of shoe organization. I have the same pile of shoes in a basket, but it’s double what you had! I’ve been contemplating different shoe storage ideas, but hadn’t been convinced by any of them.
I like that you can hang these at an height. Maybe this is the kick I need to get started on my laundry room redo. The list has gotten quite long with paint, storage and laundry drying systems.
Kelly says
We just went to IKEA today (for the first time)! I saw these recycling bins/shoe holders but had to stop myself from getting them because we have nowhere to fit them. :( Got some other great stuff though!
Roberta says
ahhh! I’m so glad that it worked out for you guys and thanks for the blog/comment love ;) oh yeah…btw…I wear a women’s size 6/7 so I’m able to lay my shoes “sideways” and stack three pairs and get even more storage room…let me know if you need a visual aide (aka photo) and I’ll email it to you…lol
Have a great evening. Fondly, Roberta
YoungHouseLove says
Oh Roberta, you’re the best! I was just thinking I could cram even more shoes in sideways like that- although I should probably draw the line and just keep the rest of them in my closet! Haha. Thanks again for the tip!
xo,
s
Page says
Roberta, you fixed a bunch of people’s problems with your timely suggestion to the Petersiks, including mine. Now can you manage to have IKEA open one within a day’s drive to me? I’m just kidding, of course, but I never thought I’d consider making IKEA a vacation destination until today. :-)Thanks again!