Fineline Solutions

Decluttering and organising your shoe collection

You can never underestimate the power of a pair of shoes. As Dolly Parton once said, “Go big or go home, but either way, do it in a red pair of shoes.” A pair of shoes can change your mood, make you feel good, and even make you feel more confident. Most women (and even a lot of men) have a ‘thing’ for shoes. Some of us have become obsessed with these beautifully crafted little art pieces. Before you know it, you may end up with over 50 pairs of shoes, while 30 of those pairs you hardly ever wear. Decluttering and organising your shoe collection is critical to ensuring that your love of shoes doesn’t get the better of you.

The problem with a shoe obsession

Here’s the problem with a shoe obsession: Yes, a lot of shoes are attractive and nice to look at, but this is not their primary purpose. Shoes first and foremost have a functional purpose, and if over half of your shoes are impractical or so uncomfortable that you never wear them, then there is a problem.

Shoes are also expensive. Yes, a high-quality pair of shoes can last you for years and years. However, investing in a collection of impractical shoes that are merely decorative and end up collecting dust in your wardrobe is a waste of money.

Lastly, shoes take up space! Maybe you have too many shoes and you don’t know what to do with them all. They overtake your entire wardrobe, ending up in a jumbled mess, making it difficult to find the practical pair you are actually looking for. This is when you know that decluttering and organising your shoe collection is necessary.

The truth is, you don’t need that many pairs of shoes, and like clothes, a couple of well-chosen classics will go a long way in working with practically any outfit. Do you know what these classic shoes are? Here are seven shoes every woman needs in her wardrobe.

Here are some steps on how to declutter your shoe collection:

If you feel your shoe collection has taken over, it’s time for a shoe declutter. With the expert advice of Vourneen McElwain, founder of ‘The Plain and Simple Life’ and certified decluttering and organising coach, we go through some straightforward steps on how to go about it. Once decluttered, it will be so much easier to organise your shoe collection.

Step 1: Take out all your shoes.

You’ll never actually know exactly what you have until you take everything out. Gather every single pair of shoes you own and spread them out on the floor so that you can see them. The shock may come from realising how many shoes you own and how many in reality you wear regularly.

Step 2: Move your favourites to one side.

This is easy! Selecting the shoes you regularly wear and adore is the first step. Move these shoes to a designated spot away from the others.

Step 3: Pick out the uncomfortable pairs.

We all have those pairs of shoes that we never wear because they’re uncomfortable. They may be too tight, too narrow, or just plain wrong for your feet. Now is the time to get rid of them. No matter how pretty, you won’t wear them if they’re uncomfortable!

Step 4: Sort out broken or damaged shoes.

Having a pair of broken or damaged shoes in your cupboard doesn’t serve any purpose. Examine these pairs and determine if the damage is a result of excessive use or poor quality. If the damage is due to poor quality, it’s time to part with them. If you’ve worn a beloved pair to the point of damage or breakage, consider whether it’s worth the investment to have them repaired.

Step 5: Group similar pairs together.

Now that you have eliminated all the uncomfortable and poorly-made shoes, it is time to group similar pairs together. You can categorise them based on colour, style, or brand. If you have many pairs in the same style and colour, it may be a beneficial time to purge. Select a few pairs you wear frequently and discard others.

Step 6: Ask yourself the following questions:

When decluttering anything, it is important to be honest with yourself and ask yourself some challenging questions. As you go through your shoe collection, ask yourself these questions:

How often do I wear them?
Are they comfortable?
Do I love them?
Do I have something to wear with them?
Are all these shoes necessary?
Do I pass these shoes over for another pair every time?

By answering these questions, you can make a more informed decision about whether or not to keep a pair of shoes.

Storing and organising your shoe collection

Now that you’ve decluttered, you can start organising your shoe collection and storing it properly. By doing this, you will be able to find the shoes you are looking for right away. Additionally, it will prevent them from sustaining damage and accumulating dust.

There are numerous methods to store shoes, such as using shoe racks, placing them in boxes under your bed, or using ‘over the door’ shoe organisers. However, one of the most important rules for organising anything is to keep the same things together. Shoes shouldn’t be spread out in different storage areas all over the show. The truth is, nothing beats proper storage units made specifically for shoes.

We at Fineline Wardrobe Solutions know this, and we do our best to create functional but beautiful shoe storage. If you need a shoe section in your wardrobe or a shoe cupboard, we can help. At Fineline, we make all our built-in cupboards custom-made so that they fit the size, space, and requirements our clients need.

Here is a Fineline wardrobe, complete with shoe storage shelves.
A client requested a cupboard specifically for shoes, and we spaced the shelves accordingly to maximise storage. The cupboard is complete with Storm Grey melamine sliding doors.

At Fineline Solutions, organising a shoe collection is simple with either shoe shelves or pull-out shoe drawers. If you have plenty of space, angled shelves will display shoes beautifully, and you can see your entire collection at a glance. If space is more precious, pull-out shoe drawers are the perfect solution. A central cross-bar in our pull-out shoe drawers allows for stacking two pairs of shoes on top of each other, doubling the available space.

Fineline’s angled shoe shelves display shoes beautifully. Your entire collection can be visible at a glance.
Fineline’s pull-out shoe drawers maximise space. The cross bar in the middle allows you to store two pairs of shoes over each other.

Often, we at Fineline Wardrobe Solutions design beautiful walk-in wardrobes or dressing rooms with open shelving and rails. If you would like closed cupboards, we manufacture elegant sliding wardrobe doors across our cupboards. Sliding wardrobe doors are the best way to save on floor space, making them the perfect solution for smaller rooms and hallways. We can manufacture our sliding wardrobe doors in a variety of finishes, including mirror, wood grain, melamine, decor glass, and even a combination of materials.

Why choose Fineline wardrobe solutions?

At Fineline Wardrobe Solutions, we expertly design all of our cupboards and wardrobes before we manufacture them, leaving no room for error. By looking at your shoe collection, a Fineline salesman will be able to determine exactly how much shoe storage you will need.

Fineline Wardrobe Solutions has been in business for 40 years. We are the experts at creating functional storage spaces and designing dream wardrobes. Getting the right solution for organising your shoe collection is one of the trickiest aspects of a stylish wardrobe. Contact us today to request a consultation.

For more creative tips and ideas, look at our trendy blog.

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