Storage strategies for shoe addicts…
The Guardian recently highlighted this issue with a joky article about how to curb your addiction to fashion shoe shopping. Christina Aguilera is said to have 750 pairs and Paris Hilton gave up counting at 2000… If this is you, whether you decide to keep the huge collection you have, or cull and acquire fewer shoes, you probably do need a strategy for organising the shoes you have.
If you want to cull, then take a look at each pair, and eliminate any which are shabby, and beyond repair, or any which you avoid wearing because they’re too uncomfortable. I’m not a fan of wandering in around in crocs as a default option, but it’s not practical to make yourself miserable in 6 inch heels if they make you tired and your feet really complain when you wear them. If you’ve already organised your clothes by colour and type (ie all the black shirts together and then all the black trousers, followed by all the grey shirts etc etc) then you’ll already have a better idea the sorts of neutrals you have in your wardrobe, and which sorts of shoes or boots you need to take advantage of that. So for instance if all your black suits or dress trousers are in heavier materials for winter wear, then you know that a couple of pairs of black boots are going to be useful, but that you’re unlikely to wear them in the summer, and are consequently unlikely to need black sandals. Knowing your wardrobe well like this, might make it easier to curb your impulse buying.
Once you’ve culled, the physical storage solution you come up with will depend on how much storage space you have and how it is constructed. If you have lots of wonderful shoe racks for displaying your collection then that’s great. If alternatively, you have lots of shelves, then putting them in boxes with a Polaroid of each pair on the appropriate box may be more practical for you. But within the system that’s practical for you, how do you arrange your shoes so that you find the right pair for any outfit or occasion? Once again, arranging by colour and type is the most useful way to make sure you find the right pair easily when you’re dressing. So start with all the black ones, and arrange from the coldest weather pair to the warmest, then move on to the next lightest colour shoes you have (perhaps navy or brown) and order these in the same way until you get to any white shoes that you have. If you’re forced to divide your collection up, due to space restrictions, then try to put all the black pairs together (arranged in order, as suggested) in one section, and all the beige or white in order in another.
Doing this will mean that when you’re putting together the perfect outfit, you can take a look at the weather and go straight to the correct section by colour and ‘weight’ of the shoe (e.g. boots when it’s cold) to see all your options easily. That might help you to see options you usually overlook and get more pleasure out of the shoes you already have. When you have finished with a pair you’re wearing, replace them in the correct section, so that the system stays in place effortlessly. If you buy a new pair, put it in the correct section immediately, and use the opportunity to cull any pair that’s past its best, or that you no longer wear, whilst you’re there. That way you’ll never have to go through this organising process more than once, and you’ll always know where to find what you need.
