For years, my family has practiced taking off our shoes at the front door, so as not to track dust, dirt, allergens and Lord knows what else throughout the house. But the one thing that always drove me crazy was the pile of shoes that would inevitably end up in front of the door. For the most part, I tried to remove my shoes and take them straight to my closet, but I occasionally left my shoes at the door, and my husband and daughter did it all the time. And whenever we had visitors, the shoe pile would grow to ridiculous proportions. Something had to be done.
I started having nightmares of tiny shoe monsters creeping up on the bed while I slept. OK…maybe I’m overexaggerating, but seriously — the pile of shoes got on my last nerve. No matter what I did to make our entryway look nice, I could never overcome the mountain of footwear right in front of the door.
Anyway, when we did our furniture shuffle a few months back when we were getting ready to move, my husband and I decided that the small IKEA Expedit shelf that had held the TV in our bedroom would become our entry table. We already owned two baskets that fit snugly in the two bottom compartments, but we’d used the top shelves for open storage. One day, a light bulb went on over my head.
I headed back to IKEA and bought 2 more matching baskets for the top shelves. Now, when we take off our shoes, we drop them in the baskets and push them back in. Noone can see them and they’re easily accessible when we’re ready to put them on. And with 4 large baskets, there’s more than enough room for my family’s shoes, and the shoes of our guests. Plus, it looks great — like we were trying to make our foyer all fancy.
Works for me.
What simple solutions have you come up with lately to solve a nagging storage or organization problem?
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I’m Jennae Petersen, and I’m a lot of things. A mother, a graphic artist, a connosieur of beautiful interiors and a purveyor of all things design. Green Your Decor was borne of frustration in my attempts to find eco-friendly housewares that were also beautiful, and inspiration to do something to reduce my own carbon footprint and help others do the same in a beautiful way.
{ 3 comments… read them below or add one }
I have the same thing in my entryway – baskets and all.
I always knew we had good taste! I have a giant gong sitting on mine, which sounded like a good idea, yet the neighbors love to hit it every time they walk by, lol.
You got a clutter proof tips, I like it. My main door looks like the entrance of a mosque, so many slippers and shoes, my 3 boys put everything everywhere. Thanks for the tips
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Very cute! I have those baskets in my son’s room for his expedit.
I have a no shoes rule in my home. I just take them to my closet, this is a cute idea for storage.
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