101 Uses for an Over-the-Door Shoe Holder

Okay, maybe not 101 uses. More like 3 or 4, actually. “101″ just sounds better…

But the point of this blog post is that part of a growing family means learning how to work with the space you have. In order to accomodate more beds, more clothes, more toys, more books, more food, and all the other “mores” that come with more children, a growing family needs to re-evaluate their use of space with each new person. In the case of Iron Man and me, we are taking the same house that we purchased when we had three children ages three and under, and using the same space to accomodate six children ages ten and under. Same square footage; vastly different use of it!

Sometimes this requires thinking outside the box. As the title of this post implies, one of the tools we used to maximize our use of space is the over-the-door shoe holder. Here are a few ways that we use them.

Hats, Scarves, and Gloves

I am not joking when I tell you that hats and mittens were a source of much irritation for several years. I tried several solutions over the years, but putting a shoe holder inside our coat closet five years ago was the first one that I was ever excited about. Yes, I actually do get excited about these things. It’s a sickness, I know.

Each family member gets two slots to put their things in, and I label the slots with a colored dot with the first initial of each person. Girls get pink dots and boys get green dots, except for Princess and Cutie. I haven’t yet gotten around to sticking dots on their mitten slot.

During the warmer months, I pack all of the winter accessories away in a Rubbermaid bin, and I put the kids’ bathing suits and sunglasses in the slots.



Hair things

Our girls have a lot of hair accessories. We have started making our own bows, and now have a collection of ribbon as well. I put a shoe holder inside a closet in the kids’ bathroom to hold all their hair things. I organize the accessories by item and color, put them in plastic baggies, then drop the baggies into the shoe slots. As you see, we still have plenty of space for more stuff in these shoe holders!



But shoe holders are not just good for little girls. After seeing how well it worked out for our girls, I put one on the back of my own bathroom door. I keep makeup, hair things, washcloths, fingernail clippers, and basically all that “little” stuff that most people would keep in a drawer.



Socks, Belts, and Underthings

Our three girls share a bedroom, as do our three boys. The girls have ample closet space, but only one dresser. The reason three girls can make do with one dresser is that they use a shoe holder for items that most people keep in dresser drawers: socks, tights, underthings, belts, etc.



What little things in your house need a home, need organized, or need to be stored more visibly? Paints, brushes, and crafts? Pens and pencils? Game pieces? Polly Pockets and little green Army figures? Playdough? Find a nearby door and hang up a shoe holder. And please, drop me a comment to let me know what you are using your shoe holders for. I’m always looking for new ideas!

Want more? Check out Decluttering or see the list of all my Home Organization Posts.