This is the fifth article in a series detailing the essential tools necessary to have on hand as you are starting to get organized. Monday we talked about calendars. Tuesday we talked about notebooks. Wednesday was all about file folders. Yesterday I suggested you get a stop watch. Today’s tool you may find unusual. I suggest that you get a shoe organizer. I have found that when conquering big organizing projects, it is convenient to have a place to sort and put all of those little items like paperclips, pens, little pieces of paper, coins, etc. temporarily. Otherwise you end up with a big butter bowl full of all this little stuff you will have to dig through again later. I have tried several different things, but my favorite is a clear plastic pocketed shoe organizer that hangs over a door. It has many good sized pockets so you can sort as you go and the clear pockets enable you to quickly see what is in each pocket. It can be moved easily to any room you are working in. The items you put in can be left in the pockets without taking up much space until if or when you decide to transfer them somewhere else. You may decide to just hang this on the back of a door and keep it as is when you are done going through the house.
Other Uses:
You can use the shoe organizer for many other things. Obviously, they can hold your shoes. But I have also seen them hanging on the inside of a shower to hold bath supplies including kids bath toys. I have seen them hung behind kitchen doors to hold rice and gravy packets, kids’ snacks, and other small packages. I have used them to sort Barbie dolls and Legos. They could be used as a card sorter by labeling pockets for a particular month with extra pockets for mailing supplies or an easy to read chore chart for little kids. There are many ways that you can utilize a shoe organizer if you use your imagination. 24 Pocket Over the Door Vinyl Shoe Organizer – Clear by Richards Homewares
Your Uses
I’d love to hear how you have used or can imagine using a shoe organizer in an unusual way. Will you share in the comments?
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{ 3 comments… read them below or add one }
While catching up with my reader articles this weekend, I found a video which gives yet another example for how to use the shoe organizer (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZfTKx62NSMo). Watch the video then take a peek at his site http://www.chiefhomeofficer.com/ . It is a wealth of information for home offices.
We have hung a shoe organizer on the inside of our linen closet door, and it holds all our OTC meds, first aid supplies. It offers so much more room than the medicine cabinet, it’s easier to access than the cabinets under our sinks, and it was easy to childproof with a doorknob cover. We also have a similar organizer hanging on the inside of our kitchen pantry door, and it holds drink mixes, dog meds, plastic bags, tea bags, bags of nuts – almost anything that’s not canned or boxed.
I would never have thought of using one as a temporary organizing tool – thanks for the inspiration!
This is a fantastic idea! Thank you! With three small children, I am always trying to organize toys and am coming across little tiny parts. It’s such a hassle. This would give me a spot to organize them as I come across them, then put them all away at one time. It’s going on my shopping list!