When it comes to the things which cause the biggest storage headaches, shoes have to be right up there. You can’t really stack them, by their very nature they have the potential to be grubby and get everything they touch grubby, and they need to be kept in pairs. If all this wasn’t bad enough, factor in a small flat or house, and perhaps a rented one where you’re not permitted to start drilling into walls or embarking on any major scale construction, and your options are limited.

See also…

• Cooking without a kitchen
• On the record: how to store your vinyl well
• Britain’s most eccentric collections

Ever on hand to offer up some good advice, here at Boxman we’ve been looking around for our favourite DIY (or DIY-ish) solutions – or, dare we say, shoelutions…

Pipes

Arm yourself with some cardboard or PVC piping and a hacksaw and in no time at all you’ll have a little cubby system for shoes. The aptly named ‘MacGyverisms‘ website has a tutorial, which will take you through the finer points of construction.

Elastic straps

Droog are a Dutch company who’ve come up with all manner of innovative and quirky solutions to various home furnishing conundrums. These straps can hold anything, actually, but we rather like them as a shoe storage solution, though we acknowledge a white wall is unlikely to stay white for very long if you chose to store you favourite kicks this way. Whilst these are an actual purchase, its entirely feasible to have a go at a DIY version, like this lo-fi (but entirely functional) example.

Shoe buckets

Surely a brilliant solution for kids (and adults with the same kind of aptitude for tidying that a three year old has). We’re not suggesting this is the best way to keep your prized Louboutins stored away (shudder), but if we’re talking grubby converse and running shoes, it’s quite fun.

Ladders and planks

This is the ultimate low-fi, high style solution to any kind of storage needs, really, but it is particularly well suited to shoes. Take a cue from A Pair & A Spare and grab a bi-fold ladder (and by take, obviously we mean purchase), some lengths of shelving (which often come pre-cut) and assemble. It’ll take you all of five minutes – if that – leaving you plenty of time to buy more shoes get down to the other things that need dealing with around the place.

Coat hooks

This is the kind of life hack that once you see, you wonder why such a simple idea never occurred to you. Take a coat rack – any coat rack – and simply affix it at shoe rack height. Simple.

Coat hangers

If you’ve been inadvertently saving all those rubbish hangers you get when you pick up your suit jackets from the dry cleaners, you’re all set. This is a great idea for lightweight summer shoes, though obviously only if you’ve got space in a wardrobe to put them in…

Floating shelves

If you feel a strong urge to wield some power tools, this DIY floating shelf project from Not Martha is a good ‘un. It’s not all that complicated to construct and the end product is both practical and stylish too.

Pallet

If even the thought of drill bits and square rules has brought you out in a cold sweat (and if it has, go and grab a G&T before going any further: it’s important to keep up your fluids, after all) this – although undoubtedly at the very height of hipster chic – is about as simple as they come. All you need is a wall to lean a reclaimed pallet against and you’re done. Oh, and it’s probably prudent to keep a pair of tweezers on hand. Splinters are never much fun.

Cardboard triangles

There’s something very Blue Peter about this project: it’s all sticky-backed plastic and cardboard and marking out lines with permanent pen, but then, that’s kind of the appeal. It might not win any points for longevity, but it’s a pretty good option for an instant storage system and when you’ve decided you need to upgrade to something more grown-up, you can just chuck it in the recycling bin.

The Ikea hack

No self-respecting DIY listicle would be complete with some kind of Ikea hack, and so this is that. Using the rails intended for kitchen utensils, but mounted at shoe height, this is really nifty and customizable to pretty much any space.

Boxman

Sometimes there really isn’t any room at all for a single extra pair of shoes, and on those occasions isn’t it reassuring to know that Boxman exists in the world? Our boxes are capacious enough to hold multiple pairs of shoes and we’ll deliver the boxes straight to your door and then whisk them off to storage when you’re ready. It’s self-storage made easy, which is how it should be. Questions? Give us a shout: we like to chat.

Featured Image via box.es