Spring is in the air, and I have been in serious spring cleaning mode these past few weeks.  As I looked around the house I noticed how many spots we have all of our things–and figured this was the perfect time to declutter shoes, clothes, and jackets for the next season! Out with winter and onto spring and summer shoes and clothes!

Over the past month, I shared how to get your clothes organized in six easy steps.  So I followed my tips, and now my clothes are all snug in my drawer, folded neatly, and standing up.

I also shared how to organize your family’s jackets.  I collected the jackets from all over the house and the car (yes, I did have jackets in the car). Then I went through each jacket to see if it fit and if it was something I loved.  I kept the jackets I loved and that fit.  There is no point in keeping jackets that you might love but you can’t wear. I know it’s hard to hear but trust me–you’ll feel better!

Today, I’m tackling shoes.  We have So. Many. Shoes.  Shoes in the mudroom, shoes in the front hall closet, shoes in this random half-closet we have going into the attic. I call it my accessory closet because I have belts and shoes and bags in that closet.

Then, the kids have shoes! But they are only located in the mudroom so at least they are easy to find, in theory. I also don’t keep a lot of other sizes for my kids’ shoes out, I keep just the current size they are wearing.

Just like jackets, it’s time to get rid of the shoes that don’t fit. Check out these six steps for how to declutter and organize your shoes!

Step 1: Collect All Shoes

Grab all of your shoes from around the house and make one giant pile.  Make sure you have space to sort, but that you are near a full-length mirror to check out how you look in the shoes.

I organized my shoes in one spot once I gathered them from the front hall closet, the mudroom, and the accessory closet.  It took many trips, but once I grabbed everything, I needed to empty my shoes from shoe boxes. I once organized my shoes in plastic shoe boxes, which was super helpful to keep my shoes together so I could see everything I had.  Over time the number of boxes grew and it got to be too much to store, so once I declutter my shoes this time, I’ll see how many I have left and then determine the best way to store them.

Pro Tip:

Don’t rush to store your shoes before you finish decluttering them.

Step 2: Create Donate and Keep Piles

Once you have your entire pile of shoes, grab a garbage bag to use for your donate pile.  If you think you’ll sell the shoes, grab another garbage bag to use for your sell pile.  Make sure you have room for the shoes you are going to keep.

I love using garbage bags because I can grab a Sharpie and write directly on the bag. I write on the bags before I even start, so I have a bag to donate and a bag to sell.

Step 3: Check Shoe Size

After I had two babies, my feet grew. Ever the optimist, I held on to a bunch of pre-baby shoes that I loved and thought I would wear again but discovered…that is not going to happen!  They are uncomfortable and don’t fit me. So I recommend checking the size of the shoes first to spare you some try-on pain and only keep the shoes that actually fit you and that you enjoy wearing. I sadly had to donate shoes that look adorable but don’t fit my feet anymore.

Step 4: Try On Shoes

If you aren’t sure if the shoes fit, try them on! I strongly recommend trying on each and every pair of shoes you have. Look at yourself in the full-length mirror. I discovered that some of my shoes made my legs look really short. I never noticed that before!  They didn’t make me feel pretty, so I decided to donate them. Bye-bye clutter!

Look at the heels.  I had some shoes where the heels were shot.  I could either get the heels replaced or get rid of the shoes.  Make a really conscious decision about if you are actually going to get the heels replaced.  And if you are getting the heels fixed, take them to the shoe repair place (or cobbler as I like to call them) right away.  Put them in your car in the front seat so you are forced to get them fixed!  Then you can enjoy them sooner!

Pro Tip:

As you try on each and every shoe you own, make sure to sort your shoes accordingly.  If you are going to donate shoes, put them in the donate bag.  Like, actually put them in the bag, not next to the bag.  Especially if you have your littles playing near you.  I found a pair of shoes that I was going to donate under the sofa in the living room because they found them lying next to the donate bag!  So I had to make another trip to the donation center…oops!

Step 5: Discard Shoes

Now that your shoes are sorted into piles and inside bags, remove the bags of shoes you are going to donate and/or sell from your space.  You should only be left with the shoes that you love. You have officially decluttered your shoes and are left with those you’ll organize in your closet.

Next, go back and check each shoe that you are keeping.  Did you miss anything about any of the shoes?  Do you need to fix the sole of the shoe? Is there a scuff mark on one of the shoes?  If the shoes are fixed quickly, you can wear them sooner! As I said above, bring them to your car–in the front seat–to up your chances of actually taking them to the shoe repair!

Step 6: Store and Organize Shoes

The fun part is next…storing and organizing your shoes!  I love this part because you can see your hard work once everything is put away.

First, find a place you want all of your shoes to go.  Yes, every single shoe should be in one place in your home.  The reason behind this is that you are able to identify each and every pair of shoes you have.  When you spread the shoes throughout the house, you are more likely to forget you have a pair, which could lead to spending more money on shoes that are similar to ones you already own!

Pro Tip:

Make your organization work for you–and your space! I used to store all of my shoes in shoe containers piled on top of each other.  I had pictures of each pair of shoes so I knew exactly what was in each bin and stacked the bins based on color. This made it easy for me to find them quickly. But now I have built-in shoe cubbies in the mudroom, so that’s where the shoes go!

Once you find a place to store all your shoes, start putting them away.  I personally love using shoe containers, shoe racks, or shelves to store shoes.  I don’t recommend shoving all your shoes into a bin or just let them lay on the mat.  Each pair needs a specific location that is their “home.”

Check out my favorite shoe storage

Now that you know how to declutter shoes, do the work, and then take a step back to admire it all!