Hanging shoe storage is really a necessity if you live in cramped quarters or a home with minimal closet space — unless tripping over a pair of Birkenstocks and breaking your neck is a risk you're willing to take. But why would you? A shoe caddy clears valuable floor space, keeps pairs together where you can see them, and protects your faves against unnecessary damage. And shoes are just the beginning — those deep, roomy pockets are a cozy place to store all sorts of things. Here are our favorite alternative ways to use hanging shoe storage.
1. Grow herbs. You don't need a backyard to exercise that green thumb — basil, oregano, mint, and other herbs would have plenty of room to grow in the pockets of a hanging shoe organizer. Add in some extra support up top to account for the overall weight, and punch a few drainage holes, and voila! A vertical herb garden just for you.
Video of the Day
Video of the Day
2. Keep hair products handy. Got a small bathroom but enough hair gel, spray, mousse, and styling balm to open your own salon? Tuck those bottles and tubes out of the way — but still easily accessible — in the pockets of an over-the-door shoe caddy. Use any extra pockets to store hair accessories and tools!
3. Corral cords and cables. Use a hanging shoe caddy to wrangle, separate and label the tangle of cords and cables that go with your various devices. The next time someone asks to borrow an extra phone charger, you'll know exactly where to find one.
4. Make an advent calendar. All you need is a little fabric paint to turn a hanging shoe caddy into an extra large advent calendar with plenty of space for treats and sweets.
5. Separate socks. This may sound like a radical idea, but hear us out — socks do not belong in your underwear drawer, or any other drawer for that matter. They take up too much space! There's definitely a better way to store socks — and it's super obvious too. Use a shoe caddy! Your clothes will have more space, and your socks will have more security, so pairs will be less likely to split into orphans.
6. Organize craft supplies. Sewing and embroidery thread, jewelry-making pliers, colored pencils, paints, brushes, clay carving tools, and all the bits and bobs in between — shoe caddy pockets are the perfect size for storing many tools of the trade, whatever your trade may be.
7. Color code lipstick and nail polish. Makeup addicts, rejoice! A hanging shoe caddy is the perfect way to store and color code your fanatical collection of lipstick tubes and nail polish bottles
8. Keep spices handy. If you cook with any regularity, you've probably amassed a collection of spices that, while individually packaged in small containers, manage to create a rather large amount of pantry clutter. No wonder you can never find the one you need and end up buying multiples, thus exacerbating the problem! Traditional spice racks take up valuable counter space, which is why we love the idea of storing them in a shoe caddy that hangs over the pantry door or on the wall.
9. Organize car clutter. Hang a shoe caddy over the front passenger seat so it faces the rear and use the pockets to store toys, snacks, water bottles, extra sunglasses, and loose change for parking meters.
10. Store seasonal accessories. Stuff gloves, hats, and scarves in the pockets of a shoe organizer — hang it over a door during winter, and when temperatures start to rise, move it to the back of your closet with the rest of your cold weather gear.
11. Craft a multi-purpose bed skirt. All you need is a pair of scissors, a handful of screws and some rope to turn a basic shoe caddy into a bed skirt with pockets all the way around!