Ditch The Shoe Racks And Cabinets: Here's A DIY Solution That's Budget-Friendly
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Need a shoe storage solution, but don't have the budget for a pricey shoe cabinet or spendy shoe rack? Maybe you don't want to buy yet another new piece of storage furniture. TikToker hetalsartofficial has a solution that transforms old cardboard destined for the recycling center into a practical and budget-friendly shoe storage tower, perfect for keeping in your mudroom or garage and putting an end to piles of shoes at the door.
The type of cardboard you use matters, as ultimately, the tower will hold four pairs of shoes on each level. Choose double-walled corrugated cardboard, the type often used in heavy-duty moving or shipping boxes. If all you have is single-wall corrugated cardboard, consider gluing two layers together for extra strength and durability.
While regular scissors will cut through thick cardboard, you may find the job a bit easier with a tool designed for cardboard, such as a CANARY Cardboard Cutter for cutting circles, or cardboard scissors, such as CANARY Corrugated Cardboard Scissors, for cutting straight lines. A utility knife can also cut thick cardboard easily. A straight edge or yardstick will help you keep lines straight. To make your shoe tower look 1,000 times better, apply contact paper, decoupage fabric onto the cardboard, or add patterned paper. While the tower in the video has six levels, yours can be a little shorter if you don't have that many shoes to store.
How to make a cardboard shoe tower
The beauty of a DIY cardboard shoe tower is that you can make it as small or large as needed, based on the number and size of shoes you need to store. To determine the diameter of the circle, measure the length of your largest pair of shoes, double it, and add a few inches for the walls and edges. For the walls of the tower, cut two rectangles per level that are 2 inches shorter than the circle's diameter and tall enough for your tallest pair of shoes. Cut a slot in the middle of each piece that's the same thickness as the cardboard and half the height of each piece, then slide one into the slot of the other to form a plus sign.
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To make a tower that spins, cut one extra circle than the number of levels you'd like, plus a smaller circle. Cut a hole in the center of each piece and set a bottle cap in it (a brilliant way to reuse a laundry detergent lid) to act as an axle. Add a line of glue along the bottom edge of two of the rectangle pieces and place them on top of the bottom circle, repeating until you've stacked them all. Lay down contact paper to dress up the tower, or try decoupage or painting the cardboard. Once everything is dry, place your shoes on the tower.