The person who can solve the front door shoe storage issue will have my heart forever.  As in when guests arrive at your front door and you politely ask them to remove their shoes, only to have them awkwardly lean against walls and doorframes to do the deed and then try to find a place to put them neatly away.  And worse still if you’re having a party – when all the shoes end up in a random mess on your front porch.

Sure you may have a mudroom or garage for your family or a coat closet (which, if you’re like me, is probably already filled to capacity).  But I’m talking about a clever, clean, modern solution to having front door guests remove their shoes before they set foot in your home.  Why haven’t houses or front porches been designed with this purpose in mind?  Like maybe a built-in stone bench with shoe storage underneath?

A couple years ago, EPA came out with a Doormat Study – basically confirming what most Eastern cultures already practiced – that removing your shoes at the door was the healthy thing to do.  Specifically, EPA concluded that 30-40% of all contaminants inside the home (including lead from lead-contaminated soil, lawn and garden pesticides, industrial toxins, mutagens, dust mites and allergens, etc.) were brought in from the outdoors.  (Did they really need a study to confirm this commense sense?)

So the hunt continues…in the meantime, here are some interesting ideas:

Pictured at the top of this post: super-cute Kids Shoe Rack from Japan.
Below, Shoe Wheel by Rakku:

Rolling shoe bin (image via here):

Outdoor shoe cupboard (image via here):

Rustic (image via here):

A portable/moveable option via Quirky:

5 Responses to “Shoes Off!”

1. MomWithaDot Says:
   February 15th, 2012 at 11:24 am

   Here’s the one we use currently – Kids like perching their shoes on top of this ‘tree’. Love anything that makes kids enjoy chores !!

   http://www.containerstore.com/shop/closet/shoeStorage/floor?productId=10024251&N=73669

2. Sapnanomamma Says:
   February 17th, 2012 at 1:45 am

   Google “shoe rack bench” and then click on “images”.
   They are quite common in Asia.

3. niubi free Says:
   February 21st, 2012 at 4:34 pm

   niubi free…

   [...]Shoes Off![...]…

4. Emely Henges Says:
   November 5th, 2012 at 2:46 am

   Greetings! Very useful advice in this particular article! It is the little changes that produce the most significant changes. Many thanks for sharing!

5. Ahmed Coto Says:
   November 27th, 2012 at 6:20 am

   Such a great resource! Well done!

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