11 Smart Ways to Organize Your Winter Footwear

Take a page from floating book shelves and build boot shelves to make the most of small storage spaces. The cut-out pattern holds boots in place and keeps things neat. Place a rubber mat below the shelves to catch drips from melting snow and mud.

Do you prefer to hide your muddy or messy winter footwear? Keep them out of sight and store them in these easy-to-access galvanized metal bins. Add a few rollers to slide them under a hall table during the winter season, and store the entire bin in your basement, garage, or attic when winter is over.

This easy-to-make boot rack hangs on a wall inside a front hall or mudroom, or outdoors. This useful idea is perfect for areas where muddy autumns and wet winters are a fact of life. Make yours as big or small as needed with just a few pieces of scrap wood, dowels, and paint.

Are you a small family with a small living space? For couples or singles that only have a few pairs of winter boots, these simple peg racks, based on the popular simple coat racks, is a quick and easy way to get messy boots up off the floor. Tip: peg racks are also a great way to dry wet mittens!

Have your kids outgrown their wooden block set? Upcycle the wooden toys into a boot mat. This colorful wooden block doormat does double duty as a great boot mat. Used indoors or outdoors, place it over a rubber rimmed boot mat to collect melting mud and snow.

A flip up bench is a great feature and useful addition to any front hall. Not only is it a comfortable place to sit when donning or removing foot wear, it is also a great place to store winter boots. Line the bottom with pebbles for snow/mud drainage.

This roomy boot tray made from punched metal stands up to all the elements. Station it in your mudroom or at your back door and slip out of your soiled hiking shoes or boots, then hose them down and walk away. You can purchase this one, or build one of your own with a apple crate and some casters. 

It doesn’t get much simpler than this. With some 1″ x 4″ trim and a length of 2″ x 10″ you can build this shelf right into the space your need it the most—the mudroom or front entry. You’ll find a full tutorial here. (Note: If you are hoping to use it as a bench for seating, you’ll want to add some vertical supports for stability.)

Do country colors and warm wooden accents make you shudder? If you prefer a modern, streamlined style, choose this space-saving brushed nickel rack to store your fashionable long boots. Monochromatic, clean lines make it perfect for a small city apartment front entrance.

Don’t like the bench idea? Keep it simple. Instead, rummage through your baking cupboards or the kitchen aisle of your nearest hardware store. Fill large rimmed cookie trays with small stones for a unique and clever boot drainage tray. When winter is over, simply hose out the dirt and wash off your pebbles for the spring.

If your storage problems involve shoes rather than boots, consider this clever DIY storage solution, with pieces of PVC,  some Gorilla Glue or PVC cement, and an elastic band you will create the ultimate footwear keeper—for every season.

If you are interested in more clever storage ideas, consider:

Get Hooked: 10 Favorite Wall Storage Ideas

Recipe for Success: 10 Easy Kitchen Storage Hacks

7 DIY Bathroom Storage Solutions