Outdoor Shoe Storage Ideas

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Originally published February 24, 2022 and updated March 22, 2024.

It can be easy to keep your shoes neatly organized with these 100+ outdoor shoe storage ideas, tips, DIYs and products. Whether you have lots of space or just a little space, with so many ideas, you’re sure to find the perfect storage solution for you.

I grew up in an absolutely no-shoes-inside home and I’ve continued that practice in my own home. Because we don’t wear shoes inside our home, it is much easier to keep shoes outside in the garage or in a covered entryway rather than inside our home.

I highly recommend not wearing shoes in your home. It keeps all that dirt and yuck outside. It makes cleaning tasks much easier. I don’t know about you, but I’m all in on anything that makes cleaning easier!

I’m a professional organizer and have moved more than 20 times, thanks to the military, into all kinds of homes. Because we’ve moved so many times, I’ve tried almost everything for shoe storage. These are my best shoe storage ideas and favorite product suggestions. There are also DIY shoe storage ideas for all skill levels, including no DIY skills.

Outdoor Shoe Storage Ideas

The single biggest tip for storing your shoes outside of your home is make sure that your shoes are protected from the elements. It’s important to protect them from extremes in temperature, direct sunlight and moisture. I’ve kept them on a covered patio and in an entrance hallway. Both were covered and provided protection from rain and snow.

You also need to watch for pests. You don’t want rodents, spiders or bugs building homes in your shoes. Keeping shoes in an area with frequent traffic rather than in an isolated corner helps. Frequently shaking out your shoes will also prevent pests from making a home in your shoes.

Rotating seasonal shoes into your shoe storage area can help reduce pest and environmental damage. I recommend placing the shoes you wear each season in your outdoor storage and keep the out of season footwear in storage inside your home. This reduces the space needed outdoors and provides you the opportunity to check shoes as you rotate them each season.

Expert Tips for outdoor shoe storage

• Protect shoes from the elements – Make sure that shoes are stored in a garage, under a roof or in a weather-tight cabinet.
• Choose storage materials that will hold up – Select shelves and cabinets made from materials that are made for outdoor use, such as bamboo, metal or plastic. Make sure metal shoe racks are treated to resist rusting in the elements.
• Maximize vertical storage – In small spaces, take advantage of the vertical space by choosing floor to ceiling wall hoe racks or stackable units. This allows you to maximize shoe storage without taking up much floor space.
• Measure carefully – If you are ordering or installing shelving on the wall, be sure to measure carefully to allow the best use of the space for storage, both in width and height.
• Plan organization for families – Choose the type of storage that will work best for the ages and needs of your family members.
  • Open shelves work best for children to make it easy for them to find shoes to put on and put shoes away.
  • Shoes should be kept in a convenient place for each family member.
    • Shoes should be on lower tiers for shorter family members.
    • Shoes be placed where they’re easy to reach without bending or stretching for older family members.
  • Consider how many shoes you need to store.
• Plan organization for the types of shoes you have. Find the best choice of storage depending on the sizes and types of shoes you have.
  • Plan for vertical space for boots.
  • Consider shelf height for the difference in height between smaller and larger shoes.
  • Consider storage for heels and delicate shoes to protect them.
• Use a boot rack or boot shapers to maintain the shape of boots. You can use my No Cost Solution for Storing Boots instead of purchasing boot shapers.
• Look for adjustable shelves so they can be moved to accommodate your own shoes:
  • Shoes of different sizes, such as men’s shoes, which are often larger shoes
  • The shoe storage needs of each family member
  • Winter boots
  • Snow boots
  • Flip flops
  • High Heels

• If you want to have storage that provides seating, use a sturdy shoe bench with a weather resistant cushion. You want the bench to be able to hold up to use for everyone in your family,.
• Consider your budget because there affordable options for everyone. There are also creative repurposed and DIY options.

Outdoor Shoe Organization Products

There are many different sizes, colors and styles of shoe organizers. I’ve selected a variety of options that are popular and fit unique needs and spaces.

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Click on images below to be taken to the product available for sale from Amazon or Wayfair.

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Stackable racks provide flexibility for your current space and as your needs grow and change. Whether you have a few pairs of shoes or many, stackable units can work well.

Stackable outdoor shoe racks are a great way to utilize the vertical storage space and not take up very much space in a small area. It helps keep floor space clear.

Open shelves provides easy access to your pairs of shoes. This a good idea for children who need to have easy solutions for shoe organization.

A shoe storage bench is helpful in providing the comfort of a place to sit while putting shoes on. A shoe bench is particularly helpful for younger children and older family members.

A shoe rack bench is the perfect choice if you need the convenience of a bench and want the shoes hidden away.

A shoe cabinet can be a good option to store shoes and keep the dust off of them. The doors on a shoe storage cabinet are a great idea if you’d like to keep the shoes out of sight.

Tall narrow shoe storage work well for:

• A narrow entryway
• Storage in a dorm room
• Small apartments
• When you have more wall space than floor space
• When you have a large shoe collection and need extra shoe storage

Hanging shoe storage on the wall can maximize limited outdoor storage space when there’s just not enough space to put a storage unit on the floor.

Many over-the-door shoe organizers can be hung on nails or hooks on an outdoor wall.

DIY Outdoor Shoe Storage

Repurpose a bookcase or storage unit you already have. This type of dual purpose shoe storage solution is a great idea for small spaces because it gives you flexibility to use one storage space for multiple uses.

Use wooden crates from a craft store or repurpose wood wine crates to stack and create a DIY shoe rack. This is an inexpensive, easy way to create open compartments for shoe storage. You can stack the crates in clever ways to create stylish shoe storage. You can find inspiration online.

DIY Shoe Organizer Tutorial from Family Handyman – Requires only beginner level skills and can be tailored to hold small, lightweight shoes or heavy bulky ones.

Create a college style bookcase storage shelf using cinder blocks and wood planks.

Repurpose coat hooks or even large Command Hooks to hang shoes from.

Make your own industrial shoe racks with plumbing pipes and wood with this tutorial from Home Dzine.

Repurpose skate boards to create ledges.

Use a deck box or garden storage box for your shoes. You can add levels and compartment by using milk crates or tension rods.

Place crown molding to create ledges to hang shoe heels from. This is a great solution for storing high heels. It’s also an artistic way to display a shoe collection inside if you have the closet space.

A DIY shoe ladder leaned against the wall allows you to hang shoes from their heels.

Repurpose a magazine rack to hold shoes on the wall.

Repurpose a wood pallet leaned against the wall to hold the toes of shoes between the slats.

Create DIY floating shoe shelves.

Create your own DIY industrial shoe rack with this simple tutorial.

Create shoe cubbies from large PVC pipes with these tutorials on Pinterest.

Use multiple tension rods in a nook to create levels to hold shoes.

Add wood planks to a ladder to create shelves and a rustic touch to your décor.

Create storage from milk crates and zip ties. Or hang milk crates on the wall to create shoe shelves.

What makes outdoor shoe storage great?

Storing your shoes outside keeps the dirt outside of your home and reduces your cleaning chores.

It keeps the germs and bacteria on shoes outside rather than bringing them into your home.

Keeping shoes by the door saves time. No more running back to get shoes or taking the time to put them away in your closet.

Storing shoes outside saves indoor space and keeps the floor of your closet clear.

It reduces clutter inside your home. Shoe clutter is a tripping hazard and can be dangerous.

Looking for more shoe and clothes storage ideas?

Other storage ideas you might have missed

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You can find all our best storage and clothes organizing ideas in the table below. You can scroll though the table and look for ideas or search for specific ideas with the magnifying glass in the upper right-hand corner (on desktop). Click on the topic and then click through the specific article.