Packing, Moving & Storing Shoes

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Originally published August 5, 2015 and updated on July 25, 2022.

Last year we moved my oldest to her first year of college.  With all our moving experience gained from 20+ moves, I had a few tricks up my sleeve to make the move a bit easier.  It was still emotional, but the actual packing and moving was no problem.  One of the tricks that most impressed my daughter was my trick for packing, moving and storing shoes and it’s oh so easy and free! 

overhead view of shoes organized in cardboard box with text overlay.

I tried to pack everything we moved to college into boxes small enough that my daughter and I could manage them alone.  I knew that the first day (and week even) would be super busy for my daughter.  I didn’t want to increase her workload by just tossing all the shoes into a box that she’d have to sort through later.  (In the picture below is less than half the shoes she took with her!) 

pile of shoes on wood floor.

This shoe size conversion chart for women is invaluable if you’re having a difficult time converting children’s sizes to women’s or vice versa.

Packing, Moving & Storing Shoes

cream and green wine box with brown wine box turned on side so you can see the section dividers.

Wondering how to pack shoes for moving and this mama’s trick?  A quick trip to Costco and a couple of wine boxes.  Look for the ones with dividers for bottles. Yes, these really is a free tip to pack shoes for a move and storing shoes

overhead look at shoes slipped into dividers in box.

Simply slip a shoe into each section and you’re done.  How easy is that? If it wasn’t just the best way to pack shoes for moving, I’d be embarrassed at how easy it is. 

close up of shoes organized in box, showing high heel on one shoe.

If you’ve got shoes with high heels, you can slip the heel over the divider and use 2 sections for those shoes.

overhead view of shoes in box with red arrow pointing at cardboard divider.

You can also bend the divider to make the section a bit larger.

shoe boxes in closet with wine box filled with organized shoes.

My daughter has even decided that it’s a great way for storing her shoes in these boxes.  The shoes are neatly contained and she can quickly grab just the pair of shoes that she wants. Update – She’s stored her shoes in her dorm closet in these boxes for four years now, so it must really work. 

If you’d prefer to purchase shoe storage boxes, these shoe storage boxes would be helpful for both moving and storage. 

More moving ideas:

overhead view of shoes organized in cardboard box with text overlay

Leave it to me to repurpose a cardboard box and make it easy for her packing, moving and storing her shoes with one trick. This year I’ll cover the boxes with graphic contact paper or wrapping paper and make them pretty for her (because I just can’t help myself sometimes.)

More moving and storage ideas

How to Pack Shoes for Moving – 60+ tips on how to pack shoes for moving from a professional organizer with 25+ personal moves ranging from across town to around the world

Moving Tips and Advice – From a mom who has moved 25+ times across town and around the world.

10 Tips for Moving Yourself Across Town – 10 easy and money saving tips for moving yourself across town. Using these tips will make your move go much more smoothly and with less stress.

You can find all our best moving tips and 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.

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12 Comments

  1. Susan, I am so sorry that I didn’t know you when my daughter went to college. She had bags full of shoes and they were always a mess in her little closet at school. This is such a great idea and it was free! That rocks. I will pass this on to my daughter because she still has a ton of shoes and little space to store them (many are at my house). Great idea.

  2. This is such a helpful advice! I am very glad that you shared it with us. I found it very helpful. Best regards

  3. Thank you so much for this neat idea.. I never would have thought to use wine boxes! Very helpful..Happy Mothers Day!

    1. I’m all about repurposing and saving money (oh, and organizing 🙂 ), Mauri. Thank you, I hope you had a wonderful weekend, too.

  4. Boxes are very useful for moving. I read your blog and i get the some great ideas about moving shoes. Very helpful blog. Thanks!

    1. I’m glad that you’ve found my tips helpful, Deven. I’m all about finding inexpensive and earth-friendly hacks

  5. Excellent storing hacks. I am really happy with your ideas for shoes storing. Normally some people use shoe boxes but use shoe boxes is use someplace. This idea is awesome all shoes and sandals in one box. Great, I like your blog and your idea. Thanks a lot for this beauty Enjoying article with me. I appreciate it very much!

  6. Hello Susan,
    This is the biggest idea to relocate my shoes to follow your excellent recipe. Your infographic tutorial helps me more too pack my house items in an organized way. What is the paper name to absorb the dry water shoes?

  7. Useful content with lovely pictures. Tey way you explain with the help of the image is awesome. Good Job keep it up

  8. Packing is really very stressful work. You share the information is really helpful for me. Thanks a lot for this beauty Enjoying article with me. I appreciate it very much!

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