One trick I learned from a TV show was to alternate the left and right shoe forward and backward rather than having them all face forward. This way they nest better and you can fit more pairs in the same space. I tried it and it works!

Not only do you see the front of the to know if it is open toed or whatever style, but you see the heel height also at the same time. So not only do you save space but it make selecting shoes easier without pulling them out to check.

Why not just buy a shoe rack of the right size and mount it?

dilly_dally that is nice idea :) i will keep that in mind and i would like to get a shoe rack which will fit in my cupboard. May i know any online store where to get these racks? thanks

There are numerous ways to organize shoes in a closet, I am going to assume you don't have many shelves in the space, maybe just for hanging. Of course it would depend on the size of the closet but you could put a tower of shelves in the middle or down one side, (this could hold from 10 - 40 pairs of shoes (given the closet is 24' front to back. I do closets for a living, so if you wish, you could scan a drawing or send a picture and I could send more specific ideas back to you. also check out my link.

Here is a link that might be useful: storageworks - shelving

if you have a shoe rack with flat shelves rather than slanted, what i do with some pairs is i lay the right shoe upside down on the left so that the right heel is over the left toe...that way, like dilly mentioned, you can see both the front and the heel and it takes up even less space. you can't do this with every pair, but i have at least half my shoes stacked like this.

MurrayK-Do you do all closets? I could use help with all of mine. I live in a 1950's ranch and I have some storage space, but not a ton.

We have 3 bedrooms closets (I know one has a 60X80 opening and I presume its 24 inch deep. The other two the doors go to the ceiling (8 ft), but I am not sure if they are also 60 inches wide...might be a little less.

I have a linen closet that the opening is 24 inches wide and 80 inches tall.

We have a coat closet that is ceiling height and I presume 60 inches wide, although I'd have to measure.

I would be happy to send you photos if you are willing. I will check out your link also. My resolution for 2011 is to get organized and reduce clutter.

The Wall Street Journal's "Personal Journal" section for Jan. 13 had a pic of the closets of Robert Cort and Rosalie Swedlin (movie producer & wife, in Beverly Hills).

In their incredible closet, they have pullout shelves, and they store their shoes in them. The first shoe has its toe touching the front edge, and when you pull the shelf out, the second shoe is behind it, its toe touching the heel of its mate.

So when you look at the shelf, you see one shoe of each pair. And there's not so much wasted air above them for reaching or viewing.

Talley Sue, I'm so glad to see you chiming in again - you've been missed!

Maria

I'm thinking about getting something like this organizer cuuby in the link. I don't like my current setup.

Here is a link that might be useful: cubby organizer

We have the California Closets freestanding version that has cycled from shoes to DVDs and back. It's good kitten storage, but the full sized cats don't fit. It was a mess in this picture, but I couldn't resist.
{{!gwi}}

These are my shoe racks.

DH and kids have theirs stored on shelves or the floor of the closet like dilly dally has hers, nested together front and back. My boots which you can see at the base of the picture are also stored that way. they really do take up less space that way.

laxsupermom--I think it's interesting that your rack has the toes facing the wall; Lots of the catalogs show slanted racks w/ the toes facing outward. Do you think this way is more effective, less messy, or whatever?

talleysue, these racks are slanted. I think the slanted doweling racks can only be used toes in. Plus, I like being able to see the heel height before selecting a shoe. I have pants that will only work with a higher heel, etc.

Some of those dowel-based racks go toe in, and some go heel in. I did a Google Images search and found them shown both ways.

I think it would be EASIER to put them in and out when they're like yours, though.

Here is a link that might be useful: {{!gwi}}

OK, maybe this is a teeny bit silly--but here's an interesting gadget:

Here is a link that might be useful: Stacktable Shoe Rack

This is really clever--but I'm guessing it would be sort of hard to retro fit.

Here is a link that might be useful: a drawer built into the stair riser

Actually, if you want to see a really great cross-section of what's available in terms of shoe racks, go to images.google.com and type in "shoe rack."

It'll give you a fast overview of what they look like--a whole bunch of pictures will show up at once, so you can scan them rapidly. There are tons of different types, actually!

and of course you can click on them to get more info.

I keep mine on one shelf--it is about 10 feet long--right about a blouse hanger. I stack the original shoe boxes based on shoe color and style (pumps/flats). There is a photo of each pair of shoes glued to the edge of the box that shows. I have about 80 pairs of shoes--easy to slide out a box, take out the shoe and replace at the end of use. I also use shoe trees inside each original box. I buy expensive shoes and expect (and get)years of wear.