Organized shoe storage without using an inch of precious floor space

Inefficient and inconvenient access to even the tidiest looking bins, bags or expensive shoe organizers tucked away, behind or under things in my tiny apartment forced me to find a better solution… And thanks to IKEA’s impulse-purchase-friendly floor design, I made my way through Kitchen Storage before ever making it to Closet Organization! HA!

I’ve included all the materials used in *MY final product below, but anyone can certainly run with this idea and customize the length and type of rails that best fit their needs!

Materials for my IKEA shoe organizer:

All items from IKEA “Kitchen Storage” (*screws not included)

  • 6x- GRUNDTAL Rail (31 1/2″)
  • 4x- BYGEL Rail (21 3/4″)
  • 3x- VARIERA Storage Box
  • 2x- VARIERA Utensil Holder
  • 2x (5pc) – GRUNDTAL S-hook
  • 1x (10 pc) – BYGEL S-hook

Steps:

1. I joined 2 GRUNDTAL (31 ½”) Rails, using the included connector screw

2. Before drilling and mounting I placed a few test shoes on top of the rail as a ‘spacing test’ reference to allow enough, yet minimal room from the ceiling to maximize my space.

IKEA shoe organizer using kitchen rails

3. I repeated this 2 more times for a total of 3 GRUNDTAL Rail rows (63” each).

(‘Spacing test’ was crucial for long term usage to avoid repeatedly knocking down balanced shoes on rows beneath due to rails too closely mounted to one another)

IKEA shoe organizer using kitchen rails

4. Next, I layered 4 rows of BYGEL Rails and hung VARIERA Storage Boxes and Utensil Holders filled with flats, sandals and other everyday street shoes.

(Spacing test for BYGEL Rails: I placed the shoes/contents I planned to keep in the bins inside ahead of mounting each row to account for how high the shoes may/may not stick out above the top of the bin for future obstruction-free access)

5. BYGEL Rail/VARIERA Bin Tips:
+ Tennis shoes too bulky for bins were tied by their laces to the lowest bar

+ The smaller VARIERA Utensil Holder bins were used to individually hold dirt-prone outdoor shoes that might otherwise ruin clean shoes shared in the larger VARIERA bins.

+ Speaking of dirt-prone shoes, I tossed a wonderful smelling deodorizer in the bottom of the bins for good measure too!

+ S-hooks for BYGEL & GRUNDTAL Rails were used to hang wedges and other shoes that were more practically stored hanging to save space.

IKEA shoe organizer without using an inch of precious floor space

IKEA shoe organizer storage without using an inch of precious floor space

This hack should totally cater to my fellow struggling out-of-sight-out-of-mind organizers who want to show more love to ALL their shoes, instead of a few token pairs that are easier to repeatedly grab than drudging out tucked away bins on a daily basis. Not only do I wear them all more regularly, it now also takes just 2 seconds to pick a pair every morning and put them away at night. (not to mention all the outfit indecision swaps in between)

ENJOY 🙂

~ Melody