How to Organize Shoes in the Laundry Room or Mud Room

This shop has been compensated by Collective Bias, Inc. and its advertiser. All opinions are mine alone. #WinterizeYourClosets #CollectiveBias

It’s a problem that people are constantly trying to fix…how do I organize my shoes and where?  Most of us probably keep them piled up in our closets.  Our family is one of those “no shoes in the house” families so we started keeping all of our shoes that we were currently wearing in the laundry room/mud room that we come into from the garage.  I was always embarrassed for people to come into this room with me because it was usually a mess of shoes and clothes!

These are the BEFORE pictures of my laundry/mud room:

We had boots, tennis shoes, and flip flops everywhere!  I liked having our shoes in the laundry room where we could put them on everyday on the way out the door but we needed some shelves.  I bought a small shelf but it just wasn’t enough.  We also had our clothes overflowing all over the floor almost constantly.

I had to opportunity to partner with Lowe’s and the Rubbermaid® FastTrack® storage system and I LOVE it!  It took just a few hours to install and now this is what our laundry room looks like and it has stayed that way for a few weeks now:

Now before I ever got in the car to go to Lowe’s, I did some planning on the Rubbermaid Storage Planner and this is a MUST!  If you don’t do this, it will be hard to visualize your closet in the aisle at Lowe’s.  This tool allows you to plan what you want your shelves to look like and then it tells you EXACTLY what to buy, down to the product numbers.

Here is what my plan I designed looked like online:

Then I clicked the red “What You Need” button on the right bottom corner and it told me every item that I needed to buy to create that closet I had designed:

Now I did make some changes when I got to Lowe’s based on availability and I decided to change one of the shelves too but I used this as a guide to get what I wanted.  I actually made the shelves a little smaller than my plan so I was able to get a shorter Hang Rail for instance.  Here are some pictures so you will know where to find the FastTrack system at Lowe’s.

When we got home with all of our supplies we cleared out the room and had it installed before bed time.

First you need to install your Rubbermaid® FastTrack® White Rail into the studs and make sure it’s level.  That is very important!!

Then I added on the 3 Rubbermaid® FastTrack® White Upright in 70 inches and 25 inches for the end.  These just hang on the rail but we also screwed them into the wall in studs to make it extra strong.  We also made sure these were level before screwing them into the wall.

Now it’s time for the shelves and shoe racks!

I used the Rubbermaid FreeSlide 12 x 12 White Wire Shelf for the very top.  The shelves that they sell range from 12 inches to 20 inches deep so there are lots of options.  The instructions are the same with every shelf but you measure how long you want it, cut with bolt cutters, and attach the Rubbermaid Universal End Caps on the ends to prevent the wire from being exposed.  Then I attached the top shelf with the 12 inch Rubbermaid FastTrack White Shelving Brackets.

This top shelf is perfect for hanging clothes to dry that are not supposed to be in the dryer or hanging clothes that have been ironed for church or an event.  It could also be a great place for jackets!

I bought two small boxes from the same aisle at Lowe’s for our hats and gloves and of course, I had to bring in some of my plants too!  The brackets and shelf are very sturdy so i wasn’t worried about putting the plants on the top shelf at all!

Now for the shoes!  I bought the Rubbermaid FreeSlide 12 x 12 White Wire Shelf for the shoe shelves.  I used the regular 12 inch bracket for the boots on top and then I bought the Rubbermaid FastTrack White Shoe Bracket for the other five shelves.  This shoe bracket puts the shelf at a slight angle which is great for shoes.  I love how I can change the height of each shelf based on the type of shoes I’m storing there.  I put Cole’s shoes on the very bottom and he is really doing a great job of putting them away every time.

I’m sure you have seen this on Pinterest before but if you are storing boots and want them to stand up, cut a pool noodle to size and put them in your boots.  🙂

Here is the rest of my laundry room makeover:

That big flower print is an engineer print of a picture I took a few weeks ago hanging on a painted dowel with some yarn tassels.  This is a great way to spruce up your laundry room for about $10.  I think it would be so cute to take pictures of your kids being messy and print those for the laundry or mud room too!

I also have some vintage baskets my dad gave me from the local swimming pool I used to swim in as a kid that I use for storage.  They are great for holding all of my cleaning stuff, light bulbs, etc.

Another problem I was having was overflowing towels and clothes in the laundry room.  I decided to go buy one cute basket for towels and blankets and then I bought two other hampers for my kid’s hall and our bedroom.  I like this system WAY more because it’s less cluttered and makes laundry so much easier with everything being separated already.  A cute rug also makes the room a lot more fun!

 

For this message board, I bought a “hog panel” from a tractor supply store and then cut it with bolt cutters to size, spray painted it black, and hung it on the wall.  It’s a great place for us to keep calendars, art, and whatever else we love.

Ok whew!  That was a lot of information about such a tiny room!  If you have any questions about the Rubbermaid® FastTrack® system please let me know in the comments.  The possibilities with these shelves are endless and it has turned this room into an organized, cheerful space.  FastTrack is also perfect for pantries and linen closets because it gives you sturdy storage space that you need to organize things like heavy food items, totes, and more!  Please visit their Rubbermaid Storage Planner to create your own storage for any space in the house!