If I had a huge walk-in closet with wood cabinetry that had been laid out by a closet designer I would, of course, have special closed storage for each pair of Louboutins. As it stands now in my average closet I really can't justify the time or expense to be taking up shelf space with individual shoe boxes. Something like this works well to keep shoes off the floor for very little money and fuss:

http://www.homedepot.com/p/t/100627453/5yc1v?catalogId=10053&langId=-1&keyword=shoe+rack&storeId=10051&N=5yc1v&R=100627453

If your shoes stink so bad that they are contaminating other objects nearby, well, you may need to invest in some Odor-Eater products.

I keep my shoes in inexpensive plastic boxes so that I can see what I have, my seldom-worn dressy shoes are protected, and dust stays off (my laundry room is my walk-in closet; I do what I can to contain the lint).

I have nearly all of my shoes in plastic boxes from Container Store. You can stack them and save a lot of space that way. I hate shoe racks because heels always fall through wire shelving and they sometimes don't fit right. If you have one pair of shoes that is a little wide, you've wasted space because there isn't enough space for two more pairs.

Since I live in a hot climate there is the issue of cock roaches, which feed on card board. Getting rid of the original boxes & using plastic (or no boxes) is important, not just for organization, but for pest issues.

At what point does organization reach the threshold of wasteful? A lot of these seem overly excessive.

I have something like this 12-pair organizer from the Container Store: http://www.containerstore.com/shop/closet/shoeStorage/shelf?productId=10008147&N=154
It looks nice, it is space-efficient, and it reminds me not to buy more shoes than will fit in the unit. Individual boxes take up a lot more space.

I have fabric IKEA shoe boxes (not the SKUBBs) and they're...alright. Not exactly sturdy. Seeing as they come folded, they tend to want to lean to one side. If I had more of a budget for it I would buy plastic ones. However, it looks like the plastic ones, albeit sturdier, don't have front openings which allows you to stack them AND access all your shoes easily.

I buy most of my shoes and boots on ebay so they don't come with the original boxes or the boxes are beat. I have been looking around for a nice shoe rack or bench to no avail. Our kitchen floor looks like a shoe store so hopefully I can come up with something this year. I like the linen ones from The Container Store since you can see in them and are nicer than cheap looking plastic. Too bad about the blah color. For that price they should have options! They would make a handsome stack!

After a long quest for an affordable, space-conscious solution to the organizational chaos caused by my shoe habit, I finally gave up this weekend and decided to DIY it. So now I'm in the process of building rolling underbed shoe storage out of pine boards and plywood. Casters on the boxes make things easily accessible while keeping them out of the way, the wood is solid and goes with my decor, and I'm not wasting valuable space lining all of my shoes up in boxes.

And I forgot...I did find this bench...

http://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/70206743/

It's neat since it's pretty in the red and stackable but it's always listed as "not for sale" at our closest Ikea. For multiples they really sock it to ya for shipping.

I have some stacking ones like the plastic ones above with plastic lids that I got from Container Store years ago, though ones that were openable from the front would be more user-friendly. They are good for shoes not worn frequently, and do keep out the moths that have previously attacked my shoes. The top closing boxes can be used to store anything anywhere, and are sturdy and stackable.

Having just moved, the closet options have changed, and my cheap, white, big box store, stacking shoe shelves I have used in closets for years for frequently worn shoes won't fit anywhere. I think I will need to get a furniture cabinet to store shoes in for my foyer here, due to less closet space.

I like the look of that modular Frontgate wall, but like most Frontgate stuff, it is probably more expensive than I'd find worth it.

Cardboard shoe boxes that shoes come in tend to fall apart as the glue that holds them together dries out and fails over time.

I really should get rid of more shoes...having shoes you want to hang onto to wear occassionally really only works if you have the room to store them where they can be seen and easily accessed when you might want to wear them. So, yeah, I get the need for purchsed shoe storage boxes, but one has to have the closet space to easily access them as well for them to be useful.

We've got the canvas ones from the Container Store and love them. They're so sturdy and they have magnetic closures and open from the front so you don't have to unstack them. We use them to store other, non-stackable stuff high on closet shelves (e.g. winter hats, scarves, gloves, and so on).

tarainsevenvalleys they have those boxes in a few patterns as well. Also they put all those storage boxes on sale in August. I have the matching sweater boxes and bought a few of the shoe boxes for the shoes that didn't fit in my shoe bag and that needed to go on the floor.

i like shoe boxes, but not the expense. therefore as part of my 30 day challenge, i'm adding these toe holds to my entranceway of my apartment.

http://pinterest.com/pin/254734922644948374/

I agree with Pi. Love the plastic shoe boxes. Plus as my shoe collection wanes, the boxes can be used for other purposes and brought back into shoe circulation as needed. They are just great overall boxes for storage.

Alas, there is no room in my closet for shoe boxes. Most of them live jumbled up in an old vintage suitcase on the closet floor, and the three pair that I wear all the time sit on top. That's all the room there is. :(

@ramblingirl I have been searching for underbed shoe storage too, with no luck. If you have a tutorial on how you're building yours I'd love to see it! I'm thinking DIY may be the way to go, unless anyone can recommend another under-the-bed solution?

Mine are mostly in their original boxes with the labels out so I can tell what they are. If they come with a protective dust bag, they are in the bag, and then inside the box. If they come with paper stuffed in them, then when I put them back after wearing, I put the paper back in them as well to absorb the ick. I just don't see the need to buy new boxes when they come with them, labels and all.

Agree, I always try to get the box that goes with the shoe (although without the paper, etc). If that's not possible, I re-use another shoe box & label the outside. Tape the corners for re-enforcement.

Always good to air out the shoes before putting back in boxes.

Wine bottles make great boot stays! (I think I learned that somewhere here on A.T.)

During off season, boots go back in boxes & out come the sandals & vice versa.

Also have one of those over the door shoe hangers with XL pockets for in season shoes so they're not strewn about the closet floor. Usually one pair fits in one pocket rather than one shoe each.

And if I run out of room in the 'designated area' I get rid of shoes in order to make room!

Glad I don't live where roaches would eat the boxes! :-p