The Struggles of Organizing….It’s only a shoe rack.

It’s the new year… everyone is either organizing or signing up for a gym membership. Am I right? Isn’t is funny what a simple change of numbers does? But it does! It’s like that fresh start, new beginning.

So, let’s talk about organizing…
Don’t you just dream of always knowing where you put that pen, or that book or glue gun? Ugh! Please tell me you’ve searched the house for that certain something. You put it in a great place so you wouldn’t forget where it was and then you can’t find it!  Then I’ll come across it in a couple of days/weeks later. I’m not the only one, right?

Now, I would consider myself somewhat organized. At least once I find something that works, really works, then it usually stays organized.

Last year, I was on a mission to get more organized. I started out all Gung Ho! I was going to organize my entire house! It fizzled, I fizzled, it didn't happen...

I managed to get a few things organized. I had way too many junky drawers. So, I set to organizing them. And for practically nothing! I love these organizers and those drawers are still organized! They really work! Here's the links for you to see these awesome organizers in action.

Junk Drawer Organizer
Office Desk Drawer Organizer
Kitchen Tools Organizer
Vanity Drawer Organizer

But of course, I didn't finish the whole house...Not by a long shot! I have some areas that are not organized. There are 3 large bookshelves in our den that is a modge podge of “stuff” at least there are books on it. Hmmm, there is a spare room that’s a bit of a mess. A bathroom closet that has more junk in there than I care to deal with. And of course, there is the ongoing thorn in my side…THE BASEMENT. I’ll make some progress down there, but then there’s another mess from the progress. It just drives me nuts. But we aren’t here to talk about that today….

Sometimes, it’s the littlest things that make the biggest impact. For me that is so true. And right now it is a shoe rack.... My shoes just seem to take over my closet. I know, I’m blessed with a humungous closet, and sometimes, I'll get sick of the mess and line my shoes up.

….but mostly they look like this.


This doesn’t even include my heels and flip flops. They’re put away right now in hanging shoe racks. I’ve practically given up wearing heels, so they pretty much stay in there.

I don’t know about you, but this mess bothers me. Just looking at this picture, I don’t like it. I want things to be in a straight line all orderly. So, why do I keep flinging them to where ever they land? Well, probably because I get lazy.... It’s easier, I’m tired, I don’t want to, I’ll get a ”who cares” attitude. Then I’m back to square one.

I have found the best thing that works for me, is for everything to having a home, a place where it belongs. Not that I always put it back in it’s home, but hopefully, I'm doing it more than I used to, at least I think so…Well, I’m still working on it.  It seems to be a never ending work in progress.
So, the shoe rack is me taking more baby steps.

We had some of this wire shelving in the basement. It just happen to be the exact length I wanted. (Yay! One more thing out of the basement!!) I flipped the shelf over so that the lip was up. It will hold my shoes in place.


I found these “shoe/laundry brackets” at Lowes in the wire shelving area.


Perfect! All I had to do it hammer them into the wall and pop the wire shelf on. Presto!

Nope! That’s not what happened.  It sounded a little too easy....

Are you seeing how the bracket isn’t that long…. Take a look at the shelf in the background… There should be a bar going across the entire shelf to rest on the bracket, to hold the shelf up. Uh, I think I have a problem. Well, I wasn’t going to give up. I called Hubby. He always has great ideas! But he wasn’t going to be home for a day, so it was going to have to wait.

Hubby had a GREAT idea!


If we drilled out a groove on the bracket the wire shelf could rest on the bracket. If you don’t understand, hang in there, you will.

Hubby got out his handy Dremel and made a groove for the wire shelf.






See? Now the wire, will rest right on the bracket.


When I ended up reading the packaging (which is something I do last, not first :/), it said the bracket was for tight weave wire shelves. Oh well, I was just going to use what I had on hand, anyway. It cost me around $8. Not bad for a cool shoe rack!

Now, putting the shoes in their places.


That just makes me feel peaceful and calm. I love it! This is what organization does. It calms life down and creates peace. Oh, Lord, help me be more organized!
Blessings!