Question about storage and getting rid of changing table

am finally ditching the changing table that we have in our dining room (now the "twin room") to open up more space, etc. However i do use the shelves for shoes, diapers, etc. Each kid has probably 4 pairs of shoes so thats like 16 shoes!! ugh what was i thinking!!

anyways, how do you organize or keep your twins shoes and outdoor stuff? we live on a 2 level house with basement but we only sleep upstairs so i hate leaving shoes, jackets, etc up there because thats an extra trip up just to get that stuff.

any suggestions?

 

All of our stuff like that stays by our front door. I have a small 2 shelf cupboard that holds all my big kids shoes that are out of season or not used on a regular basis (dress shoes, baseball cleats, rain boots...etc.). Then I bought some cheap laundry baskets, and I have one basket sitting beside there for all our "everyday shoes". Crocs for everybody, flip flops, and runners right now, that rotates to winter boots and runners in the winter time. Jackets get hung either on the back of the door (our jackets), or in a big white storage cabinet we have sitting nearby. We have a coat hanger mounted low enough for the kids to reach for their book bags and hats to go on. We also use a 3 drawer sterilite container for hats, mittens/gloves, lightweight pullover jackets, sun hats...etc. It sounds like a lot, but we have a fairly large front entryway, and we moved our couch a little closer to the middle of the living room so we'd have extra room for all 6 people to get in the doorway without killing each other.

 

I have a small house, so I don't have a lot of storage space. We do have a closet on the first floor for jackets and I will put their gloves and hats in the pockets of the winter jackets. When it's time to change them for the next season, I just put them in the new jacket. I also have a sterlite container that I put everyday shoes in. Their dress shoes stay in their rooms and boots are downstairs in the laundry room.

 

I have 3 baskets by the front door... one for each twin, and one for me! wow, what a concept for me! I can finally find my shoes. I am trying to teach the kids to each put their own shoes away, so this is an easy solution for us. It's not necessarily neat in the basket, but at least they are not all over the floor.

 

I have one of these hanging in my front hall closet. In the summer it's used for shoes and sun hats and in the winter hats and mitts. What I really like about it is that all the kids can put their own stuff away. Even the girls who are just 17 months already know the routine and try their best to put their things in the pockets. Mind you all my kids have only 2 pairs of shoes (runners and sandals) and each have one sun hat so there's not much to go in there. My husband and I use the higher pockets for our stuff (flip flops, sun hats, sunglasses, etc). I also have a 2 level shoe rack on the floor in the closet for things like rain boots that don't get used as much.

 

I have one of these by my front door. I have a drawer, my husband has a drawer and the kids shoes go in the bottom then a couple pairs (usually just one pair each) is on the floor beneath it. When it gets full - I just move some out of season shoes back to our closets if we have not worn them in a while. Works great. I do Not have a lot of storage space in my entryway or my laundry room that is right off my entry way, which barely fits the washer/dryer let alone trying to put more "stuff" in there.

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