- 60
- 142
- Joined
- Apr 19, 2014
I've recently started to get more organized with my shoes, and start looking for ways to present my shoes to make it at least appear like I'm an adult. It's really hard with a full Ebay watch list to forgo another pair of something that doesn't pop up everyday just make a stack of boxes on the floor look like a stack of boxes on a shelf. However almost not being able to find a pair of shoes I bought for someone as a gift in the stacks was a wake up call. So I hit up Ikea to figure out what to do. I obviously wanted to spend the least amount of money possible, and with my strong accounting background I quickly started adding up the costs per pair of storing my shoes. These are the best possible outcomes I found, just in case some of you are looking to do the same thing.
The average amount of space a shoe box takes up will be about 7 inches in height, 9 inches in width, and 15inches in depth. This is the average amount of space you need per box in a practical sense. In other words some boxes will be smaller and especially Lebron boxes will be bigger but across the major brands this is how much space you will need to have in order to have at least a small gap between all your shoes. If you have a ton of shoes like I do and you can save a 1 dollar per pair on the storage costs, calculating your spacing for the best deals is crucial.
If you aren't at all concerned about aesthetics then look no further than the outdoor storage section. This section is usually not in the upper showroom floor, but downstairs next to the fancy wall shoe storage units. (Side note, the furniture in Ikea actually designed for shoe storage is absolutely the worst deal in the building. They look cool but usually run about 100 dollars and may hold ten pairs. 10 dollars a pair to store shoes!) . The outdoor storage is usually bare bones metal shelving, but if you don't care how they look stacked up or have them in a closet no one sees then you can get some amazing deals. Especially this one. http://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/00278578/. 15 dollars, and you should get a minimum of 14 pairs on all the shelves stacked 2 boxes side by side and 7 boxes high on each side. If you use the top of the very top shelf you could get even more and bring your per pair costs down to less than a dollar per pair. It won't look pretty, but it is the most cost effective way.
If you're trying to go for a more respectable but budget look then the Kallax shelving is not bad at all. http://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/50278482/ They will store about 2 boxes per square over 8 squares at roughly 4 dollars per pair storage cost. You may be able to get up to 3 boxes if you have some skinny ones like a Puma Suede box, but you probably will end up with 2. FYI, the 8 square combo is the best deal period. DON't buy the any other version or you are getting ripped off. The bigger one has 16 squares and costs 150. You can buy two of the 8 sq combos and push them side by side and only pay 130. Exact same storage space and you save 20 bucks. They are on sale this month through the family program for 53 dollars which brings the costs down to 3.50 per pair.
If you wanted something with a closed back, the Besta line has an ok deal. Beware, most of the Besta line is a worse deal than your other options except this one. http://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/80247371/. 75 dollars and it will hold 20 boxes for about 4 dollars a pair once you buy the shelving. The cool thing about this one is you have some control over how it looks with all the different shelves and drawers you can buy to go with it. Beware though, all the accessories are a little steep and if you get too crazy your costs per pair will soon be up over 5. (Another side note, the little 45 dollar Besta cube was marked down to 20 dollars in my local Ikea bringing my costs down to 2.5 a pair, and the cubes are stackable.)
The most aesthetically pleasing option and lowest costs per pair is the PAX wardrobe system. The one that offers the most value is this one: http://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/S19025623/. Don't let the website trick you. You can buy just the PAX unit for 100 dollars and customize it however you want. One of these with three shelves will run 145 dollars and store about 60 boxes bringing you to 2.4 dollars per pair. An LED light strip should run about 40 dollars extra and you can have your room looking like a pro-athletes sneaker closet in one afternoon with an under 4 dollar per pair storage cost.
Hope this helps those of you who want to spend more on shoes than furniture but want to start being more presentable. I'm sure there are other deals out there from other store so please feel free to add any deals you find. Just remember before you buy to use the dimensions to calculate the per pair storage costs. When you are storing a ton of shoes like most of us, the savings can add up real quick.
The average amount of space a shoe box takes up will be about 7 inches in height, 9 inches in width, and 15inches in depth. This is the average amount of space you need per box in a practical sense. In other words some boxes will be smaller and especially Lebron boxes will be bigger but across the major brands this is how much space you will need to have in order to have at least a small gap between all your shoes. If you have a ton of shoes like I do and you can save a 1 dollar per pair on the storage costs, calculating your spacing for the best deals is crucial.
If you aren't at all concerned about aesthetics then look no further than the outdoor storage section. This section is usually not in the upper showroom floor, but downstairs next to the fancy wall shoe storage units. (Side note, the furniture in Ikea actually designed for shoe storage is absolutely the worst deal in the building. They look cool but usually run about 100 dollars and may hold ten pairs. 10 dollars a pair to store shoes!) . The outdoor storage is usually bare bones metal shelving, but if you don't care how they look stacked up or have them in a closet no one sees then you can get some amazing deals. Especially this one. http://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/00278578/. 15 dollars, and you should get a minimum of 14 pairs on all the shelves stacked 2 boxes side by side and 7 boxes high on each side. If you use the top of the very top shelf you could get even more and bring your per pair costs down to less than a dollar per pair. It won't look pretty, but it is the most cost effective way.
If you're trying to go for a more respectable but budget look then the Kallax shelving is not bad at all. http://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/50278482/ They will store about 2 boxes per square over 8 squares at roughly 4 dollars per pair storage cost. You may be able to get up to 3 boxes if you have some skinny ones like a Puma Suede box, but you probably will end up with 2. FYI, the 8 square combo is the best deal period. DON't buy the any other version or you are getting ripped off. The bigger one has 16 squares and costs 150. You can buy two of the 8 sq combos and push them side by side and only pay 130. Exact same storage space and you save 20 bucks. They are on sale this month through the family program for 53 dollars which brings the costs down to 3.50 per pair.
If you wanted something with a closed back, the Besta line has an ok deal. Beware, most of the Besta line is a worse deal than your other options except this one. http://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/80247371/. 75 dollars and it will hold 20 boxes for about 4 dollars a pair once you buy the shelving. The cool thing about this one is you have some control over how it looks with all the different shelves and drawers you can buy to go with it. Beware though, all the accessories are a little steep and if you get too crazy your costs per pair will soon be up over 5. (Another side note, the little 45 dollar Besta cube was marked down to 20 dollars in my local Ikea bringing my costs down to 2.5 a pair, and the cubes are stackable.)
The most aesthetically pleasing option and lowest costs per pair is the PAX wardrobe system. The one that offers the most value is this one: http://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/S19025623/. Don't let the website trick you. You can buy just the PAX unit for 100 dollars and customize it however you want. One of these with three shelves will run 145 dollars and store about 60 boxes bringing you to 2.4 dollars per pair. An LED light strip should run about 40 dollars extra and you can have your room looking like a pro-athletes sneaker closet in one afternoon with an under 4 dollar per pair storage cost.
Hope this helps those of you who want to spend more on shoes than furniture but want to start being more presentable. I'm sure there are other deals out there from other store so please feel free to add any deals you find. Just remember before you buy to use the dimensions to calculate the per pair storage costs. When you are storing a ton of shoes like most of us, the savings can add up real quick.
