Makin' a place for my shoes....

Much to the Bearded Wonder's (BW) dismay, I have a lot of shoes. I don't have a lot of shoes when compared to most women, but I do have a lot of shoes when compared to him. Mainly, I harbor an extensive collection of flip flops.... It's the California girl in me. Here is a preview of the finished product.

Here is how I made it.....

I purchased a 12 foot length of wire shelving at Lowes (Home of the JJ #48 race team) and had them cut it down into 45" sections. This left me with a little shelving blip that I threw away. I also purchased the shoe rack brackets. For this project I used 2 brackets per shelf for a total of 6 brackets.

I used a laser level to ensure that the racks were level across the small space on the left hand side of the closet.

I placed the first shelf and then I did something completely strange for me, but it worked out....  I eyeballed the height of the next shelf. Nailed it! First time for everything.

Then, after I had the spacing I wanted, I measured it and installed the top shelf at the same height differential.

The picture above is the final product. It fits perfectly.... As the BW would say, Like a Glove.

Next, I had to load up my shoes..... and ran into a problem... wop wop.

My stiletto heels were falling through the mesh. Crap on toast.

I know they make some good products to cover the mesh to prevent this type of occurrence, but I really did not want to journey back to Lowes at 8:30 pm.... I just wanted to make this project my beyotch and move on.

Necessity is the mother of invention. Here is my invention. TP Roll Heel Guards (patent pending).

Here is how I made them:

Step 1: Gather your quality parts... scissors and a TP roll....

Step 2: Cut the TP roll in half

Step 3: Cut a cross into the TP roll half

Step 4: Place stilleto into TP Heel Guard

Step 5: Place heel on shelf and bask in your own prowess and glory...

Step 6: About halfway through the project realize that you do not possess enough TP rolls to cover all of your shoes, then come up with another brand-able idea.... Stiletto "Box Top Pads"....

Step 7:  Cut a small square out of the lid to the shoe box you are trying to downsize.

Step 8: Place "Box Top Pad" on the shelf

Step 9: Place shoes on the "Box Top Pad"

Now is the time to tackle my endless supply of the evil flip flop....

Notice how in the picture above, there is not a lot of space left for 10 pairs of flops and 2 pairs of boots....

Example:

A lot of space is taken up by placing them side by side.

This is where my big hair comes in.  I have a surplus of hairbands that need to be thrown away. I decided to "upcycle" them into a useful tool of flip flop containment.

Then I placed them all on the shelves.

This is the final product. 

Nice project that took about 3 hours to complete from Lowes to final product.

Cost Break down:

12' wire shelf               $ 16.95
Shoe Brackets              $ 2.64 for 2 brackets, $ 7.92
TP Heel Guard             Free
Box Top Pad                Free
Rubber Band                Free

Total Cost:                   $ 24.87

Time: 3 hrs

Skill Level: Beginner

Tools Used:  Hammer, Laser Level, Pencil, Cordless Drill with 3/8 drill bit