Storing Boots

With over 130 pairs of boots in my collection (and I regularly wear most of them), places to put them has been running out. My partner is a very patient man, but he insisted that we do something about "all those boots" this weekend.

I had to find a place for 14 pairs of boots, and get them up off the floor (so my partner would not trip on them). I got this idea from someone who described this process on "boots on line" a few years ago. You simply install brackets on a wall, ensure the brackets are level, and then place a shower rod across them.

If you are like we are, you end up with a lot of cheap wire clothes hangars when you bring home shirts from the dry cleaner. I simply cut apart the hangars and crafted hooks out of them. I hang one end of the hook on the rod, and put the other end of the hook on a boot's pull strap. Then just hang the boot.

This whole set-up did not cost much -- just about US$40 for the brackets and rods. I was going to use shower curtain hooks for the boots, but my local HomoDepot was remodeling and didn't have any. Not wanting to chase all over the place, I thought that I could cut apart wire hangars, which worked very well. It took a little bit more time to make the hooks, but it did not take very long and I like to save money when I can.

By the way, the new storage is in our garage. My partner doesn't really want to see more boots in our living space. I already have a rather large set of shelves in our basement on which I keep 50 pairs of boots, and then the rest fit on shelves on one wall of my walk-in-closet. (We have "his-and-his" walk-in closets. Since I built our house, I made sure we had lots of closet space).

For now, all the boots have a home when I'm not wearing them. And best yet, my partner is happy.