Shoe Storage: Making Self-Storage Your Temporary Closet
Ah, shoes. One of human kind’s bestand most universal accessories.Whatever your style is, there are a plethora of shoes out there to keep everyone’s feet both protected and stylish. However, for those of us with a large collection of shoes, they can start to take up a lot of space. Keeping every single pair of shoes you own in your closet isn’t always a practical option. So what do you do when you need some extra room, but you can’t bear to part with any of your kicks? Check out a self storage unit for your shoe storage needs.
Prepping for Shoe Storage
Clean the Shoes
As with anything you place in storage, ensure that you’re not storing and dust, dirt, or mud with it-particularly with your shoes, since they spend quite a bit of time on the ground picking up all kinds of fun things. Leaving your shoes dirty for long periods of time can cause the material to be degraded when you remove them from storage, and you may never be able to completely remove the debris. This can also attract pests to your shoes while in storage.
When you clean your shoes, make sure you clean them properly! Materials like suede, leather, or moleskin can require special cleaning methods to avoid damaging the shoe with harsh chemicals. However you clean your kicks, ensure that they are completely dry before putting them in storage or you may come back to a moldy surprise.
Condition Your Shoes
Particularly if you have leather shoes, conditioning them can extend their life in storage. If you put them in dry and cracking, they will likely come out even worse. Making sure that they are nice and conditioned will increase their longevity and shelf life in the shoe storage unit. Just make sure that they are clean and dry when placed in the storage unit.
Invest in Shoe Storage Bags and Boxes
Shoe bags (one bag for each shoe) exist to keep your shoes cleaner and safer in storage. Investing in these will add another layer of protection inside the box. Just make sure you choose a material that breathes so the shoes are not sitting in moisture the entire time they are in storage.
Like shoe bags, you must choose the right box for your shoes. If you have the original cardboard shoe boxes they came in, that could work perfectly fine. However, cardboard can degrade easily and may even aid in attracting pests to create a burrow in your shoes. Plastic boxes are a good alternative, but can accidentally seal moisture into your shoes, which leads to mold and mildew down the road. You may consider using plastic storage with ventilation that will allow your shoes to breathe in the storage unit.
In the Storage Unit
Invest in Climate-Controlled Shoe Storage
Shoes are susceptible to damage from temperature and humidity, particularly those made of materials such as leather. Too much humidity can lead to mold and mildew, but not enough can leave you with dry, cracking shoes in your storage. Just like humidity, extreme temperatures also lead to damaged, warped shoes that may not fit when you take them out of the unit. Ensure that your shoe storage unit has climate-control to eliminate these variables as much as possible. Climate-control will regulate temperature and humidity to ensure they stay at the proper levels to keep your items safe.
Organize Your Shoes
If you are not placing your shoes in clear boxes, you may want to label them and organize by shoe type so you can easily find the exact pair you need for that special occasion. Investing in a shoe storage tree can not only help organize your shoes, but also space them out while still saving horizontal space in your unit. If you have a lot of other items in your unit (or if you want to save money by renting a smaller shoe storage unit), consider this option to help store your shoes vertically instead of spreading them out horizontally across the entire unit.
Regardless of your style, your shoes deserve to be safe and sound in any storage unit. Check us out at AAA Storage Asheville to find the right storage facility for you in the Asheville area!