Thanks for the tip. What a great idea, and they are CLEAR plastic not that cloudy kind where you can't see into the boxes. Prices for the kits are listed on their home page near the bottom. They seem pretty reasonable.

the lids nest, and you can pull out the one in the middle

I meant, you CANNOT pull out the one in the middle.

That's an interesting idea, especially if you have the closet space. Sadly, my funky old shoes don't need such good protection, and my closet doesn't have the space for individual boxes. I can see how this might work well for lots of other things besides shoes.

It's not a shoe organizer but I bumped into some great grocery bags that I'm ordering to replace the canvas and string bags I used to take to the grocery store. We are still using some bags we bought in the late '80's and it's time for an upgrade. These actually stand up on their own, which seems a much superior idea to having things get squashed the way they do in a string bag. I'm looking forward to seeing how they work. I'm saving the string bags for produce at the Farmer's Market.

Here is a link that might be useful: Acme Earth Tote

Claire, I like that bag. Are they about the size of a grocery paper bag or larger?

Marie, they seem to be about the same size as a paper bag, which is what appeals to me. I can let you know more when I get them in a few days.

Those are great! I was pipe-dreaming about making my own (you know, dreaming is OK, you don't have to do?), and they would have looked just like that.

EXCEPT: I would want to use a thin but strong ripstop nylon, so they don't weight terribly much (since I would carry my bags around in a tote bag).

But I'll never buy them, bcs I have a life that's lived on foot, and I stop at stores on impulse. If I drove around in a car, I'd keep 8 of these in the trunk.

Interesting (and maybe inconvenient?) that the each handle goes from one side to the other, and are not each fastened to their own side.

That would be a drawback to me, bcs (since I'm on foot) I often loop the handles over my shoulder. Or, if I hold the handles in my hand, I think I'd want much shorter ones. Then the bag wouldn't drag on the ground (since my arms are short)

But that's a huge improvement over string bags (which don't stand up, which squish everything together, etc--I can't stand them)

They also have these ultra compact bags that fold up into their own pouches. I'm considering getting some of these for DH and myself. I like the fact you can throw them in your purse and they don't take up any room. I'm going for the colors myself! For someone who has a ''walking'' lifestyle, I think these would be a perfect fit.

Here is a link that might be useful: Acme Workhorse bags

CDL,
Thanks for the ACME site - I had been looking for stainless steel water bottles.

-Lena

Lena, You're welcome!

I went ahead and ordered a few of the Acme Workhorse bags (in colors) for my purse. If these last as long as those we've been using since the 1980's, I'll be happy.

BTW, the grocery bag handles are stitched on each side, not across the bag. The picture makes it look otherwise, but you made me look again! (Never hurts to double check.) I should be good for bags for a very long time...

Claire, you're right about the handles. isn't that funny how the images makes it look the other way.

So then, these are just about perfect!

(though honestly, I think I might still want shorter handles, since my legs are so short. I tie knots in the handles of most shopping bags, just to make them shorter so they don't drag on the ground if I walk w/ my arms straight)