Jollyrd, you're probably correct--the Trash To Treasure people would probably come up with a variety of uses for the shoe racks. Around here, we're pretty much "If it doesn't work, get rid of it" type people. Because part of organizing is recognizing when to let things go. People here can be pretty ruthless. So if you have a need for hanging rods in various places around your house, cutting up the shoe racks is a great idea. It's ingenious; I never would have thought of it. On the other hand, if you are going to have to create a need for these hanging rods, then it is still clutter and should leave your house.

I have a shoe storage cabinet in my bedroom. It is basically a book shelf. Mine is 14 inches wide and it holds my husbands size 11 shoes as well as my own. Before I had it built I measured the biggest pair of shoes then measured from the heel up and added 1 inch to see how far apart to make the shelves. Some of my shelves are 6 inches from the top of the shelf to the top of the next shelf, giving my about 5 1/2 space between the shelves. These hold my husbands shoes and my heels. I have 2 shelves like this and the other 3 are an inch smaller in space. It holds 15 pairs of shoes--actually I have about 20 because sandals I stack one on top of the other I have it covered with a cloth cover I made, but it would be an easy matter to add doors with european hinges. If you want to make it narrower you could slant the shelves and add a cleat to catch the heels of the shoes.

I promise I'm not trying to be snarky or rhetorical ... this really is simply information gathering. But, do you have dressy parties? Or any parties? Because when I dress up, my shoes are usually the most important part of what I wear. I often have a uniform of black pants, white shirt, and fabulous shoes and bag. I would be sad to lose half my outfit. If I came to your house in outside boots and then put on my velvet flats (lined in cashmere!) once I got inside, do you consider that dirty, too? I don't think they've ever been in manure or dirt, and with teenage boys in my house I think unfortunately my bathroom floor is often probably not much different than many public bathrooms. But I don't take my velvet flats into really gross public bathrooms, anyway. (Of course, I wouldn't do that as I'd feel uncomfortable being the only shod person.) Again, I am just trying to understand this. I understand the philosophy of customs and all that, no problem; just the actual reason behind the custom is what I'm trying to get. Went to a party last fall where all shoes were off. I was wearing jeans and Frye boots, or something, and when I took off my boots, I was wearing two very different socks. Good lesson. Usually I don't really care, I'm in boots, no one will see my socks! (There was another friend there in mismatched socks, too; we laughed.)

You do not have the space to store shoes for SIX people at your entryway. Why must you store their shoes there? That's unnecessary. They should select their "shoes du jour" from their closet and put them on at the entry. If they are in the house for the night, then they can take their shoes back to their rooms. Capt. Obvious says, "Children's shoes get bigger as their feet grow. If you store shoes at your entrance, then you will run out of storage space." You've trained the family to remove their shoes. Next step: Train them to return their shoes back to their own closets.