My only plan today was to grocery shop.  We left the boys at home with only three responsibilities:  make breakfast (they managed to cook three pounds of bacon and leave me only 11 slices), get dressed (they were still in there pajamas once we arrived home) and to make their beds (I didn’t even look after counting the bacon slices).  We started out early at Fresh Thyme for our fruits and veggies, then off to Target for some staples before our last store opened at 10am.  Then Costco happened.

I even had a list – that usually helps soften the blow of Costco shopping.  My mistake was that both my husband and I went to Costco. Without the kids.  We were unsupervised.  We had no distractions.  He tends to go up and down each aisle just to see what they have, which meant we got to see everything that Costco had to offer.   Then I saw them.

We had put a second story on our home six years ago.  Our new closet was almost 10x the size of our old one – but we didn’t do much with the space.  Sure, we had our clothes organized but as for the shoes, they really were just thrown about.  Lined up for the most part, and was happy that the pairs were usually matched – but usually just pushed to the sides.

When I saw the bin I was smitten.  It was perfect.  The right size. They also had a shoe rack that would work perfectly under the clothing area for my husband’s shoes.  I mistakenly thought one would be enough (I really didn’t think I had that many shoes) but two fit perfectly (after my husband went back to get a second one before they closed).

This is the space I was looking to fill:

Six years.  I have been looking at this space for six years trying to figure out how to make it better.  There have been all sorts of shoe racks but none ever felt right.  Thought about hanging sometime on the wall – but I have big feet.  Size 10.  I really didn’t think anything could hold even a fraction of my footwear without falling off the wall.

Then I went to Costco.  I wasn’t planning a closet remodel today.  I was barely planning lunch.  But this impromptu closet remodel worked out perfect.  This store really has the ability to give you exactly what you need sometimes.  While I cannot guarantee your Costco will have this – I am thankful mine did.  After a bit of research once home and so happy with the results I found that neatfreak! is available throughout the US as well as online.  I was easy to assemble, sturdy & fit all my size 10 shoes with ease (I had only large pair of hiking sandals that required some creativity, but certain those are a size 11).  I was able to place my scarfs at the bottom of one, all my mini-purses and wallets in another.  Atop each is our workout stuff (running bands, gloves, stretching bands).  With the addition of the shoe rack even my husbands shoes all have a home of their own and organized!

As you can tell, all this hard work made me realize that I have room for at least two more pairs of shoes…and I certainly do not own enough boots.