Lost Shoes

How many times have you been headed out the door when one of children says that they can't find one of their shoes? Lost shoes is a plight many parents face. This can be very frustrating and time wasting when you are supposed to be, on the way to school, daycare, out food shopping, at a doctors appointment, family gathering, restaurant or some other event. Depending on how small the child, that shoe could literally be anywhere. 

As you let out yet another frustrated sigh and begin to search the whole house or apartment from top to bottom only to find it in an obscure place. Somewhere like under the couch or loveseat, in the basement, with the dogs toys or somewhere else you wouldn't normally think to look. Do you wish there was a way to help your child be more organized?

Is there really any way around this dilemma? Well, you could make a designated area for shoes, boots, sneakers in your home. This can alleviate the quest for lost shoes when you have somewhere you really need to be.

The area you designate for shoes doesn't have to be elaborate. It can really be quite simple. There are different methods you can try depending on the age of your child. You must be persistent until it becomes second nature to your child to only place their shoes in the designated area. It can be done.

First you need to decide on the method you wish to use. For children aged 8 and older you might want to use an over the door shoe holder which allows them to slide their shoes into slots and all the shoes can hang over the door together right in plain view alleviating the need to hunt for a shoe when you are in a hurry.

You also could buy a plastic box with a lid. This could work well for any aged child but especially smaller children. Once they take their shoes off they can just throw it into the box. This "shoe" box could go in your child's room or if you have more than one child you may want to invest in a larger plastic box which you could either keep in the hallway or in a downstairs closet so all the children may use it. 

You could also designate the floor of the closet too. Figure out what method will work best for your family. Once the decision is made take the time to sit you child down and explain how hunting for shoes can be time consuming and that you now have a designated area for their shoes, boots and sneakers so there will be no more lost shoes.