Shoe Rack – Herb Rack – New Uses for the Over the Door Shoe Rack

Do you love shoes AND gardening? I do!! Did you know that a certain kind of Over the Door Shoe Rack makes a great hanging herb garden? Read on to find out how you can do this, how I did it, and some great tips to get the best results!

Believe it or not, an over the door shoe rack, such as this Over the Door Shoe Organizer by Richards can help to make you a great hanging herb garden! I first saw this in sunset magazine in an article about a restaurant. Theirs wasn’t exactly an Over the Door Shoe Rack, but it was the same concept with pockets just like these and herbs growing out of each pocket. The benefit of this in a restaurant is, of course, fresh and free herbs right at your fingertips anytime you need them. I wanted add these benefits at home as well, plus some more (see below), so I decided to give this upright herb garden a shot.

First I found an older Over the Door Shoe Rack that I wasn’t using anymore. It has to be the type with pockets, not wire racks, and you have to be able to attach it to the wall somehow. This means you should take off the over the door hooks (if you want) and then use nails, screws or staples to adhere it to the wall. If it is going inside your kitchen, like mine did, you might need to cut it down to size.For example, I don’t have room for all of the pockets, I made mine by cutting the shoe organizer down to just six pockets, which fits perfectly right next to my sink. Which brings me to my next point, drainage. You want good drainage with these, so drill holes if you have to or use a mesh organizer to begin with. The water also needs somewhere to drain – I was lucky enough to have a window over my sink with plenty of natural light, so this is really the perfect place for my herb garden – the water simply drains into the sink after watering!

Hope you like this idea! Bon Apetit!