How many pairs of gloves do you think the average American woman owns? And wears? Gloves may no longer be a top fashion item, but they are very useful. If I don’t have a pair of gloves for a certain activity, it is probably because I’m not involved in it! Otherwise, I have gloves for it.
Gloves are more complicated to organize than shoes. For shoes, you either have clean shoes that are (supposed to be) kept in the closet area; or dirty shoes that are stationed at a main exit. Gloves are harder to keep track of and won’t be easy to use unless they are where you need them, when you need them.
In light of that, there are different organizational techniques for different types of gloves. Below are some strategies that have worked for me:
- Garden gloves can be kept neat and handy in a shoebox. But the real key is dividers that hold the pairs separate, so that they can be easily seen, picked up, and put away. The cardboard that is found in boxes of canning jars or boxes of beer bottles are inexpensive, but sturdy enough to last for years. My shoebox of garden gloves holds about 7 pair of gloves. After over 5 years, I have only just had to duct tape the front of the box to hold it together.
3 of the shoe boxes used for storing each person’s own gloves. I occasionally have to “help” others with their organization, since their “system” spills over into my neat box. 
my glove box in the garage with cardboard dividers - There is a sub-category of garden gloves that is rubber gloves used for spraying or more thorough protection. These gloves are labeled with permanent marker according to the particular solution they are used for. For storage, they are folded in half as a pair and kept in the handle of the sprayer that I use for that substance.
labeled rubber gloves for insecticidal soap only - Rubber gloves are also stationed around the house for cleaning needs. Because the kitchen gloves are used so often, they are left laying on the clean side of the sink. Under the sink is just too far away. Other rubber gloves are either in different colors or are labeled by type of cleaning or room. Then, they are left in tucked in the cupboard next to cleaning supplies.
- Bicycle gloves are stored in the helmet that I leave hanging on the handle bars of my bike where it hangs in the garage.
- My winter driving gloves have lived for years in the coat pocket of my main, everyday winter coat.
- Other knit or polar fleece gloves (that can be used for either warmth when running or a night out in the crisp air) are kept in the closet because that is where I will be thinking about unique dressing needs. So, yes, I do keep some gloves in a normal place.
- I do have dancing gloves! That is because I have been to a handful of formal balls. These gloves are too pretty to be useful for anything other than keeping sweaty hands from embarrassing fellow dancers. Most of the time, I don’t remember where these gloves are, since there is no point in giving them prime storage real estate. So, I start looking for them a few days ahead of time….
Maybe some of these ideas will spark storage solutions for you. There doesn’t have to be one way that works best for the whole category of something. It helps to think about what will make it easy for you to use and how often you need to get to it. But you might also consider leaving yourself notes in places to help you remember where you stashed those irregularly used items!
