I keep a shoe storage bench in my bedroom, right at the foot of my bed. It is usually my first stop whenever I get home from work, from hanging out with my friends, from my runs, or from wherever outside the house.

Once I am in I just plop myself on its cushioned seat, a Moroccan brown leather with a thick foam within. When I purchased this I thought of getting the one with the fiber upholstery but I figured there would be times when I would come home sweaty from my runs and I wouldn’t want it to absorb my sweat. With the leather, all I need to do is wipe my sweat off. Anyway, the leather looks elegant and is a great match to the matte black finish of the cabinet.

As soon as I’m seated I simply unlace and kick off my shoes. Sometimes I just sit on the bench massaging the soles of my tired feet. I don’t worry about it breaking down because it is supported with a solid wood frame. And while I am at it, I just slide the doors open and deposit my shoes in there, waiting for me to pull them out again. I take out another pair of footwear, my moccasins or flip flops depending on what I want to do next. And then I take my socks off, roll them into a ball, and shoot them, like a basketball, into my laundry basket.