How do we end up with so many shoes???
Oh. Yeah. The kids grow out of theirs every time I turn around.
See what I did there? I totally blamed my kids for our overabundance of shoes in a way that makes it seem like I’m a normal mom with normal excess-shoe-problems.
I’m not.
I finally tackled our ridiculous shoe shelf by the back door, and that was when I realized my own shoes were a big part of the problem.
Wish you knew which shoes to declutter? Here’s what I learned:
How to Choose Between Two Pairs that Could (if one weren’t so ugly) Serve the Same Purpose
When you have two pairs of black heels in the exact same height, and you only ever wear black heels when you specifically need black heels and you only specifically need black heels once a year (at the most), get rid of the pair that’s scuffed and ugly.
Keep the pair you bought because the scuffed and ugly pair was so scuffed and so ugly.
It doesn’t matter that the scuffed and ugly pair felt so great when you bought them while you were pregnant (ten years ago).
No random shoe observer cares that the scuffed and ugly pair is technically much better quality than the ones you grabbed at Walmart on your way to the event where you didn’t want to wear the scuffed and ugly pair.
How to Decide if It’s Time for that Favorite Silver Sandal to Go
Mmmm-hmmmmm. The key word for me, as someone fortunate enough to still have two feet, is “that” instead of the better-for-when-you’re-talking-about-shoes word “those.”
And there’s no “s” on the end of sandal, either.
I don’t know how I even got this sandal home. Last summer, the other one finally broke, and I really thought I threw it away immediately and walked back to my car single-shoed. (A big deal on Texas-in-August concrete!)
Maybe I wore this one home? And then actually put it on the shoe shelf when I walked in the door?
Whatever. Even though I loved that/those shoe(s), there’s no point in keeping one. No matter how many compliments I received every time I wore them, and no matter if the perfectly heighted heel made them the most comfortable AND cute flip-flops I think I’ve ever had.
I have one sandal and two feet. The math doesn’t work.
If there’s only one, they it has to go.
One More Way to Decide if Shoes are Worth Keeping
You’ve probably already figured this out, but I’m no fashion blogger. I never believed these black sandals were the perfect finisher to any outfit, but I loved them because they were a perfectly fine pair of shoes I could slide on (like without bending over or touching them or anything) just before I walked out the door.
The only problem?
Balance. Literally. Multiple times, I fell over in these shoes. Not tripped. FELL OVER.
Like, I was standing there talking to someone, or singing in the choir at church or ordering lunch, and I fell over. From a standing position.
I’m sure it was something about center of gravity or the shape of the heel, but these shoes needed to go.
I know what you’re thinking, but it couldn’t be my lack of coordination since this phenomenon only happened in this particular pair of shoes. Really!
I’d thought about getting rid of them many times, and I actually believed I already had. Whatever. I’m proud of myself for finally pitching them before I broke my ankle.
--Nony
The most important one…Shoes that hurt (don’t fit). My sister in law showed me a good example as we were walking on the beach one day. She had a pair of flip flops on. We walked by a trash can and she threw them in and said she’ll never wear another pair of uncomfortable shoes. I went home and threw out at least 15 pair of shoes.
SO true!!! And I love that you took that and ran with it!!!
Good on you, and good on your sister-in-law. The pain of ill-fitting shoes shows in your face.
My daughter, granddaughter, and I were on a cruise about 10 years ago. I wore flip flops on our excursion that day, and the flip flops just about killed my feet. As soon as we got back on board, I threw them in the trash can in our room. Next day when we came back from daily excursion, the flip flops were neatly placed beside my bed( by maid). I threw them into trash can again, only to find them neatly placed by my bed again. I then put them in a plastic bag, tied the top and threw them away in a different trash can on board. Never knew it would be so hard to get rid of them!!
I howled at just visualizing you with the unbalanced shoes on. You need to consider being a stand-up comedian. I love how you write and loved this entry. If it weren’t so late, I would go declutter shoes right now!
You win favorite commenter of the day!!!! (Saying you think I’m funny makes you a shoo-in!!)
Love your pun and thanks for the win.
And you only need one pair of grubby sneakers! Just went through this last month and reading this reminded me that I replaced my black dress shoes but didn’t toss the old ones that I’d loved far beyond the point that they were still presentable. Or, at least the one I could find when I finally went out and replaced them.
Gotcha! Boots aren’t shoes right? 0_o
I have those silver sandals!!! Just wore them yesterday!!! Because I can slip them on without needing my hands or anything. And they are virtually flip flops but immediately dress up a simple outfit like a simple skirt and t-shirt. So sorry one of yours broke!!
I just realized I bought those because my previous pair of silver sandals broke while we were on a cruise. At least it was after dinner! Lol! But I sure did spend the rest of the night walking around Mickey’s ship barefooted as a yard dog! Haha!!
They really were everything you described. I got mine at walmart for less than fifteen dollars, but they were the best sandals I’ve ever had. So sad!!
You crack me up!
…and inspire me to tackle my shoe bin. 🙂 I haven’t worn most of those shoes in over a year so they can probably go away. (The shoes I wear frequently are left in other locations around the house, never in the shoe bin. SMH…is that a slob-brain thing or what?)
I have recently started to manage my shoes differently to control the quantity and order.
I moved them all to the front coat closet. Shoes come off when we come in the house, maybe wear slippers, maybe not. This is the same closet where guest coats get hung and visible, therefore easier to keep in order.
Each person gets a hanging shoe storage bag. All their shoes have to fit in that bag. If new shoes are to be bought, an existing pair has to go.My bag has 10 shelves. I do put 2 pair of thong sandals in one shelf. Galoshes and big heavy winter boots can sit on the shelf above.
To go along with and support the shoe simplification I simplified my wardrobe and part of that was to eliminate everything that was not pants and shorts. (I also chose a minimal color scheme, all my pants and shorts are either black, white, or khaki. I only need shoes to go with these three colors as I like for my pants to match the color of my hem. The khaki items will be going away soon as I am finding them less useful. All the pants were hemmed to the same length. No need for different heights of shoe heels, they are all “comfort flats” flats with a somewhat thick sole. All my pants are hemmed to meet the back horizontal “seam” in my shoe where the shoe top material meets the heel. This set of changes allowed me more consistency in my wardrobe and shoes. I focus my variations of style and color near my face with trims, scarves, blouses and such.
This has been an evolving and developing work in creating simplicity by implementing one step at a time allowing me to focus on what really matters.