shoes shoes shoes

Alright folks... here is a dirty little secret. By splitting them up into several areas of my home I have accumulated A LOT of shoes without the impression of clutter. But I figured now was the time to fess up.

I did it back in May of 2009 but I don't seem to have improved....

Not pictured:

-Winter boots (pretty pair and snow pair)

-Work boots (steel-toed hikers)

-High heeled long boots

-Motocross Books

-Slippers

Wow, I'm such a typical girl! So many of them make me feel happy to look at (I'm looking at YOU red Keds pumps with the blue quilted insoles)

The thing is... I DO purge shoes... the worn out or blister causing are removed from the closets!

So WHY do I still have so many shoes?

I blame my clothes.... specifically the diversity. 

The business slacks don't go with the casual slip ons, the pumps are saved for certain outfits (the shoe choice depending on formality of the event), the heels for "date nights", and the cute shoes are worn with summer dresses while the comfy shoes are saved for everyday jeans or capris. The beach sand shoes are different than the river rock shoes and the crocs are for wearing around the house. The deck shoes are for boating and the runners are for running and the suede lace ups are for hiking and the slip on sneakers are for errands in the car (I wear these most during the school year). You see they ALL have their purpose! So the only way I can reduce the number is either A) get rid of the associated outfit(s) at the same time or B) tackle multiples of the same function.

Let's start with "B".... here are the ones that are going:

I picked the most comfortable water shoes, the best deck shoes to keep and cut my flip flop choices in half. Chopped are the not-as-good real running shoes and  my ugliest crocs slated for the bin. The harder part was 3 of my least worn black dress shoes going to charity (the $289 italian leather granny shoes are hard to part with but I inherited them and have never found the right outfit to go with them)... 11 less pairs of shoes.... I must keep better track of these things!

That feels better!

If someone told me that I must chose one pair of shoes (and only one pair) to mold my life around I am happy to say the choice would be very easy... not the prettiest, not even the most supportive, but simple, comfortable and cushy... my TOMS!

NOW I challenge you to line up all YOUR shoes and take a picture. Are you horrified? Proud?