I’m not going to lie…I love shoes. I always have and I always will. And even though I do weed through them from time to time, I still have way more than I need. After doing an inventory this week I realized that my shoe “collection” had reached epic proportions and I needed to do a serious purge. And because I tackled my clothes “situation” last week, I felt ready to face the job of getting rid of a few shoes. Or more. But which ones?
One of the reasons I do love shoes so much is because I never outgrow them. And by simply changing your shoes, you can create an entire new look with an outfit. I am fortunate enough to have space for everything but at over 200 pairs, and knowing that most likely I’ll be adding a few new styles this year, something needed to be done.
Depending on your personality, time allotment, and the amount of shoes you own, giving your shoe collection a good spring-cleaning can be a quick process or (in my case,) take a bit longer. Last week I had help from my good friend Ashley (owner of Ashley’s Attic, a local consignment store here in Colorado Springs www.ashleysatticcoloradosprings/,) while deciding what to get rid of when it came to my clothes and I now have over 250 items boxed up and ready to go to Discover Goodwill. I’m tackling the shoes myself this week and then I’ll woo Ashley over with the promise of wine and snacks while she “checks” the progress so far.
MY GAME PLAN…
Here’s the game plan I followed in deciding what to keep and what to donate.
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Take Everything Out. I literally took every pair of shoes I own out of the closet and various other storage areas and put them in the middle of the floor. This way I knew exactly what I had. Seeing the mountain of heels, boots, and various other styles, I felt more motivated than overwhelmed. But if that does seem overwhelming, start small.
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Group Like Items Together. I made piles according to what the styles were. All my dressy heels went in one pile, boots in another, flats, sneakers, etc.
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Evaluate. Looking at each section, I really evaluated each and every shoe. Was it damaged or stained? And if so, would I actually ever take it in for repairs? (Nope.) Was it overly trendy? Did it still fit my lifestyle? Did it pinch or cause blisters? Did I still love it?
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Purge. As when I purged my clothes, I had boxes ready to fill with all of my discards. As I evaluated each pair of shoes, if they weren’t staying, they immediately went in the box.
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Put Everything Away. I have plenty of storage space for my shoes but I still want to be “smart” with how I store them so they stay in good shape and are easy to find. One of the reasons I am downsizing my closet is so that it makes getting dressed more stress-free. Okay, and so I’ll have room for “new” things. I personally like using clear plastic shoe boxes and stacking them on a shelf. I also use a dining room hutch as a display cabinet for some of my favorite items. (The hutch is in my closet.)
STORAGE IDEAS –
One of Ashley’s tips for storing seasonal shoes is placing them in containers that will easily fit under the bed.
Here are 33 more clever storage ideas…
www.buzzfeed.com/peggy/33-ingenious-ways-to-store-your-shoes?utm_term=.oyz82MKA3#.ysOE9=PGW
An important thing to do is to make sure your shoes and boots are clean and in good repair before you put them back in your closet or store them for the season. Scuff marks, stains, or just plain old dirt can usually be easily removed so if you love them here are a few tips on cleaning your canvas, leather, suede and other various materials.
www.rd.com/home/cleaning-organizing/how-to-clean-shoes/
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Worn-out old shoes can, after prolonged use, lose their support. Overusing those old shoes can lead to shin splints, heel pain, knee pain, and hip or back pain. Which sounds to me a good reason to get rid of them…and buy another pair!
So I sadly have to admit that in all my excitement of the shoe purge, I totally forgot to take pictures! Seriously!! And there is no way I am taking all of those shoes out of the boxes again and putting them in the middle of the floor just for a picture. Yes, sometimes I’m lazy. And because I’m saving my “after” pictures of my closet for later this month, I’m going to share some great pics of my last big shoe adventure from about 5 years ago…with more great tips on spring cleaning your closet.
Enjoy!
https://www.719woman.com/2012/06/15/spring-clean-your-clothes-closet/