spring cleaning
So the other day I was cleaning the house before the cleaning crew came and I realized that I have a lot of shoes. Like A LOT. I know, it was a total shock to me too.
This is what my guest bedroom wall looks like:
The rest of this room has been in such disarray that I never realized that something useful could be in that spot, like a bookshelf or a mini fridge so I don’t have to walk all the way downstairs for a cold beverage. But now that room is clean and actually room-like and I’m fairly certain I want my mini fridge there. Oh, or a reach in freezer for ice cream!
The first step to having ice cream is to get rid of some shoes. And, believe it or not, that picture was taken after a fairly large shoe purge, so obviously one purge wasn’t enough. My next step is to stop buying shoes. Heh, seeing both of those steps written makes me realize just how much I have to change for that freezer. Man, ice cream in bed better be worth it.
As far as getting rid of what I have, I think I need to come up with a system to track the shoes I’m wearing. I mean, that’s a lot of shoes and I know I don’t wear all of them, but some of the lesser worn ones are cute. And how can you get rid of cute shoes? You can’t. Unless you can have ice cream in bed after getting rid of the cute shoes.
I want to whittle that tower down enough that my shoes fit in a closet. Actually let me qualify that a bit: I want them to fit in a closet with room for other things like clothes and vacuums. Can you imagine?!? It’s blowing my mind. Are you doubting I can do that? I bet you aren’t the only one. But I’ll prove you guys wrong, you have no idea how much I want ice cream in bed.
in which I show my love for shoes, in which I talk about my home
March 26th, 2008 at 10:54 pm
I… uh… wow. Wow.
March 26th, 2008 at 10:56 pm
there are shoes missing from this too. Some are downstairs by the front door, some are in my car, and some are under our bed. It’s a sickness.
March 27th, 2008 at 7:20 am
You can rent out the space that your shoes have been occupying.
March 27th, 2008 at 8:19 am
You probably will not believe this, but an inadvertent trip into my closet at the weekend revealed something I had completely forgotten about: a nice pair of oxblood Bass loafers, probably 15 years old, probably unworn in at least 10 and whilst a little snug, still in great shape and suitable for, say, a trip to the symphony.
I was amazed. What other kinds of S (meaning of course Stuff) do I already own and not know about? Are elves bringing things into my closet at night?
March 27th, 2008 at 11:31 am
I’m actually a lot more shocked by the number of plastic containers. How did you even get all of those out of the store??
March 27th, 2008 at 11:36 am
I buy them in 20 packs from the Container Store.
March 27th, 2008 at 12:57 pm
I say ditch the containers and pile them in a closet, then there will be more space and you can still have your icecream!!!
(okay really, you make me look bad, my shoes are in piles, not as neatly organized…)
March 27th, 2008 at 5:15 pm
^ not only save the space but the environment too! *wags finger at you*
[/hippy speech]
March 28th, 2008 at 10:57 pm
I think you should take pictures of all of your shoes individually, then rate each of them on comfort and cuteness and how often you wear them. Get rid of anything lower than a B-. This will help you whittle down the shoe pile. Then put the remaining shoe photos either in a book near your closet or taped to your closet door so you know what you have. Or you can carry a mini photo book with you and when you go out shopping you can flip through it to make sure you don’t already have shoes that fit that cuteness/comfort function before buying another pair.
March 30th, 2008 at 12:30 pm
I have more yarn than you have shoes. My solution? Do you have an extra room? Take over the other room as a closet. Built in everything. Window. This is working out with the yarn, but now I’m having to make room for the beads and fabric. Three sewing machines. Tell Mr. Parks the solution is to get your shoes a room. I don’t know if the insulation solution works for shoes as well as it does for books and yarn and fabric (think of what we aren’t spending on insulation, sound proofing, etc…).
There is a rationalization for everything.
March 31st, 2008 at 10:29 am
Tracking my clothes in Flickr inspired a great purge- finally gave me the courage to say goodbye to some clothes that have been lingering since effing high school.