Looking in the Box

One of my gifts this last Christmas was a set of under the bed shoe storage bins. I already had a storage rack (on wheels) that I’d gotten for free at a garage sale. It was full. My closet was stacked with shoe boxes. I had 7 rows of boxes on the shelf above my clothes that were 5 and 6 boxes high (you do the math). On the floor I had an additional 5 rows of boxes only 3 or 4 high. I was running out of room. To be fair, of all the shoes there were less than 8 pair that I purchased at full price new. Most of my shoes were either clearance, Goodwill (half price to boot), or garage sale finds. So I decided to go through the shoes and transfer them to the nifty storage containers that would hold 18 pair each. I opened box after box. Looking inside I was astonished to discover shoes I had completely forgotten I owned. I also discovered shoes that had seen better days. To that end I bid farewell to many stalwart pairs that had served me well but whose retirement was past due.

♥ I choked back tears as the Croft & Barrow spring green slide sandals went into the trash. The pleather was peeling from the top and the sole was crumbling.
♥ My tried and true Aerosole flats with the waffle soles (and real leather uppers) had parted ways. I had some goop adhesive that I’ve used to repair shoes before but the soles were too far gone to hold. They were tossed.
♥ I lovingly caressed the suede booties and placed them in the discard pile. The zipper pull was broken on one and the other was on its way to breaking. There was no need to prolong our association.
♥ The grey shootie with the buttons (like the Victorian shoes) were sadly a size 6.5 and even with nylons they were uncomfortable. I put them in the “donate” pile.
♥ There were 3 pair of athletic shoes that had been shoes from work that I’d taken home when they had been replaced. Because they’d never been worn outside, they looked like new but I’d had to purchase new innersoles. One pair was ugly. One had the heel cup worn through. And the last pair had a small (but soon to get bigger) hole where my big toe hit the top. They all went into the donate pile.
♥ There was the pair of boy’s sandals that I wore for a summer but abandoned for a better pair the next year. Into the donate pile they went.
♥ There was a pair of maroon velvet slippers that were too big and a pair of black brushed fabric slip-ons that were too small that were marked for donation.
♥ And the most heart wrenching was my everyday booties in black. I debated for a long time, then made a decision to part with them, changed my mind, changed my mind again and finally just dropped them into the donate bag. The heel had worn down past the rubber and into the heel itself making it hard to maintain balance. I could have compensated for that but they also took on water, gravel, snow, and even dirt only to deposit their load across my floor…

I now have room in my closet for all my dresses to hang straight. My winter boots are accessible. All my shoes that see regular use are in the rolling rack under the bed. My summer shoes and dress specific shoes are in the zippered storage (with clear tops all the better to see them). I have a few special pairs on the shelf in the closet (no more than 2 high so Sparky doesn’t need to reach them for me). I loaded the shoes to donate into the car and will drop them off tomorrow at Goodwill. I’ve even promised not to buy anymore shoes unless I get rid of a pair in turn. Oh and those boxes? I was able to break them down and recycle the cardboard. There was lots of cardboard to recycle!