Shoe Stasis

In my efforts to organize my home, I've made a deal with myself: if anything new is brought in, something has to go out. I have a small house. It's filled to the brim. Eventually I'll have more stuff going out than coming in, but until that time, I'm trying to keep it under control.

I bring this up because today I bought five pairs of shoes. (five pairs? really? Yes, FIVE pairs.) Almost all of the shoes on the clearance rack at Shoe Carnival were size six (my size ~ that rarely happens). In my defense, I went there for a legitimate reason. I needed a new pair of shoes to wear to work because the one pair I wear most often was falling apart, literally. They're not trendy (they are loafers after all), but they're super, super comfy. I love those shoes. I've put off replacing them because I can't find an exact pair anywhere and I can't remember where I bought them.

This morning it snowed, which later melted and made puddles. Puddles are the enemy of my favorite pair of work shoes because the soles have begun separating from the shoe. (as i said, they're literally falling apart.) The inside of my shoes got wet. My feet got wet, and they stayed wet and cold all day. My loyalty only runs so deep. I decided to get a new pair of shoes after work.

Cue the Shoe Carnival. It was the third store I went to. I checked out all the shoes in all the aisles and along the walls. Then I came to the back, and there it was...the Clearance Section. To make it better, ALL of the clearance shoes were further reduced to $9. (to be a success at clearance shopping/scavenging, one must look past the junk, i.e. the gold sequined flats or the multicolored spiked heels, to locate the gems.) I found a black pair of loafers with heels that were comfortable (but not as comfy as my favorite run down pair, but for $9 I'm not complaining) to wear to work. (mission accomplished. pay for the shoes and leave the store. now. back away...no, no, don't keep...oh look, these are cute). I also found a couple pairs of casual shoes to wear with jeans, a utilitarian slide-on pair for when I go clothes shopping or flying, and another cute pair that I don't have anything to wear with right now, but they were only nine dollars so cut me some slack! Retail price for all five was $265, and I paid only $45. Not bad. I tell myself it's okay to buy that many shoes because the last time I bought shoes was a year ago when I bought my now no longer wearable favorite pair of shoes, and these shoes were such a good price.

So, back to the beginning. I bought five pairs of shoes today. Does that mean I need to get rid of five pairs of shoes to keep the status quo in my house? I vote no, but I need find something comparable to get rid of. There are a couple pairs of shoes I rarely wear that I can give to Good Will, but that leaves three more things...I think it's time to give away a few of Sammy's toys that he no longer plays with. (don't judge me)