The Shoe Fast: Sneakers

Remember how last week when I said I had a lot of shoes.

I wasn't joking. I literally have a lot of footwear in my house. At one point, it spilled out holders, piled in corners, and littered my floors.

In my defense, a lot of these were gifts (shout outs to the sponsors) or great thrift finds. But that doesn't mean that I have to keep them all. A good deal is not a good deal if you're never going to use them.

That was when I had a full come to Jesus moment and rid myself of dozens of pairs of worn boots, smelly sneakers, and heels too high my clumsy self never mastered them.

The next few weeks, I will be attempting to rid myself of most of the remaining shoes I have left.

Today: let's talk sneakers today.

I love sneakers, but I have not always. I was never an athlete and, up until a few years ago, had not owned any proper workout clothes. Sneakers just reminded me of the self torture I had experienced as "fitness" (Note: I have since discovered workouts and activity I enjoy. I need to discover what works for me.) Sure, I could rock some Chucks or Vans but I wasn't into athletic shoes like Nike or Adidas until a few years back.

Then, I fell in love with sneakers. I could run from my apartment to work to the coffee shop to the church while remaining super comfy and super cool looking. But I got a lot of those shoes in a short period of time, most of which I am proud to say have left my collection.

So here is the current collection. These are the pairs I have left...

Down to 12 pairs of sneakers.

Here is where my inner minimalist and my inner fashion girl argue. The fashion girl in me feels like that is a great place to stop decluttering. Yet my minimalist urges me to get rid of more. The fashion girl in me acknowledges that I have only worn each only a few times. Yet my minimalist urges me to get rid of more. The fashion girl in me thinks that some of these are too classic to let go of. Yet my minimalist urges me to get rid of more.

 It’s in these times that I have to ask the deeper questions; “ what is my real need here?”, “do I really need more shoes or am I worried that I will not have the ones I need for the time that I need?” Here is where the faith part of minimalism comes into play, because I have to believe that I will have everything I need in the time that I need it and that having more doesn’t necessarily fulfill my needs. Whether I am completely decluttering my home, or just getting rid of some ratty old sneakers, I have to remind myself that all of my needs will be met.

After asking myself each of these and really sitting down looking at my collection, there are many pairs that I had decided are no longer serving me, or too tight, or are worn out and are now just taking up space. It’s now now much easier to minimize the collection.

So far, I’m down to 9 pairs left. Wish me luck.