Shoes Galore

I get a lot of flack from my girlfriend for the amount of shoes I own. She claims that my collection is “bigger than any other shoe wardrobe of girls I know.”

I don’t really mind that she says that, to be honest. Maybe I take it as a feat. Perhaps I like that she’s baffled by it whereas I just think I need shoes for different occasions. It really is kind of interesting that I just look at it as all my shoes whereas others think “Man, you have a lot of shoes.”

So, because I have over 30 or 40 pairs around our apartment, I figured it would be productive to have a dedicated spot or rack for all my different shoes. I started to put together a makeshift shoe rack for one type of shoes while putting some others in storage. Luckily, I had enough random materials and shipping supplies laying around like packing tape and cardboard boxes that I was able to separate my shoes into three different categories. The shipping supplies in particular came in handy when I needed to label certain boxes and racks of shoes.

Winter/rainy shoes.

This is admittedly my smallest category of shoes. I have about one pair of dedicated shoes for rain and mud and another that are boots for the winter.

Summer wear.

Here’s where my flip flops, Tevas, and Chacos go. Admittedly, I can fold/stack my sandals and other summer footwear a lot easier than other types of shoes, so this “collection” is much more compact and small than the others, which I enjoy.

Formal shoes and boots.

These are the shoes I hang up in my organized shoe hanger that clings to my clothes rack. And what’s perfect is I can hang it right next to my dress shirts, dress pants, and nicer belts. These are easy to access and stay away from my other shoes so that they’re always clean, in shape, and ready to go alongside my other formal wear when I need them.

Athletic footwear.

Tennis shoes and basketball shoes (and anything else I’d use to work out in) go in this section. I also have my Soloman trail runners in this category since I use them infrequently enough to not be with my everyday shoes.

Everyday shoes.

And finally, my rack for everything else. This is pretty much what I can wear with any sort of informal wear. I’ve got random tennis shoes in here. Some nicer Pumas. High top sneakers. And even a few pairs of loafers. This is where 50% of my shoes are, so it’s no surprise that they’re the most diverse.