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.
