Bad Housekeeping, Part 1
Confession: I have a shoe problem. Not the shoe problem you're likely thinking of - though I probably own more pairs than I strictly need, I have considerably fewer than most of the women I know, due in part to being both extremely picky and a difficult fit, the latter making shoe shopping a distinctly non-recreational activity.
No, I came head-to-head with my problem the other day when I was straightening up my living room (that's why I can call this quasi-cure related). The problem is this: I can't put shoes away. Really! I think it might be a disorder. I found literally every pair of shoes I own for normal wear (basically excluding just eveningwear and winter boots) scattered more or less homogeneously around the front room.
I don't take my shoes off immediately when I come home, unless they're wet or something; I don't generally walk around barefoot except just before and after bed. But when I do eventually take them off, they never, ever, make it to my closet. I always have shoes strewn about everywhere. It sometimes makes for problems getting dressed in the morning. And I've been this way for years.
Does anybody know how to fix this?
p.s. - That shoe in the pic? I have those. In navy. I wore them yesterday. It was weird to find them in stock photo.
They've got feet -- let 'em walk to the closet themselves!
ReplyDeleteSeriously, do you have a designated spot for shoes? Somewhere that it's easy to put them there? Was it you that told me (when I was working on my office) that it needs to be easier to put things away than to take them out? (Tricky, that...) Now that I have a nice place for my shoes, I find it a lot easier to put them away. (I have low shelves in my closet -- I converted the bottom drawers of my mini-dresser. I like putting them there. Ergo, I'm more likely to do it.)
They have feet but no eyes (well, except for the sneakers) so they can't find their way.
ReplyDeleteClearly, I have no designated spot for shoes, except that they do have a dedicated section of closet floor. The "easier to put things away" was mine (though not original) - and that principle explains why I know that most of the commercial ideas for shoe organization will never work for me - putting my shoes in a pocket, or box, or cubbie, or on a rack just so every time I take them off is just way too far removed from my natural MO.
I'm thinking...maybe I should just take them off as soon as I walk in the door. Then at least I'd know where they are...
Our shoe policy (especially in winter) is: one pair for outside at the door, one pair for inside. That's their "home." All others must be in the closet. In reality, my husband keeps his in a cubby by the back door and they spill out and make the door difficult to open. My daughter just drops her shoes everywhere. And she will wear multiple pairs a day. My son never takes his crocs off, even when threatened with death. And me, well, I wear my shoes constantly too, so I really can't yell at him too much. But adopting our policy might help you, even though it doesn't really work for us!
ReplyDeleteI have this disorder. I toss my shoes into open bins on a shelf in the closet, said closet being right where I'd take the shoes off anyway. The bins have helped immensely; usually the only pair of shoes running wild is the sandals I wear to run errands nearby.
ReplyDeleteWhile this solution is not ideal for curatorial shoe preservation, I can't believe it's substantially worse than leaving them all over the apartment for the cats to drop toys in.
We have a no-shoes house so we just have a shoe rack at the front door and they all live in the general vicinity of the rack - I put a chair right by the door to encourage people to sit down and take their shoes off and so most shoes just live right by the front door. I figure that's all I can ask.
ReplyDelete