Day 16 Purging Tips – Shoes

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Today we’re on Day 16 of the 31 Days of 10-minute Purging Tips Challenge.  Our goal is to eliminate things we don’t need from our lives and home so that we can better enjoy life. Today’s task will be super easy for some of us and super difficult for some of us. But either way, let’s tackle this task together  and clear some clutter today. 

There are people who lo-ooove shoes and could never have too many shoes. They see shoes as beautiful works of art.  Then there are people who see shoes as simply functional, like a broom or piece of paper. Which one are you? I’m somewhere in the middle, but closer to the functional end of the shoe spectrum. I tend to buy just the shoes I need, but I don’t purge my shoes often enough because I don’t really think about them (until the shoe boxes tumble over in my closet reminding me that it’s time to go through and purge). 

Clearing Clutter – Tips for Purging Shoes

Grab the 6 purging bags you created earlier and print out the free Purging Clutter Checklist.  Now, let’s head to the closet or shelf that you keep your shoes. If you have shoes all over the house, run quick, gather them up and bring them to a central location. 

Take Everything Out- Keep in mind that we’re doing this in 10 minutes, so only take out as much as you can go through in that time. It may be easier to go through one type of shoes or all the shoes not stored in boxes. You choose, but choose enough to keep you busy for 10 minutes. If the shoes are in boxes, open the boxes and lay them on a table or the floor so you can see them.

Group Like Items Together – Quickly group like items together. Put all the athletic shoes together, all the flats, all the pumps, and so on. Or you can group shoes by use, like work or play. You can even group by color or style. Sort your shoes in the way that makes sense to you.

Evaluate – Look at each group you’ve created. Eliminate any damaged or stained shoes. You may keep damages shoes if you will take them to be repaired this week, otherwise they’re outta hea. Consider each category and if you really need each pair of shoes in a category. If you haven’t worn a pair of shoes in the past six months, they need to go (the exception is formal shoes that are still in style or cold weather shoes that you need for terrible weather).  Evaluate how many pairs of black pumps you really need. Can any of them go? What about those 4 inch heels you haven’t worn in years, isn’t it time for those to go? As you look at each pair of shoes, be honest with yourself. Do you need them? Do you love them? Are they comfortable? Would you wear them today and feel good walking out of the house? If the answer is no to any of those questions, then it’s time to let those shoes go. 

Purge – Remove items you don’t need to keep and place them in one of your 6 purging bags. Please consider donating all the shoes you no longer need that are in good condition. Generally, shoes are not donated in large numbers to charitable thrift shops, but there’s a great need for shoes. Athletic shoes, work boots, and practical shoes are in high demand, so please donate those types of shoes. 

Put Everything Away – Put the items you’ve decided to keep back away.

Clear Out the Clutter – Affiliate links are provided for your convenience. Click here to read my full disclosure policy.  

You may find this No Cost Fix for Storing Boots helpful.

This free tip for Packing, Moving & Storing Shoes works perfectly in a dorm room or small apartment. 

One of my first every blog posts was about Easy Shoe Storage and it’s still a great idea (and it’s fun to see how far my blogging technique has come). 

We’ve done it. How many pairs of shoes do you have to donate? Be sure to drop them off this week.  Please, join me tomorrow for Day Seventeen in the 31 Days of 10-Minute Purging Tips challenge. Let’s purge some more so you can enjoy life more.

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