How many pairs of shoes?

[OkiMom]

Im trying to declutter my girls clothing and shoes but Im stuck on the shoes. Partly because most of the shoes have been given to me or bought on sale and I know Ill have a hard time getting shoes for those prices when the next child needs it and partly because Im a procrastinator.

It rains a LOT here and neither girl likes soggy shoes (don't blame them). My oldest is a bit of a fashionista and likes her shoes to somewhat match her dress (so no black shoes with a light color dress, drives her nuts).Heres what I was thinking for the girls:
1 pair sneakers (for soccer/baseball/whatever sport we are doing as a family and for hiking)
1 pair light color dress shoes
1 pair dark color dress shoes
2 pairs slip ons for every day use
2 pairs slippers (we have all tile floor and it get COLD but I don't allow outside shoes in the house since my girls get DIRTY outside and the mud gets everywhere)
1 pair beach shoes- we go to the beach between 2-4 times a month even during the winter since it never gets really cold.

And for me:
1 pair sneakers (I workout daily so these get a workout-no pun intended)
1 pair light color dress shoes
1 pair dark color dress shoes
1 pair flip flops (for quick in and outs or when Im taking the kids to the park)
1 pair everyday shoes (I wear skirts only so tennies don't really work but flip flops don't provide enough support if Im doing a lot of walking around like at the grochery store)
1 pair slippers

That does seem like a lot to me though. We have the room for it, it just seems like a lot. How many pairs of shoes do you have for yourself/your children? Thanks!

[Oliver's Mama]

I think that sounds reasonable, and it sounds like you use them all, and each has their own purpose. Maybe 2 pairs of slippers is the only redundant pair.
My shoe collection for myself sounds about the same.
for ds, he has
1 sandals
1 brown shoes (everyday shoes)
1 black dress shoes
1 slippers
(if I had a girl, I think she'd have a few more. boy wardrobes are just naturally simpler..)

[MrsH]

Ours are pretty similar. My eldest (who is 8) has:
-1 pair dress shoes
-1 pair sandals (keens, so they're for everyday in the summer, plus work in the water)
-1 pair sneakers for everyday use, plus hiking etc.
-1 pair "everyday" shoes, that she can wear with skirts or whatever else, to school etc., wear for gym w/out slipping off as well. Usually a pair of mary-jane type shoes.
-1 pair rainboots and we get fleece socks so they double as snowboots
-1 pair flipflops for quick ins and outs
-1 pair slippers

I have about the same, though all semblance of dress-shoes for me are too small after my last pregnancy. Bummer!

[SuzyLee]

The thing that sticks out to me is the dress shoes. If you all wear dresses all the time, then aren't you basically always wearing dress shoes?

A light and dark pair is fine. Personally I would put the dark away in the summer and the light away in the winter. 95% of the time that works in my experience.

I think 1 pair slipper is plenty for the girls.

I would just keep 1 pair slippers and 1 pair everyday shoes out by the door and have the rest in a basket in the closet or something like that.

[busymama77]

Sounds like I need to do a little closet cleaning myself - ack! I would say that I have roughly 20 pairs of shoes - 3 diff kinds of black sandals/flip flops, 2 brown sandals, 4 pairs of tennis shoes (1 for working out, 1 for yard work and 2 for casual) - 4 pairs of heels, 1 pair of black boots, the list just goes on....

DS has 2 pairs of sandals (one green and one blue), 1 pair of dress shoes and two pairs of tennis shoes. I do need to find him a pair of boots for winter though and a new pair of tennis shoes for Fall/Winter.

[crunchy_mommy]

DS has a pair of dress shoes & a pair of everyday shoes (good-quality sandal hybrids in the summer, otherwise sneakers). That's plenty for him.

DH has a pair of dress shoes, a pair of flip-flops, a pair of everyday shoes (slide ons) and a pair of slippers. He is hard on his shoes though & could really use another pair or two of sneakers or everyday shoes in that rotation.

I would ideally have 1 pair sandals, 2 pairs sneakers, 1 pair light dress shoes & 1 pair dark. In reality, I have more shoes than that, probably 15 pairs, & I still can't find anything appropriate to wear some days. I have to get rid of all the shoes I won't wear & get one or two good pairs instead!

As far as your list, the 2 slippers sounds a little excessive but otherwise it sounds good to me, though I'm not sure I see the point of "2 slipons for everyday use" -- that might be kind of redundant but maybe I just don't understand what you mean.

[OkiMom]

Thanks!
The dress shoes are for church and special occasion use only. My kids are HARD on shoes and they get messed up within a few wears. So,since I like them to look decent at church and during special events (like DH's promotions, dinners out, pictures etc) they have shoes they can only wear for those things. Thats usually why I seperate them because the girls don't even have access to those shoes, they are kept up in a basket where only DH or myself can get to them, otherwise the girls would wear them and then we would have some messed up shoes. It would probably be easier if I could convince my girls they aren't related to wild animals, they don't have to climb all over the place all the time.. or dig in the mud.. or splash in the mud puddles.. or "plant" the weeds.. or run into the ocean with their shoes on (hence the reason we ended up getting beach shoes, my oldest runs into the ocean without thinking and gets her tennies wet then they take several days to dry)... nor do they need to go digging in the rain gutters to save the little flower.. I love my kids but darn they can get dirty faster than anyone I know.

[leigh09]

it sounds good to me. my kids also have 2 pairs of every day shoes - they sound a lot like your kids as they also love to play outdoors and get dirty quickly. they need a second pair of shoes to change into while the first pair is drying on the porch after jumping through the mud puddles.
we have the space for it, so it's fine to me. the kids grow out of their shoes so quickly (and wear through most of them so they can't get passed down). they usually all get tossed once they no longer fit.
it's my own shoes that need the decluttering!

[VisionaryMom]

I would nix the extra slippers for the girls.

I developed plantar fasciitis a year ago and had to re-do my shoes. It's made me realize that finding versatile shoes is easier than I thought and also that no one really pays attention to your shoes. I have running shoes, a pair of Nike Comfort Bed Thongs (great support!), and 1 pair of dress shoes. It works fine.

My kids each have a pair of everyday shoes and one pair of dressy shoes. The everyday shoes get passed down as "work" shoes when they're worn and are used for working the yard. DD has a pair of flip flops, but DS doesn't like them.

[ParisApril]

We have:

Flip flops - DH, DD, DS
Sandles with velcro - DH, DD, DS, ME
Running shoes - DH, DD, DS, ME
Rubber boots - DD, DS, ME
Winter boots - DH, DD, DS, ME
Biking shoes - DH(2), ME
Work Boots - DH
Dress boots - DH
Dress shoes - DH, DD, ME(3)
Slippers - DH, DD, DS, ME

[clutterwarrior]

DS has just 2 pairs of runners, one black he wears as school shoes, and a white pair for both sport and general use.
and a pair of sandals from last summer that he always refuses to wear
As Spring has just arrived (hooray!) I will be buying him a new pair of hybrid sandals. Not sure I will bother getting him thongs, as he can't seem to get the knack of walking in them.

This has been an interesting thread as I have never bothered counting all the shoes before, and didn't realise we had so many!

My oldest DD (19) has..

5 pairs of winter boots!
2 pairs dressy heels
4 pairs flat shoes
3 pairs sandals
2 pairs thongs
slippers
1 pair shoes she is wearing today! (out so no idea what...)

Middle DD (16) has:

7 pairs of dressy heels (she has a bit of an addiction I think I am going to have to talk to her about before she becomes a shoeaholic!)
3 pairs of winter boots, but one is nearly dead.
1 pair runners
1 pair shoes she is wearing today
1 pair thongs
1 pr canvas shoes
3 pairs flats
slippers

DH has 2 pairs runners, one pair dress shoes, one pair good quality hybrid sandals.

And I have way too many shoes to count right now! It's an area I need to declutter...

[sunnysandiegan]

Until my DD's 7th birthday, when she asked specifically for shoes from certain people (and got them), she pretty much only had 2-3 pairs at any given time. I happen to be good at finding versatile shoes. She is 9 now and owns 5-6 pairs, I believe. I'll have to count later...gotta run for now.

I usually own 15-19 pairs of shoes at any given time and that covers my every shoe need for years at a time (replacing one pair annually, in general).