Okay, I admit I was guilty of having way too many shoes. In fact my shoe obsession had outgrown my closet and had taken over the closet in my spare bedroom and was starting to take over the hall closet! I needed to simplify my shoe collection. A simple shoe collection equals an uncluttered closet and ease of getting dressed in the morning (no more looking around for the missing shoe).

I was turning into Imelda Marcos. It wasn’t easy but I had streamlined my collection. I decided to tackle the project one rainy Saturday morning. I had to be practical and determined. After all who needs 16 pairs of black boots? Or 11 pairs of brown boots? A dozen pairs of flip flops? Or 9 pairs of tennis shoes? I had so many shoes that I had only worn some of them one time before they were buried in the bottom of the closet and forgotten. My new mantra was simple shoe collection, uncluttered closet, and stress-less mornings.

I sat down and made of list of the shoes that I needed in my shoe wardrobe. In making the list I had to consider my wardrobe, lifestyle, and comfort of the shoes. Then I had to take an honest look at my shoes. I made several piles; keep, donate, throw away and sell. A few hours later I had a much smaller pile of shoes to keep. I took the donate pile to my locale Goodwill donation station and listed the shoes in my sell pile on eBay. I made a nice amount of cash from selling the shoes that I didn’t need. Now, my simple shoe collection fits into my closet and I no longer have to dig thru the closet searching for the right shoes.

My simple shoe collection consists of:

Black knee high boots
Black pointy toe flats
Black pumps
Black sling backs
Black high heel sandals
Beige Espadrilles
Flip flops
Tennis shoes
Boat shoes
Casual athletic inspired shoes
Waterproof boots

When I plan on buying new shoes, I consider the following:
1. Do I need them? Will they replace a pair that I already own?
2. Where can I get the best price?
3. Are they top quality? Even if they are more expensive, if they are high quality, they will last longer and I will be happy with them.

To find the best deal on a specific pair of shoes that I want, I check and compare at these places:
1. Online shoe retailers like Zappos.com
2. Nordstrom (check the sale rack for the best prices)
3. eBay
4. My local shoe store (sometimes they have the best deals)
5. Overstock.com