Jump Start Jan: Declutter Week: Day 5

It’s Day 5 of Declutter and Organise Week, and today is something for a rainy Sunday afternoon. It’s time to sort out that shoe collection… Go on, you know you want to.

Quite a few of us have a few more pairs of shoes than we need, or are hanging on to shoes that are no longer useable. They pile up, they get hidden under one another, and so on. Today is all about making the most of your shoes, and being able to find the ones you want without any fuss.

Here’s the declutter for you:

• Collect together all of your shoes, boots, sandals and trainers.
• Clean up the area where you want your shoes to live
• Add storage: shoe racks, shoe hangers or other organisers, clear boxes, or standard shoe boxes (or make a note to buy some)
• Go through your shoes, sorting into the following categories ‘keep – good condition’, ‘keep – need cleaning’, ‘keep – need mending’, ‘bin’, ‘donate / give away’, or ‘sell’ – work quickly so that you don’t get distracted
• Clean the shoes in the ‘need cleaning’ pile, and use suede or fabric protector if needed
• Put the clean ‘keep’ shoes away. Start by putting out of season shoes carefully into storage so they aren’t in your way, padding out toes with tissue paper so they keep their shape.
• Then separate in-season shoes into ‘work’, ‘casual’ and ‘going out’, and put the everyday shoes within easiest reach (makes getting ready in the morning easier)
• If you’re keeping shoes in standard shoe boxes, stick a photo of the shoes on the end of the box, then stack up the boxes.
• Bin the unsaveable shoes, taking them straight outside to the dustbin.
• Bag up the shoes that need mending, and take them to the menders within one week. Also commit to putting the saleable ones up for sale within the next seven days.

Ta-daaa! You may now revel in your lovely shoe collection. If this declutter shows up some kind of terrible gap in your shoe wardrobe, by the way, it’s okay to have a sneaky peek at some in the January sales…