Cheerful Frugality Sorts Shoes
I'm definitely a minimalist when it comes to shoes, but 5 people x the minimum 3 pairs adds up fast.
Today I'm digging out those yard sale sandals to see which fits whom. Here's my frugal formula for shoes:
- 1 pair for house/garden/water (Mary Jane crocs or Tevas)
- 1 pair for walking (canvas or athletic shoes)
- 1 pair for nicer occasions (black flats, white sandals, or lace up loafers)
When I see a pair of white sandals that might fit next summer, I buy ahead. Shoe sizes can be hard to predict, but if the price is right, a few mistakes won't dent the bottom line. I'm happy to pay fifty cents for a pair of Stride Rites or Tevas in advance.
Keeping shoes simple saves time, too. I know the shoes we have go with the clothes we wear. In fall, I will switch to brown sandals and add boots to the winter lineup.
Fewer shoes can equal more wear, so here are some of my tricks for making 3 pairs last all summer:
- Mr. Clean Magic Eraser (generic equivalent) is great for scuffs.
- Tevas and Crocs can go in the dishwasher, washer, or a gentle soak in a bucket.
- Save old toothbrushes for cleaning athetic soles.
How does your family tackle the shoe problem? How many pairs per person do you average?
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15 Responses to “Cheerful Frugality Sorts Shoes”
June 1st, 2009 at 9:54 am
For the boys, I usually just make sure they have tennis shoes and brown sandals for summer. The little boys wear their tennis shoes to play (white “leather” cleans up well with the magic eraser and a little white shoe paint when neccessary) and sandals for church. Levi wears his tennis shoes all the time and they’re dark which also hides dirt! In the winter I can usually get buy with good tennis shoes and “yard” tennis shoes.
Brenna is a little more excited about her footwear so she usually has at least three pairs…for summer, white sandals, white dress shoes and sneakers. She also likes to wear ballet slippers sometimes. In the winter, the dress shoes are black and she usually has blue and/or brown school shoes (that’s what my mom called them – they go with “school” dresses!).
I’m so easy – black sandals with everything in the summer – black boots or white sneakers in the winter. Maybe I should expand my shoe wardrobe a little, but this summer I’m pretty sure the black sandals are all that will fit anyway!
June 1st, 2009 at 10:21 am
For summer, I estimate I’ve got around 30 pairs that I can say where they are and what they look like, and I know I have some more in the basement. Not counting flip flops though, since those aren’t really shoes.
June 1st, 2009 at 11:00 am
Being pregnant last summer, I am pretty sure I wore the same 4 pairs of shoes all the time–and it was fine. (And that is with working full-time.) I have more pairs than that but find I wear mostly the same 3 pairs. I’ve been trying to “pare” them down as we’re looking at moving but it’s hard to let them go!
Where do you store the winter shoes?
June 1st, 2009 at 11:36 am
I have found that my kids have between 2 and 3 pairs each depending on the season. For my dh and I we have more and I am not sure how we could cut back. We have tennis shoes, sandals, water shoes, dress shoes of varying colors. He wears his black and brown dress shoes a lot to work, but me not so much. I will have to think about cutting back.
June 2nd, 2009 at 1:52 am
My son only has one pair of Crocs and one pair of Tevas. We live in Hawaii and can get by with these year round. Dress is informal enough here that his Tevas are dressy enough for a kid for all occasions. Unfortunately, I can never find them used but I do look for deals on Amazon.
My husband and I have a few more for sports and dressing up, but I try to keep it pretty minimal.
June 2nd, 2009 at 7:30 am
My son has 2 pair–tennies and church shoes. When my daughter was young, I also kept her to a minimal number of shoes, although probably not that few.
The bigger lesson I learned with my daughter was to only buy white socks. You know, after the sock monster had me down to one each yellow, pink, and purple socks one too many a morning, I finally realized that even if the sock monster ate half of each pair of white socks, I’d still have pairs to make! What a relief!
June 2nd, 2009 at 8:22 am
Karen – I do that too. I only buy white socks, all the same kind, for the kids and I don’t match – they each have a sock box or basket in their drawer and whichever socks they pull out match. And in a laundry pinch one kid can wear another kid’s socks.
June 2nd, 2009 at 12:00 pm
Minimizing is great. My question is how do you keep them organized? We have 13 people living at home. 8 are under the age of 9. Any organizational tips?
June 2nd, 2009 at 3:24 pm
My boys have 2 pairs – church shoes and athletic shoes. They mostly run around the yard barefoot.
The girls generally have dressier shoes (mary janes, for example) and more casual shoes (slip ons/sandals)
I have 2 shoe organizers stacked by the front door that holds 30 shoes, total so they only have 2 pairs each ‘out’. I wrote the kid’s initials on the bottom of their slot.
I have a box of “extras” – in betweener shoes that don’t fit anyone right now, and when a child outgrows something or needs a new size, I check there, first. It’s not organized – but the little kids love trying on all of the shoes while we check if a pair fits!
I bought 40 pairs of the same exact white socks for my boys – age 6, 9, and 11 so matching would be easier, too! (They have 1 pair of black church socks). The girls have all of the same socks (purple toed hanes), my socks are all white and the same, and husbands are also all white, and the same!
June 3rd, 2009 at 8:06 pm
My whole life there has never been money for shoes. I have two pair now which is more than I have ever had and I have had them for almost 8 years. So extras are not exactly in my vocabulary.
I’m 50 so I guess this is proof that you can live wwithout more than most people think.
June 3rd, 2009 at 10:51 pm
My son doesn’t usually have dress shoes. He wears athletic shoes to church and at home. He does have a pair of cowboy boots now that friends bought him at a thrift shop.
Me? I have way too many shoes. I don’t wear them out, but I buy them at the thrift shop whenver I see a comfortable pair my size or close enough.
June 4th, 2009 at 5:04 am
For summer, I estimate I’ve got around 30 pairs that I can say where they are and what they look like, and I know I have some more in the basement. Not counting flip flops though, since those aren’t really shoes
June 11th, 2009 at 11:23 pm
My son only has one pair of Crocs and one pair of Tevas. We live in Hawaii and can get by with these year round. Dress is informal enough here that his Tevas are dressy enough for a kid for all occasions. Unfortunately, I can never find them used but I do look for deals on Amazon.
June 11th, 2009 at 11:23 pm
Minimizing is great. My question is how do you keep them organized? We have 13 people living at home. 8 are under the age of 9. Any organizational tips?
June 24th, 2009 at 4:17 am
I have a problem with my shoes especially the shoes for working. I have to purchase shoes very frequently. I still don’t know how to solve this problem.
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