Shoe, Be Gone

Do you know what happens when you downsize? You end up realizing how much stuff you have that you don't need. You also realize how precious the space you have really is. Since moving to California I have been filling my patio with stuff that I do not want or need in order to maximize what space we have been given. Although this may not happen right away, sometime in the next 4 years I'm sure a little bundle may be joining the family and although we would have the option of upgrading to a 3 bedroom unit, if I can help it, I don't want to move again.

Unlike the move out here (unorganized, unprepared, and any other 'un' you can think of) I am bound a determined to make the next move more productive by being proactive and prepared when I move the next time. If everything has a place then it will be easier to unpack everything next time and if I am begin now by being more selective on what I purchase it should make life in this house, and the next, less cluttered and stressful.

I began implementing this whole outlook by starting with my shoes. I know it sounds like an odd place to start but I was actually late for church one Sunday because I could not find the other shoe I was looking for. Also, all of my dress shoes were getting smooshed and deformed by the weight of all the other shoes (especially Jake's shoes because they are so much bigger then mine) which leads them to be uncomfortable as well since they were all thrown in a rubbermaid in the bottom of my closet:

As you can see, there is little to no light (especially when you've got your head in the closet trying to find the the mate to your desired shoe choice) it was quite frustrating until $17 and an hour later:

I put all of my dress shoes, sandals and ballet flats in containers I got at the dollar store and to make my search that much easier I drew a silhouettes of the shoe and a brief description of the shoe inside for an easy search. Even though they are stacked high they don't get in the way of my dresses or Jake's dress shirts. Also, the cost to do this was the same price of a shoe organizer however it holds many more shoes and takes up less horizontal space and utilizes the vertical space that would otherwise be unused.