As Fall nears and I am reevaluating the contents of my closet, I’m particularly focused on my boot collection. Earlier in the year I was debating a move to Florida, so I was thinking that during my upcoming teary packing sesh, I’d be tossing a good portion of my cold weather staples, including some serious winter shoes. But now that I’ve rethought that move for the immediate future, I’d be wise to make some interior real estate decisions concerning my closet, as space is at a premium. Last year, so few of my wearables made it into the outdoor rotation. It was sneakers or snow boots and not much else. So I’m now faced with the decision of just who becomes a sole survivor, and who faces a reselling platform or (gasp!) sudden death.
These are such excruciating decisions. I hate to be the one to drop the hammer on a workhorse boot simply because a younger, shinier model has taken its place or because it’s just not me anymore. Truth be told, my style has evolved just a bit in the last 18 months. I went from what I used to call Banker Hooker Chic– just above the knee skirts, sweaters or boxy jackets, and just over the knee boots, to unemployed couch potato– pajamas, workout wear (like there’s a huge difference between the two?), slippers or sneaks. My current job never uses the dreaded Zoom camera so I’ve continue to favor the work from home uniform of barefoot in pjs, except for lunches and conferences when I’m sporting some sort of getup that passes for business casual with a twist– think fluffy shoes or a big pink scarf as a fun accent. How can I decide who shall stay and who shall be booted?
In the past I’ve treated those hard to toss items to a phased-out exit, to avoid the painful ripping-off-the-band-aid feeling. I gather up the items on the chopping block and safely tuck them away in my son Matty’s closet that sits vacant as he’s no longer a full-time resident. And then I let the clock tick. Upon a spontaneous visit, I pop in to see if I have an emotional reaction to any of the quarantined items. Depending on the drive-by, not many get rescued and reinstated into the master closet. Most end up bagged by the door and Matty’s walk-in sits empty once again. It’s purposeful for me to keep his closet empty. I try not to partake in my own kind of urban sprawl in case The Boy wants to bunk here occasionally or if my SigOth Michael needs more than a nightstand worth of drawers to store his stuff.
What I’d really love to do is toss most of the shoes, boots, accessories, and clothes (but keep the fab jewelry of course) and reboot the whole wardrobe. But that would require mega bucks and right now I’m limping through this year trying to get back up to speed. So for now I’ll do the shoe quarantine and see how it goes. Just wearing a variety of shoes this Fall will certainly be fun. I’m sure I’ll get a kick out of my new rotation no matter what!
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