The Old Woman Who Lives For Shoes

If you want to make a woman blush... ask her how many SHOES she has!  Someone asked me once upon a time and I thought about it, then answered 50 pair.  I went home and counted and found that it was a bit over that.  There was hardly a month that went by in my previous life that I didn't hit a sale rack for shoes and buy everything in my size... So moving onto a boat posed quite a problem.

Eight months ago, I had to make some big decisions.  (In shoe speak) I had already done away with multiple pairs in the two yard sales we've had.  It was time to get real.  We had been planning to move aboard forEVER.  To this end, I had previously purchased several pair of shoes that have interchangeable parts.

Beach Bandals

This is a perfect idea for boat dwellers in that you can have one base with many small decorative parts.  I have found Bandals (one pair) and Switch Flops (three pair) to my liking.

Kitten Heel Switch Flops

The Switch Flops are my favorite as they seem better made and offer lots of great choices.  I have flat flops, tall flops and a cute little kitten-heel pump, perfect for going ashore in a dress.  I have some basic colors for both and have seldom found myself lacking the perfect color match for any outfit.

My shoe closet is very small.  There was a bit of a problem during the winter when I found that many of my shoes were covered in mildew!  I don't know WHY the stuff loves the shoes!  I've gone to war with the tea tree oil and so far, it's good.  I finally got the mildew off of the shoes and they're back in business.

So, what other shoes did I bring along?  Well, I had my work shoes, which have now been discarded, I've got a pair of tennis shoes for hiking, one pair of open back tennis for bike riding, I've got two pair of Tevas (well one is Dr. Scholls and is much more comfortable, but the same style), I've got one pair of wedge heels leather shoes, several water shoes, one pair of regular flip flops, one Crocks ballet flats (indestructible) and four pair mentioned above.  Still a lot of shoes but I've found that the ones I'm wearing are going downhill fast.

There are still a few pair back at the townhouse, but I don't miss them and they'll be going to the GoodWill.  All of the other lovely shoes in my past life are a distant memory.  I won't need them, I don't have room for them.  They are dead to me....  And you know what?  It's OK.

Shoes are just one of the "things" that are unimportant to this lifestyle.  I could probably ditch most of the ones I currently have onboard and never miss them... (but I'm not going to).  Shoes, like cars, are a thing of my past life.  I'm still an old woman... but I no longer live for shoes!

P.S.  How many shoes does Bruce have aboard?  He says six pair.  I don't notice their number because he has them cleverly disbursed all over the boat so that I only see one pair at a time.