A sigh over shoes

When planning my house I failed to consider the consequences of having active children.

Oh, I thought that I was smart and thought of every eventuality, and for the most part I am happy about how it turned out. Still, there is one thing which I am really annoyed at: I failed thinking through the quantities and how to store shoes.

Playing soccer my kids need boots for artificial ground, astro turf, firm ground and soft ground… and living in Norway indoor shoes as well. Soccer alone adds up to three pairs of football boots, times three: nine pairs of boots.

For everyday use they need sneakers, jogging shoes, rubber boots, hiking boots, winter boots, sandals and proper shoes for those dressed up occasions. And then some shoes they just had to have because they look cool or they are really comfortable. Not all of them used every day, but often enough nevertheless. Often enough to require having them. I have not done the math, to be honest I am a bit afraid to, but it is a great many shoes. I know that much.

They grow out of or wear out the footwear and need new ones, and the old ones tend to stay around causing both confusion and disorder.

You see; just like school bags, gym bags and jackets, shoes have this tendency to end up on the floor, just inside of the entrance door. We trample over it all, as we enter or exit the house, and strikingly few of us get the brilliant idea to hang, or place, them on one of the many convenient hooks, shelves or wardrobe closets in the hall. Even fewer of us actually do it, so the hall is constantly the total chaos! A jumble we cautiously tip-toe across in order not to strain an ankle.

The rumour has it that women, in general, have many shoes. I don’t think so. I think most women are like me, and I don’t have many pairs at all.

I only have my slip ons, my high-heeled ankle boots, my low-heeled ankle boots, my flat-heeled ankle boots, my jogging shoes (in case I was to give the impression I am a sporty type of a girl) my sneakers, my court shoes, my high-heeled sandals, my low-heeled sandals, my flat-heeled sandals, my slippers, my hiking boots, my rubber boots, my ski boots and my gardening boots. In addition I have my gorgeous, red, really high-heeled statement shoes… and a couple more court shoes, just because they need to fit the outfit. In other words: just the most essential pairs of shoes. I don’t have much space in my wardrobe (it is a very small wardrobe), so I keep those I can’t find room for there in different wardrobes around the house. (No, I do not hide them, just place them.)

I am not the only mum with three kids around: How do families in normal homes storage their shoes?