Do they have a support group for that?

Hi. My name is Stephanie and I am a shoe-aholic.

There -- I've finally admitted it. Isn't that the first step to recovery? Actually, I think the first step to recovery is recognizing you have a problem and deciding you want to make changes. I haven't gotten to the "deciding you want to make changes" step yet. So I guess I'm not ready for a support group.

I love shoes. Always have. My parents tell me that when I was very young they had a hard time finding shoes to fit me and they spent an exorbitant amount on red patent leather dress shoes for me...the only ones they could find to fit. I think that's when my shoe-aholism started. I remember Christmas of my 8th grade year...I got several new outfits for Christmas, with matching shoes *and* handbags. (Somehow the handbag obsession didn't stick...just the shoe obsession). I remember the red pumps and red handbag, the black pumps and black handbag, and the royal blue (yes, royal blue -- hey, it was the 80s!) pumps and matching handbag. Let's not even get started on the outfits that went with the shoes....but I was in heaven...shoes specifically matching certain outfits. I remember the first pair of shoes I bought for myself, entirely with my own money -- white jellies (gag!) at the BX on base. I used babysitting money. I was stylin' in my white jellies!

And so it went. I think I took almost as many pairs of shoes with me when I went away to college as outfits. LOL

One of the projects Alyssa took on in her efforts to earn money for her trip to Massachusetts was cleaning and organizing my walk-in closet. She lined up my shoes around the closet, row after row after row...there were so many that it made it nearly impossible to actually walk *into* said walk-in closest. Obviously the over-the-door shoe organizer in the closet wasn't adequate. So off to Target I went, in search of a storage solution which I was positive would magically transfer my closet into a shining example of organization. (Yeah, right).

I bought a "wooden" shoe organizer with 15 cubbies in it. Surely I could fit a lot of my shoes in that. I planned on buying two, but decided to start with one to make sure it would fit the allotted space in the closet and to see just how many it really would hold. And so DH assembled it and I started filling it.

Ummmm....surely I don't have that many pairs of black shoes? Really...are all of those mine? Just a few months ago I filled an entire kitchen garbage bag with shoes to get rid of. Are shoes like bunnies, multiplying at an astronomical rate when you're not watching? That's my story and I'm sticking to it.

So now I have one lovely shoe organizer in my closet with 15 pairs of black shoes in it, three pairs of black boots on top of it, and at least 5 other pairs of black shoes that won't fit in it (not counting two pairs of tap shoes and one pair of jazz shoes, my black Keds, and my black-and-white polka dotted flip-flops). Last night I bagged up more shoes to get rid of -- including two more pairs of black boots and three other pair of black dress shoes.

Do you think I have a few pairs of shoes? Oh my. Understatement! And I haven't even gotten to the brown shoes, navy shoes, and other colors...or the cheap (but oh-so-comfortable-and-fun-gotta-have-them-in-every-color) flip-flops. And my daughters, of course, have inherited my shoe-aholism and embraced it with every fiber of their little beings.

They say admitting you have a problem is the first step. OK, problem admitted. Am I ready and willing to do something about it? Ummmmm....no.

Hey, it's time for the winter clearance sales....anybody up for some shoe shopping? After all, I just bagged up an entire kitchen garbage bag of shoes to get rid of last night....that just means I have more space for more shoes, right?