New Shoes AKA A Mild Form of Self Torture

I really do try to take some of my own advice so when I made mention of the 80/20 split in unworn/worn wardrobes the other day, I also gave my closet some thought. And looking at my wardrobe, it's definitely true. I have a ton of stuff that I simply do not wear. I will be giving a large portion of that to Good Will (see the Oct 10 post on donations) as soon as the new year rolls through so that I can deduct it from my 2009 taxes. But when I looked at my shoes, I realized that there was no way I was getting rid of them! So I would just have to start wearing them!

I have worn new shoes for the last three days and have some mixed results. First, it's great that I'm wearing these shoes. I enjoy them, they give new life to my boring work clothes, and I've gotten a lot of compliments. Also, as suggested above, I will no longer have to give them away because I can say with a clear conscience that I have in fact worn them in the last year. Well done, me! The only downside to this plan is that my feet are KILLING me! Trying to break in a pair of shoes is difficult and should be done in small parts. It is not a good plan to wear them to work for their first test run. It is an even worse plan to repeat that bad plan. Twice.

Pocket Susan Advice: Have a back up for your cell phone phonebook. I can't count the number of times that I've seen Facebook groups titled "I lost my phone and I need your number" or "I dropped my phone in the toilet because I was a drunken idiot and lost all my numbers". Accidents do happen to the best of us so be smart and don't become entirely dependent on your phone. Verizon Wireless, for example, has a system where you can upload your phone book to the website and store it. I'm sure other wireless providers have something similar. Or you can go the old fashioned route and laboriously copy down all of your contacts into an address book or a journal.

Post Update

A couple of weeks ago, I published a post about people not understanding whether or not I'm joking. Well, I have a real life, honest example that I take from a conversation with my friend Jon from last night.

Jon: I saw a bobcat this summer. It was really dark, like black, so at first I thought panther, but there aren't any confirmed sightings of panthers in this area and hardly any in the US so it must have been a really dark bobcat.

Me: Well, maybe it was just a dirty bobcat. Perhaps it fell in a mud puddle.

Jon: I don't think it was dirty. I think that it's fur was just dark.

Me: Jon, I was joking. I doubt the bobcat fell in a mud puddle.

Jon: Oh okay, I thought you were being serious.

Pocket Susan Advice: Everybody wins when you make a donation! Now that the weather is beginning to change in most parts of the country, people are transitioning to their fall and winter clothes. It's a great time to find some items in your closet that you're ready to part with. I saved my parents about $600 on their taxes in the past two year. The benefits of a donation are

1) You are able to declutter without the annoyance of holding a garage sale.

2) If you record the items you donate and ask for a receipt, you can save on your taxes. Use the Goodwill Valuation Guide if you're not sure what your items are worth.

3) And hopefully, the charity you donate to will receive some quality items that they can sell to support their mission.