How can 25 pairs of shoes not be enough?

It's getting cold here in the bay area. (And it was colder last week in Santa Fe.) It reminded me that I need new shoes. Most of the shoes I own are sandals (shown below).

These are all the "closed toe" shoes I own.


Two pairs hiking shoes. Two black, high-heeled ankle boots. Two black ballet slippers. Two black medium-heeled loafers. Two non-black flat-heeled loafers. (The fact that I have two of each seems redundant.)

Not pictured above: one pair running shoes, one pair cycling shoes, three pairs of flip-flops. Oh, and one pair of ski boots... but those hardly count.

As I was taking these pictures, I was reminded of an interesting article I read recently. It's a profile of Kate Bingaman-Burt, a designer, advertising art director and artist. Her interest in customers' purchasing choices led to a project she called Obsessive Consumption, which involved documenting all of her purchases and collecting the images on a Web site.

I love making lists and organizing my things. I like to see what I own - to see if there are things I need or things I can get rid of. It calms me and makes me feel like I have all my thoughts straight in my head. I used to think this was a bad thing... that it took up too much of my time. Until my doctor pointed something out.

"Imagine what you'd feel like if you didn't make all those lists." He said. As far as coping mechanisms go... it's far less destructive (or addictive) than other forms stress relief.

Forget architecture, forget tutoring. My true calling in life is to be a professional organizer.