Monday, May 17, 2010

A Handy Hint for Kids' Shoes


Getting shoes on my kids' feet so we can leave the house is a workout in and of itself. To make it even more difficult, each child needs two shoes, preferably the same size. Matching is optional. 

An added complication in our house is identical shoes in different sizes. Isaac wears a 5 1/2. Alex wears a 6W. Sam wears a 6WW. His feet are actually square.

After months of peering at sizes on six little shoes to make pairs and figure out which shoes go on which child, I finally had a brainstorm.

It's so simple that I can't believe I didn't think of it sooner. So here's my handy new time-saving trick: When I take one of my children's shoes off, I fasten the two shoes together so I always have a matching pair. Since most of our shoes have Velcro fasteners, this is super easy. 


Of course, I still have to figure out which shoes go on which child, but at least I always have a pair.

I started doing this with Amelia's shoes, too, and now there's no more hunting for that one missing shoe. For lace up shoes, I tie the laces together and Crocs just get stuffed together. You can do that with rubber shoes!

Now, what to do with the extra 17 1/2 minutes this has added to my week...

© Trippin' Mama 2010

5 comments:

Jen said...

I HATE putting shoes on the kids and finding them. This is a great idea but I am just hoping for warmer weather so that at least at home, we can get rid of shoes. ;)

hellyamber said...

What a great idea! (and I've only got one pair to locate...)

Suzy said...

Heh, this is what my mom did with all the baby shoes people gave me. I guess she's a genius, too (actually, I already knew that she was). :) Still, great reminder ... I will do this right away with the four pairs of $10 Nike sandals I scored a couple of weeks ago.

Unknown said...

Get a bunch of the solid colored circle stickers that people get for tag sales. Assign a color to each kid and stick the appropriate color sticker to the bottom of all the shoes. That way, you can see at a glance 'who's' shoe you have in your hand without fighting to read the darn lil sizes. You can keep up the color code as they get older too.

girlytwins said...

Great idea, I too have to hunt for patching pairs and sizes. Hoping to be as organized however I am rarely the one taking off the girls shoes LOL.