comfy shoes – Achiever Beaver

You just have to clean them up…and I suggest you do. Once upon a time, I wouldn’t even consider buying previously owned shoes, because I feared the dreaded athlete’s foot. I needed a pair of sandals for a Halloween costume and went into a thrift store that happened to have the perfect pair in my size! I wear a 5.5, so this is NOT an easy feat. I wore them all night at the country western bar party, and sure enough, I got athlete’s foot. It’s gross to have it anyway, but to think I got it from some grimy idiot that had peeling feet and still thought it was a good idea to donate her old shoes. *shudder* Many, many more years went by (at least 10) before I got smart enough to buy them anyway and then disinfect. Duh.

I do it one of two ways: with rubbing alcohol or Lysol. I prefer rubbing alcohol, because even though I like the smell of Lysol, I don’t really care to walk around with my shoes smelling like it.

I picked these gold wedges up from AmVets for 50% off the ticketed price, so these were $6.50. It looks like they’ve been worn 0-1 times. Not too shabby for next to brand new shoes. I chose rubbing alcohol for this simple job.

If a shoe has a slick insole area, then I douse a cotton ball with rubbing alcohol and rub it over all areas that will be touching my hind paws.

I use the Lysol for shoes that do not have a slick inside. Sneakers, for example, will work much better with a spray on disinfectant.

That’s all there is to it…so what’s stopping you now?

Really, honestly, truthfully…everything’s free! What a wonderful concept! Why half of San Diego wasn’t at the San Diego Really Really Free Market is beyond me. I still can’t decide whether I was more excited to get rid of things and provide someone with my old “treasures”, or acquiring my own special finds.

I dragged Mr. Beaverelli into this adventure too. “Honey, let’s clean out the ENTIRE house, k?” We didn’t quite make it through every inch of our place, but we’ll be sure to get it done before the next one in June. We donate a lot of stuff to thrift stores (mostly Amvets and Goodwill) and while doing taxes this year, we discovered that a lot of the odd items can’t be written off. Well heck, I’d rather give it away to someone free. There are also items, like food, that you can’t really donate to a thrift store. They had a food drive going too! How about those half used lotions and body washes? The kind you realize kind of stink…someone’s going to want your old crap, I can assure you. The most beautiful part was when Mr. B cleaned out the messy one car garage. There were full paint cans that he used before he moved into our place 10 years ago and a roll of linoleum that just hung out in a corner for 10+ years…ALL GONE!

Here’s some of the old stuff we got rid of. After being there for about 2 hours, 90% of our stuff was snatched up. I know it looks like a big, giant mess, but let’s be real, I wasn’t selling this stuff. If I were to take the time to put everything out nicely, other people were going to take off with the stuff that I was about to throw into my own bag.

Beaverelli’s finds! What a lot of fun finds: a corset that made my tiny beaver bumps look like a boy’s chest, a biker babe top, new plates, greeting cards, scrap book paper for my auntie, and shoes my size (I have tiny hind paws)!

You don’t have a Really Really Free Market in your city or town? Then it’s time you took matters into your own hands. Why not pick a day, go to a park (check to see if you need a permit) and advertise to all of your friends. Start with social media, put an ad on Craigslist, start a blog…endless possibilities!

Achiever Beaver

The Buck$ $aved Here

Archives

Yes, You Can Buy Used Shoes…