old leftovers from my shoe closet

[nikki2]

Cleaned out my shoe closet. Some pairs I´ve never worn since many years. But OMG, I found these 15!!!yrs old leather boots:
http://img185.imageshack.us/img185/8462/hezj5.jpg
Old leftovers - How embarrassing . I donate only those ones that I bought and never wore much for whatever reason. Those 15yrs old boots went into the regular garbage bag together with dirt, cat litter, food scraps and other non-recyclable garbage. Here is why:
1. YUCK! bacterias, maybe foot fungus
2. the persons foot is NEVER shapes like yours and therefore can be unhealthy
Think that poor people don´t need my uncomfy old leftovers. I am all for donating but those 15yrs old boots were nasty gross garbage and NOT donation items.
I am correct or not ?

[Bilby]

I think sometimes it depends on what the boots/shoes are made of, leather or vinyl.
I found a pair of shoes in my wardrobe 2 mths ago and they are back in fashion this year, they are 21yrs old and still in good condition they are leather.

If you wouldn't wear those boots I don't hink some one else would either, so good choice.

[Sammi1961]

I agree with Bilby, if they are something you wouldn't wear, then they are best tossed cause no one else would wear them either. I don't lots of clothes and shoes to Goodwill but with shoes, I make sure they are "lightly worn". Shoes worn a long time mold to a persons foot so may affect fit on someone else. My dks wear their shoes out too fast now to ever donate them.

[hemlynne]

I agree with you all. I have a funny 'donated shoes' story - when my first dh was terminally ill he wanted to start and throw out clothes etc of his - I guess it was one of the ways he dealt with his imminent death. Well anyway, he put some shoes out for me to put into the bag. They were business shoes and had very little wear. I was in a hurry as the Brotherhood van was coming soon, so I bundled things up and put them outside. Imagine my horror the next week when I was putting more things out. The 'pair' of shoes I had put out the last week were ............. 2 right feet!! So I made sure the next week I put out the other 'pair'. Often wonder what the sorters at the Brotherhood thought. And did the shoes ever get matched up???

[Bilby]

Oh no Lynne I bet they had a laugh!
My kids tend to wear thier shoes out before they grow out of them, boys are hard on shoes.

[dxlifer]

Perhaps FreeCycle is a way to go.

[Sammi1961]

When a pair of my sneakers gets old, they become my "lawn mowing" shoes. Once they are too worn out to wear even mowing the lawn, they get tossed.

[Pag36]

I have used Adam's old hi tops with small holes in them as planters. Lots of comments on them and the "planter" breathes and water does not stay in there forever. Use to do that with hubby's work boots too

[MKS]

I don't really like to see anything thrown away. We are pretty spoiled in America, but I still think there are people that really can't afford new shoes and would rather have shoes that we would think are too out of style or worn out than no shoes at all. My son had a pair of baseball shoes (that he got as "hand me downs") that had the soles flapping. I felt bad about throwing them away even tho they are beyond repair.

[goldeagle1]

I always donate my old shoes (unless they are in too poor a shape to pass one). Usually I can get my daughter's (college student) shoes to donate -- which are hardly worn and are much more fashionable than mine!