[Discussion] Downsizing/Minimizing Sneaker Collection or Quitting Collecting - WITH TIPS/RESOURCES

[us3less]

This discussion thread might not work out, but hopefully, it does for anyone who eventually wants to or has already downsiz(ed) their collection, maintain a small or minimal collection, and/or stop collecting altogether and have questions or advice to offer others. I thought I'd make this thread as it's inspired by the downsizing discussion in the Air Max 1 thread and it went on for a good handful of pages or so. This could also include discussions of switching priorities or efforts from collecting to other things in life, too.

For those who have done it, can you share your tips on how you've done it?

For those who plan to do it or is already in the process of doing it, can you share your realization moment and/or progress?

----- RESOURCES/TIPS BELOW -----
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Some resources/tips that's been shared throughout the thread that can help those looking to downsize/minimize/quit sneakers or look to keep the minimal/selective collecting motivation going. If you have tips/resources for me to add and/or want to ask us for advice/motivation, please post!

TIPS:

• Realize your tipping point- Similar to admitting the addiction (but not always), find out what your tipping point was that made you want to change/reinvent the hobby to downsize/minimize/quit sneakers. Could be anything related to you internally, relationships and/or life priorities. Call it out and understand there's no shame in it, because you've had the chance to enjoy sneakers regardless. Examples are:
  • Can't deal with having over X amount of shoes.
  • Taken too many Ls and are sick of playing games/tired of playing catch-up/can't keep up anymore.
  • Too many uncomfortable shoes purchased just for aesthetics/nostalgia.
  • Not focused enough on loved ones/future goals.
  • Wrong prioritization (money spent on shoes rather than on other priorities).
  • Hobby became an addiction.
  • Sneaker game changed way too much to enjoy.
• Minimizing exposure - minimize or completely stop visiting in-person stores/online stores, blogs, Twitter pages, etc. Hard to do with NikeTalk because NikeTalk da best doe... but be aware of the exposure and yourself when reading sneaker-related threads (or just stick to the General section)
  • Examples of being aware of yourself: thought process when you see someone post a deal (is this a shoe I've been wanting and now it's on sale or do I just want it only because it's on sale?), seeing your reactions to FOMO
• Spatial awareness - See how much space it's taking up your place physically. Do you have to resort to paying for storage units or use other areas of your house to store your shoes? The less shoes you own, the more space you'll have.
  • Peace of Mind > Money/Value - don't let money/value be the reason you have less or no space.
• Mental awareness & Decluttering - See how much emotional and mental space it takes to deal with them. Evaluate how much it sits on your mind. To reach peacefulness/bliss, consider decluttering.
  • Decluttering is a process. You'd have to start with the easy stuff (emails and then random things around the house) before you work your way up to sneakers as your last area to declutter, because it will build up emotional momentum by the time you get to sneakers.
• Donate/sell - If you have excess that you're tired of having, either donate to local charity or charitable orgs (Goodwill, Salvation Army) or sell through eBay, Craigslist, Facebook Marketplace, etc.
• "Front Door" rule - works with more than just shoes (like clothes and accessories). Method is self-explanatory: imagine having a shoe rack at the front door that can hold about 10 shoes or so as your go-to shoes that you can just pick any one of those pairs and go about your day without having to spend time choosing. Works well with the "being selective" tip.
• "One in/one out" rule - one of the common rules of minimalism/decluttering where if you buy a new shoe, you sell a shoe out your collection. Doesn't matter how much money you get back; it's for the peace of mind to make room for something you're more interested in.
• Being selective -
  • Current rotation: choose which ones you wear most and/or love most for the purpose of wearing. Ones in boxes almost all the time can go.
  • Future pick-ups: plan ahead, create a 30-day waitlist rule (very hard to do considering how some shoes sell out fast, but doable for some), create your own elaborate and valid sneaker checklist requirements (example: has to be an original, has to be comfortable, has to be within a specific shoe line that you love, not something that you'll get just to have, no multiples/duplicates, etc.) Just remember the "one in/one out" rule too.
  • Maybe create an ideal number of pairs you'd like to have.
• Hype Manifestation - a fancier description of "hypebeast", hype can alter feelings towards certain shoes and it moves fast. Best way to tell that hype manifestation got to you is when you get excited about shoes because other people around you are and they keep talking it up. If you're truly excited about a shoe you want, imagine the present excitement you have while everybody else is not excited at all. If that alters your perspective, then you don't want that shoe. You just want to be part of the crowd that wants that shoe.
• Consider your short-term/long-term life goals- Consider future life events like moving from one place to another, having a family, getting married, saving for a house, etc.
  • Time and effort of having to pack and unpack all the shoes
  • Financial goals for life events
• Financial goals - other than life events, it could be for saving up, investing (in stocks/bonds/mutual funds, NOT shoes that "will go up in value"), paying off debt etc.
• FOMO to JOMO - Taking Ls from raffles/SNKRS/bots (FOMO) --> saving money, less stress, more space, more life focus, you'll forget about it after a few days, etc.
• Accept that you can't have everything - this is one of the hardest things to do, but it could be a really good one. Having a sneaker collection involves lots of pride since sneakers are part of your identity/personality and missing out may really go against that, but it will really help you enjoy what you already have, which is already unique on its own. Even if you choose to buy less, the ones you choose to buy less of becomes more meaningful because of the time and reasons you chose to pick the ones you actually want over other options.

RESOURCES:

• Tidying Up with Marie Kondo, especially episode 7 where the husband of a couple has lots of shoes to get rid of and organize to make room for a baby in the future
• Environment vs. Willpower - a few Reddit posts that I found that taught me personally how an environment can take over and hurt your willpower, causing people to cave and go back into buying because of the mindlessness of dopamine fulfillment.
  • [ADVICE] REMEMBER, YOUR ENVIRONMENT WILL ALWAYS BE STRONGER THAN YOUR WILLPOWER
  • [Method][Advice] Environment is More Important Than Will-power
• J Cole interview with Angie Martinez about social media and social events/drinking - Take drinking analogy and switch it with sneakers, and it's conceptually the same thing. Understand that J Cole is talking about verbalizing the emotions in the drinking/social environment. Verbalize and understand the your feelings when you see a shoe and process how you're feeling about it (i.e. "I'm getting drawn in because there's a sale and I understand that it's a sale that's getting me tempted. However I don't need to buy it only because it's a sale, because I don't want the shoe at all.")
• The [Dave] Ramsey Show - financial motivation for those who'd like to use that as motivation to be more selective with sneakers or stop altogether while prioritizing financial goals. Here are a few people who are in bad debt thinking they were the ****. Would also suggest other channels like Graham Stephan and The Money Guy Show.

 

[nstreak]

Gents, with all these deals going on, half off "Black Friday" sales, stay strong. Think about whether we need these and if we'll actually wear them. Or will they just be another pair to unload later? I'm trying to practice this myself because I think for most of us, we love and like what we read in here, then we move on to our favorite pages and see the deals and new pairs everyone else has and we're right back in. At the end of the day, your money, your choice, but I think we can lean on one another to help each other, not just obtaining pairs we want, but also helping each other buy pairs we're on the fence on just because it's 1/2 off.