About 5 years ago I purchased a pair of black flats at Old Navy for $5, and I wore those suckers into the ground.  Those shoes went with me to New York, London, and many other places.  Why? because they were compact and comfortable as hell.

When travelling, there’s nothing more important than comfortable footwear.  When Sis and I went to New York in 2009 I brought those flats and a pair of sneakers, and I wore the flats for most of the trip because they were better than my sneakers.  We walked a lot in New York and I needed something that I could spend 12+ hours in.  After that trip they became a travel staple for me.

And then they started getting a little worn, but I couldn’t find another pair of flats as comfortable as them.  So I continued to wear them and wear them, and finally they got really bad.  There were holes in them, the insoles were breaking into pieces, there were holes in the soles, and I discovered that there was a piece of metal in the bottom of the shoes, which would poke out of the left shoe and make a slight ‘clang’ sound whenever I walked.  Yet, I still couldn’t throw them out.

But then I found another pair of shoes that looked like they might do the trick – not ballet flats, not as compact, but they were just as comfortable.  So, with a heavy heart, I tossed my 5-year-old flats.

So remember that a pair of comfortable shoes can be worth their price (especially if they’re on sale), but that there’s also a time for letting go. 

That time was probably a year ago for me…

Happy new year.