Somewhat comically over the years I have developed a shoe collection that dwarfs Jodi’s by an order of magnitude. In all fairness to myself, I had spent several years working as a Pedorthist (Feet, Shoes, Orthotics, Braces, etc), and later as the main buyer for a fairly large company. As a buyer of shoes, you end up being given shoes, a LOT of shoes! I needed to know the difference in fit and function of a new style I would potentially buy, or an upgrade to an existing style. The result is a literal closet full of shoes.
Despite giving away a lot of these shoes to some friends/family members who are my size, it still left me with a large collection that I have held on to for some reason. With our decision to minimize our belongings here and prepare to spend the next six months volunteering in Mexico, Jodi and I have come up with a plan for these shoes.
First, they need to leave our home simply because I want to de-own as much as possible, down to what we actually need.
Second, most of them are basically new. Some haven’t even been worn outside, or worn once or twice. So they have value and can be useful to someone else. Even if you aren’t size 10, you could also buy a pair to donate to charity or a homeless shelter or something.
Third, a simple fact of moving somewhere else and spending your time volunteering instead of working means that you need to pay for that somehow. As much as we are the type of people to try to do it all ourselves it is clear that we have put ourselves in a position where we will need to rely on the generosity of those around us.
So we decided to create an online shop of these goods, and let the friends and people we know (and they know) donate in exchange for something they can use. This is a win-win solution. All of the funds we raise, similar to the garage sales and such we have already been doing, will be going to cover the unique expenses for our trip. Things like flights (a big one), vaccinations, health insurance, etc. We also want to have a fund that allows to react to what we see. Being able to buy the food to make a meal at the homeless shelter we plan to frequent, for instance.
To start with the shop is mostly composed of Footwear, although there are a few pieces of outerwear wear in there as well. Since the footwear I received was for demo/trial purposes it is all in my size, Men’s size 10 D (with a few 10.5’s depending on brand). If you are interested in an item, contact us directly or by the contact form. We will setup a time for you to try it on and make sure it is what you are looking for. I would like to conduct all this in person so we don’t need to worry about shipping, etc, but also because look forward to talking with you.
I have set some suggested minimum prices, based on a rating scale of their condition, but feel free to donate whatever you feel compelled to. Also, don’t be shy in sharing this with other friends who share the same size.
Thanks,
Darryl & Jodi
Beautiful, 3 bedroom, 1800 Square Foot End-unit townhouse available For Rent starting approximately the end of October/beginning of November 2014 until the end of April 2015. Located in Willoughby, Langley. We would like to rent it furnished, but we are flexible. This home has been really well maintained and well cared for.
Very bright, with custom touches within every space. Each room has large windows allowing lots of light in making living in Vancouver in the winter all that more tolerable. 
Large, bright kitchen perfect for meals or entertaining around a huge Island. Living room is separate with custom book shelves/storage, and a great place to cozy up by the fire on cold fall and winter nights. Tiled kitchen floor, and Hardwood throughout the rest of the main floor.
Three Bedrooms upstairs. The newly Designed Master bedroom will be completed with a large Brand new walk in shower in the master en suite. One bedroom is complete with custom-built in bunk beds and the other room is empty for either office, or bedroom. All rooms come with plenty of storage, and plenty of space. The second story is finished in brand new wood flooring, making clean up a breeze.