Your shoes can take a beating. They get soaked in an unexpected rainstorm. Heels are caught and scraped in sidewalk grates. Boots get squashed in the back or your closet during the summer months. Worst of all, shoes are expensive, and when you find a pair you love, you want to hold onto them for a while. Thankfully, Pia Catton and Califia Suntree’s Be Thrifty gives easy-to-follow tips to save your shoes and preserve them for many seasons…
Five Ways to Extend the Life of a Shoe:
- If your shoes get soaked or muddied, wipe them clean while they are still wet and apply a coating of matching shoe polish to the damp uppers. Then stuff the shoes firmly with a newspaper, pushing it compactly into the toes with the handle of a wooden spoon.
- The only shoes that cannot be dyed successfully are made of smooth plastic or nonporous synthetic materials. Most other shoes can be dyed to extend their life or freshen their appearance.
- Canvas, denim, and satin shoes can be protected against stains. While they are still new, spray them with a fabric protector.
- Use a matching permanent marker to touch up scuff marks on scratched or worn heels.
- To store out-of-season shoes and boots, polish or clean them as usual, making sure they are dry before you put them away. Vinyl footwear can be stored in plastic bags, but leather and suede shoes should be wrapped in soft cloth or tissue paper. Ideally shoes should be blocked with paper or shoes trees; stuff the shafts of boots with paper.
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