Beautifully crafted shoes are a good investment, but keeping them in good shape is a task. Shoes undergo a lot of wear and tear. If not cleaned or stored well, they can easily get damaged. Therefore, you need to take good care of your favorite pair of shoes if you wish for them to last longer. Here are a few simple tips you can follow to keep your shoes in good shape.

Store your shoes well
It is important to keep the shoes in a cool and dry place, like your closet. If you do not have enough space in your closet, a good alternative is to have a shoe rack or a set of shelves specifically for your shoes. You can buy a shoe bag with multiple pockets if you don’t have room for a rack or shelves. Just put a pair in each pocket and hang the bag on the back of a door. Moreover, make special storage arrangements for shoes that you wear occasionally. Put them in a separate bag or box to keep off dust.

Clean the shoes before storing
Never keep used shoes on the rack without cleaning them. Make sure you wipe off the dirt. Some shoes get easily stained when the dirt dries off on them. Also, air out the used shoes before keeping them away. When you do this, the sweat that may have buildup in the shoes will dry off. So there will be no danger of any foul odor coming from them. Stuffing tissue papers inside closed shoes also help keep the odor away.

Keep the shoes well organized
Do your shoes get damaged even after having separate storage for them? This may happen if you have not organized them well. At times, you may pile a pair on top of another. This will leave dirt or stains on them. Also, avoid resting other things, such as boxes or bags, on your shoes. Furthermore, don’t keep the shoes upside down or rest them on their tops. This will help in preventing them from crushing. Another great way to protect your shoes is by having separate cubbies for each pair in the shoe rack.

Use shoe accessories to keep shoes in good shape
Buy shoe accessories like shoe trees and put them inside your shoes to prevent them from sagging or losing their original shape. This should be done especially for leather shoes that crease quite easily. Furthermore, if you own boots, insert boot shapers to maintain their original shape after each wear. Additionally, use heel liners to fix gaps in your heels so that you are comfortable and your shoes are not damaged. Most shoes of high to mid-range brands have structured uppers and well-stitched soles that help to keep the shoes in shape after repeated wearing. However, you can still take extra precautions to prevent damage by adding protective shoe accessories such as sole protectors, rubber taps for pointed toes, and waterproof leather soles to your favorite shoes to avoid quick wear and tear. You can purchase these from any shoe supplier.

Protect your shoes with shoe protector sprays
Nearly all your shoes will inevitably encounter rain, snow, ice, or salt, depending on the weather conditions. All of these can easily damage the shoe material. Use shoe protector sprays, waterproofing sprays, conditioning creams, or wax to keep them safe from these natural elements. These will help to keep your favorite pair of shoes nice and dry in any weather. Before using any of these products, make sure you test them on an inconspicuous spot of a shoe. Also, ensure to follow the manufacturer’s instructions on the label.

Clean kids’ shoes properly before keeping them away
Kids’ shoes get dirty quite easily. If you keep them in the storage rack without cleaning, the odor and the dirt may cause damage to your other shoes as well. So make sure you clean them well. Most shoes for kids are made of materials that can be easily cleaned. If there is a slight spotting of dirt, you can wipe it off with a damp cloth. But if there is crusted mud, grease, or something else that is hard to get rid of, soak the shoes in a bucket of water. Add a few drops of light liquid detergent. Use a gentle brush to wipe off the shoes.

Use shoe horns
Most shoes for women as well as shoes for men, tend to crease and wear out toward the back. This happens due to slipping your feet frequently in and out of the shoes. You can glide your feet easily into the shoes with a shoe horn. It works like a smooth ramp that will pull back the heels of your shoes. This will stop the shoes from snagging your ankle. Moreover, using this tool keeps your shoes in good shape for longer.