It's beautiful here where I am, and the sun is out, it's warm, and that's a great thing because it means you can wear your fall booties!
Here's a tip when it comes to footwear and warm winter weather: CLEAN AND PROTECT YOUR SHOES.
Seriously, it keeps your shoes looking fresh and new. Just like people, when you take care, your shoes will last much longer and look ten times better. Besides, shoes are so wonderful because it's like having a pair of fine art sculptures adorning your feet. Why wouldn't you want to protect and maintain that?
We all have those small insignificant worries that nag at us. Mine is shoe maintenance, in fact, it's usually the thing I do when I want to procrastinate or have nothing else to do on a rainy day. So I'm going to outline what you'll need and how you should go about cleaning your shoes.
(I'm planning to do this on Sunday morning so I'll upload pictures to go along with everything in an updated post)
When I do this, I usually do this with multiple pairs at once just because I don't want to do this all that often. This is a great thing to do while listening to a podcast or audiobook.
Before you start, this process is not for all shoes. Stick with wiping away dirt with a soft rag for shoes with a metallic or vinyl material. Always make sure your products are synthetic safe before using them on your synthetic materials.
Step 1)
Get your materials ready!
I like to keep mine altogether in an old shopping bag or something, it's just easier. I pretty much just pick up a bottle of Tana all protector when I'm at a shoe store (usually Town Shoes).
Step 2)
Put down paper towels or a few scraps of newspaper, something to protect the surface you're working on. Make sure your space is well ventilated, there will be a gross chemical smell.
Step 3)
Prep your shoes! Wipe them off with a lightly damp rag or paper towel to get rid of any built up product. If the shoe is suede, use an old toothbrush to gently brush away dirt, or if you have a fancy-shmancy suede brush, use that. If you have a lovely pair of shoes made of Nubuck I would recommend getting an actual Nubuck/Suede cleaning brush to maintain the integrity of the material.
Optional step 1)
There's a cleaner that you can get for the inside sole of your shoes. I can't recommend it enough for your flats and sandals (or any other shoe worn without a sock).
I'm not sure what it's called at the moment, but I'll update this post with the name as soon as I find it.
Optional step 2)
Polish the shoes. Make those beauties shine again by either covering them in a polish that matches or using an unscented, dye-free body lotion (fun fact: you can use this lotion to freshen up your leather jackets too). Just make sure you leave them for a few hours to totally dry, so go do something else for a while.
Step 4)
Spray the protectant over the shoe, it should be enough to cover them entirely so that there's a bit of shine to them. Leave your babies to air-dry preferably overnight.
Step 5)
Wear them without fear or ruining them.
Hope you learned something helpful to you. Let me know if there's anything you would do differently or if you have your own tips to share.
Have a great weekend!
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