Believe it or not, some people try to guess your personality by just looking at your shoes. The dirtier they are, the more negative is the impressions you will get from people. So, keeping our shoes tidy and clean is as important as taking a daily shower.
The problem is, however, we are living in busy times. Tight schedules, too much work, and daily social media activities leave us with little time to worry about our shoes.
No matter what others think, keeping your shoes clean is important. Because it boosts our self-confidence, extends the life of shoes, and clean shoes may even open up new opportunities for us to step in.
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Here are the 10 ways of keeping your shoes clean:
- Walk mindfully. Look where you are stepping and avoid dirt, mud, and even piles of feces your lovely pets left behind.
- Wear appropriate shoes based on the occasion. I do not recommend wearing your shiny shoes to a construction site or nature where they will get too much beating, wearing, and tearing. This takes us to another tip.
- Always wear older shoes for outdoor activities. Wearing your thousand-dollar sneakers or designer shoes from Gucci while cleaning your chicken coop may not be suitable. So, always keep outdoors shoes handy.
- Wear shoes suitable for the weather. When it is rainy wear shoes made with waterproof leather. If it is snowing, wear warm boots. And if it is too hot out there and you do not need to do some running, wear light sandals and floppers, not to stink up your shoes.
- Drybrush your shoes when you come home. I always did another way around. I mean I used to brush my shoes before leaving somewhere. Then, I realized that if I clean them as soon as I get home, I will prevent the dirt from coming inside my house. Also, when clean shoes wait for you, you get peace of mind. I do not know about you, that works for me well.
- Spray shoe protectors to prevent stains. The downside of this option is that you will spend some money to purchase those spray products. But in a long run, they may protect your shoes from costly damage. These recommended shoe sprays work well with shoes made with canvas, suede, and nubuck.
- Keep your shoes on higher shelves to prevent dogs from chewing them or staining them with saliva, protect them from cat hairs, and simply not making it a cozy place for your pets to do a party. That may sound like a stretch. But, I experience every single one of those instances.
- Clean your shoes with specialized kits. Did you know that there is even an Adidas-approved shoe cleaning package? These kits come with convenient sponges and brushes, and cleaning solutions that take the stains and dirt right off.
- Do not wear white shoes often as the tiniest stains become visible on white backgrounds. There are three shoe categories. Shoes for daily activities, shoes for outdoors, and shoes for show off. You do not have to clean outdoor shoes as no one will judge you for your dirty work shoes. But you need to be extra sensitive with your expensive white shoes.
- Wash your shoe insoles and spray shoe deodorant regularly. Keeping your shoes clean does not mean just cleaning outside of your shoes. Inside should be clean as well to prevent unwelcomed odor from sneaking in someone’s nose.
Those were the 10 ways to keep your shoes clean. If you know any other methods, please share them in the comments section.
One last tip: always clean your shoes before visiting someone’s home as it may ruin their carpet and leave a bad impression on you.