Tips for Storing Those Cold Weather Shoes

After a long winter, the weather has broken and spring has fully sprung. Not only does that mean it is safe to wear our sandals and sundresses, it also means it is time to put away the quality shoes for women that you’ve accumulated over the winter and fall. Storing shoes serves several purposes. It not only frees up closet space, it also allows you to properly treat those leather boots, vintage shoes and other footwear and give them a breather during the warm months.  Harsh temperatures and humidity can make leather brittle, weaken fabrics and cause glues to loosen. Here are a few tips on how to store your winter shoes and how it benefits them in the long run

• Store Them Right: In order to prevent creases and slouching, store those tall leather shoes and suede boots upright or in their proper boxes with boot forms (pool noodles make for great shapers). Also, be sure to use shoe trees or acid proof paper to keep the shoe’s shape. If storing in bins, be sure to put the heaviest boots at the bottom and separate the boots with clean and lint free cloth (t-shirt, boot bag or pillow cases).

• Upgrade Your Closet: There are several organization solutions, for those who have ample enough closet space, to keep all four season’s shoes in their main closet full time. Chief among them are clear and stackable shoe drawers and drop front boxes. These boxes—which normally retail for under $10 per box—provide a way to easily see all the couture footwear in your closet. Granted these boxes are expensive so switching cold weather and warm weather shoes during the proper season is a good way to save money and space.
• Cost Efficient Visualization : If you can’t afford to drop hundreds of dollars on clear shoe boxes but you’d like to know where all of your beloved shoes are, there is a simple, yet old school solution—take pictures. That’s right, grab your cell phone or DSLR camera and take pictures of each pair of shoes, go to your local big box store to print them out and place the pics on the corresponding box.
• To Keep or Not to Keep: No one wants to get rid of a pair of their favorite shoes but there is a time to donate or throw shoes away. The general rule is that if a repair costs less than half the price of new shoes, repair them. If not, it is time to let go.
• Conditioning: All leather is inherently water proof but that doesn’t mean it won’t need care to prevent cracking. All leather shoes should be treated with a cleaner, conditioner and water repellent from time to time. When planning to store leather pumps or boots for the summer, condition the shoes and make sure they are fully dry before storing.

Now that you’ve read all of the tips to store your out of season footwear, please share with us which tips in particular worked out for your closet needs. We appreciate all of our readers, and as always if you have comments, questions or suggestions, feel free to email us at info@superbcouturefootwear.com! Stay SUPERB!