10 tips to make your shoes last longer

Love shoes? Follow these steps and you'll have even more of them, as you won't need to get rid of damaged ones as often. Hate shoe shopping? Same thing goes — make your shoes last, and there will be no need to hit the stores any time soon.

• Shopping for shoes? Do it in the afternoon, when your feet have enlarged to their fullest size.
• Buying shoes in the morning can result in cramped toes when you wear the shoes later in the day. In the morning, our feet have not yet expanded to their maximum size.

• The glossy finish that is sprayed onto new shoes doesn't really protect them.
• So give those new shoes a polish as soon as you get them home.

• If you notice the heels of your shoes are starting to wear down, get them reheeled as soon as you can.
• By preventing further damage to the shoe, reheeling makes the shoes last a lot longer, and the cost of reheeling is a fraction of the cost of buying another good pair of shoes.

To save the backs of your shoes, use a shoehorn or soup spoon to put them on.

• When you store leather shoes, put shoe trees in them.
• That way you won't pull them out of the closet to find creases in the leather.

Place shoes in plastic bags when storing them to keep off dust.

• Another way to keep your shoes in good shape is to store them in their original boxes. You can stack the boxes without crushing the shoes.
• Label the ends of the boxes so that you can find the pair you want quickly.

• Patent-leather shoes get scuffed easily. Fortunately, it's easy to remove the scuffs — just rub with a clean pencil eraser.
• Polish and wax leather shoes often to keep them shiny and scuff-free.
• If your shoes have dried out, apply castor oil to rejuvenate them.

• It's best to leave your leather shoes at home when it's raining outside.
• Rain will cause the leather to shrink.
• If your leather shoes do get caught in the rain, stuff them with old nylons to soak up the wetness and help them retain their shape.

• If you have to quickly clean your sneakers, try squirting them with some window cleaner.
• If you have more time, make a paste of baking soda and water and apply it to the sneakers.
• Wipe it off and let it dry. Baking soda is also great for absorbing sneaker odour. Put some in a small square of cloth, twist the cloth, and insert it in the sneaker.