Sparing my Sperry's

      I got Sperry Topsiders last year. They are in terrible condition. Don't get me wrong, they are great and durable shoes, but I was extremely careless with them. I wore them to gym, left them untied, threw them around, et cetera. I really love how Sperrys look on me, but I didn't want to get new ones since I had some that fit me at home. Plus it's usually really hard for me to find shoes with size 11 (!) feet. The perks of being tall, huh? Anyway, like I said in my Pinterest post, I am feeling really DIY ready so I fixed up my Sperrys and saved about seventy bucks. Sorry I wasn't able to get any before pictures or very many during pictures :/ For a tutorial with pictures, go here: http://snapguide.com/guides/clean-your-sperry-top-siders/

Steps:

1. Remove the laces. It might help to have a lacing needle ahead of time.

2. Put the shoe in a bucket or sink full of water. (I did mine one at a time.) Add some soap and use a scrubber brush to scrub the shoe as much as possible.

3. Soak a cotton ball (or ear-cleaner-thing in my case) in nail polish remove and rub on any spots that didn't come out with soap and water. (This works really really well on the lighter parts of the leather)

4. If you can, remove the insoles from the shoes. (I didn't because the insoles on mine were sewn/glued down.)

5. Pop 'em in a pillow case and put the pillow case into the washing machine along with detergent and such. Make sure it is the cycle uses cool water to avoid shrinkage

6. Stuff your  shoes with plastic bags so they will keep their shape and allow them to dry. If you don't want them to shrink, keep them inside.

This is the finished, clean product:

I apologize for the sucky lighting and lack of shoelaces. Anyway, they look really good! Not brand new, but pretty close to it. I just need to buy the laces and lacing needle

xoxo Ife