How To Pack Your Shoes For Moving Day
Your shoes are a large part of your wardrobe, and can take up a whole lot of space within your home. Further, shoes need to be properly cared for in order to maintain their appearance despite constant wear. These two problems become perhaps the most pronounced on moving day, when you have to pack all of your shoes into as little space as possible and do so in a manner that ensures that they don't become damaged while in transit. Thankfully, you can easily pack all of your shoes with some basic supplies and a little bit of elbow grease.
Cleaning
Shoes absorb a lot of moisture, from both the outdoors and from your feet. This can leave older shoes with a distinctive smell that isn't always pleasant, and this smell can grow worse if your shoes are packed away in airtight containers for an extended period of time. In order to prevent this, you'll want to clean the exterior of your shoes with a mixture of half rubbing alcohol and half water to remove dirt, grime, and anything else that may be stuck in. In order to keep the insides smelling pleasant, you may want to put teabags or something similar within the interior of your shoe.
Packing Paper
One of the most important things that you can do while packing your shoes for a move is to keep their natural shape supported. This means that you should stuff their insides with packing paper, to prevent the sides of the shoes from becoming folded down. Avoid any paper with ink on it: this can leave stains. Packing paper can be found at most moving and storage supply stores. Further, you'll want to use packing paper as a cushion to protect your shoes, especially more fragile items like heels. Use several layers to ensure that any physical impact is properly shielded.
Cardboard not Plastic
Avoid any sort of plastic containers or bags, and stick to cardboard or paper whenever possible. This is because plastic is not a breathable material, and any moisture that makes it into the interior of the bag will get trapped against your shoes. This can cause all sorts of damage and deterioration to the material, especially to more expensive materials like leather and suede. Cardboard boxes and paper bags allow enough air flow to ensure that moisture can be wicked away from your shoes before damage occurs.