Giving second hand shoes a new life

“Preloved is reloved”

We love Facebook Marketplace! We especially love buying little man’s shoes from there, because we’ve managed to score a couple of bundles of second hand trainers for a really good price.

We actually picked up a bag of them today, 7 pairs for $40. We got a few of pairs of Nikes, a pair of Vans, and a pair of Converse trainers. They’re usually in good condition too, but I saw a TikTok video the other night of someone cleaning up a ratty pair of trainers - so I thought I’d give it a go myself with these!

This was all of the pairs we got today - great condition, they just look like they’re in need of a good wash.

Here’s a better look of them all out of the bag!

I fished out all of his other pairs of second-hand shoes, which I’d only put through the wash once beforehand - they don’t look too shabby!

First step for cleaning trainers is to give them a good squirt with a stain removing spray (Sard is what I used, but you could use another brand). I skipped this next step because they weren’t too gross looking, but you get The Pink Stuff paste and scrub the shoes with an old tooth brush to really get the dirt off the white edges. 

I then filled a mop bucket with really hot water and 2 scoops of Vanish Oxi Action powder (again, you could use another stain removing product if you wish).

I let them soak for 20 minutes, drained the water out (which was brown) and then rinsed them off with cold water - this was what they looked like. You could always do another round of this if they’re not looking too great! After soaking all of the shoes, I popped them all in the washing machine with some more Vanish powder and a little laundry detergent, and put them through a 20 minute warm cycle. 

This is how they are looking now as they’re outside drying off in the sun! If I can give you one money saving tip at all, it’s to always look for your kids shoes on Marketplace first. Their feet grow way too fast to be spending lots of money on footwear, and because of this, the shoes that get put up for sale are usually in really good condition. And if they’re a bit worse for wear, try this hack for yourself and let me know if it worked for you!

 Until next time!