Shoe Talk

Moving is a tiring process that takes your time and money. There are so many things to pack, to take care of, to pay for, to set up, to clean... sometimes you overlook the small details, like your shoes! If you have a lot of shoes, or even a few shoes you want to protect, this is for you! Here's a few tips for how to pack and safely transport your shoes! 

Packing Shoes for a Safe Move

First, let's sort the shoes into their respective types: sandals, high-heeled shoes, boots, etc. The first thing to do is to weed out all those shoes and boots you just don't wear any more. Maybe your feet grew, maybe the arch support just isn't good enough anymore. If they're no good, find a recycle shop or just toss them in the garbage. If they're still in good shape, consider donating them to charity, or, if you're in need of cash yourself, find a shop that resells used items. If you're already having a garage sale or flea market, take them there and sell them all at one go. 
For the rest, clean them up and sort them by season. Anything you don't need soon, pack them in for long storage, and put them in a properly labeled box. Things you will need soon go in a different box, again, with a proper label.

How to Properly Pack in Boxes
To prevent your shoes from molding or developing mildew, make sure to properly air and dry them before packing them away. It's best to wash them a few days before the big move so that they have time to completely dry before being packed away. Long term storage items should be packed inside airtight packaging, and then put inside strong, sturdy boxes. Things you need in the short term need less protective packing, but, you want them to be well protected from any damage they might receive in a move. So, wrap them gently, and put them in sturdy boxes. Make sure you have labeled everything
If you cannot find enough small boxes, get bigger boxes and pack more pairs in one box. Besides boxes, you will also need packing paper, a permanent marker, tape and scissors. Always wrap shoes in pairs for easier unpacking. So now how to pack your shoes for moving? Fill in shoes with crumpled packing paper (not newspaper because it could leave stains on your shoes) all the way up to keep their shape when in transit. Take a sheet of packing paper and your first pair of shoes to pack, place one pair on one of the ends of the sheet and roll it until the shoe is completely wrapped in packing paper, then add the second shoe and continue wrapping until you have made a nice bundle of this pair. This is how to pack all of your shoes besides the boots. You should wrap each boot separately in paper. After that, put in a separate box those pairs that have their own box.