PractiMama.com

Stuffing your shoes with newspaper will dry them quickly and thoroughly — read more to find out the specifics.

Cold, wet, and possibly snowy weather is upon most of us. Along with such a forecast comes inevitable cold, wet shoes. If you already know how to successfully dry your shoes in 20 to 40 minutes, go ahead and treat yourself to a different tip! Otherwise, please read on.

Items Needed
Wet shoes
Regular bath/hand towel
1 Newspaper — or at least 16 to 24 pages
Tray (optional)
Timer (optional)

Directions

1a. Place your shoes on a tray or on some of the newspaper.
1b. Take out the inserts – if they are removable. Place them alongside your shoes.
2. Take one page of the newspaper at a time and gently ball them up so that they are not scrunched down tightly.
3. Insert the first ball of newspaper into the front of the shoebox. Then, shove it in as tightly as possible.
4. Take another page of newspaper and shove it into the shoe the same way you did the first one.
5. Continue the process until your entire shoe is filled with newspaper. You may use three to eight pages per shoe, depending on the size of your shoes.
6. Let your shoes sit for about 20 minutes. Set a timer to act as a reminder if time is an issue for you.
7. Remove all of the newspaper. It will now be wet. Discard it.
8. Re-fill your shoes with fresh, dry newspaper.
9. Let your shoes sit for another 20 minutes.
10. Remove the wet or damp newspaper and discard it.
11. Check to see if your shoes need another fill up. If so, repeat the process for as long as it takes.
12. The towel is to help dry your socks!

Tips

1. At first, the newspaper you remove will be soaking wet, depending on the slosh-level of your shoes. If your shoes are water-logged, proceed with the process but with a shorter wait time of about 10 minutes between newspaper changes.
2. Unfinished, matte paper works best. This means that magazine pages, which are coated and glossy will not work nearly as well. Tissue paper or newsprint from a dish store also work well.
3. If you know your shoes will be wet by the time you reach a destination other than your home, grab one of those free weekly papers on your way. Then, you can dry your shoes so they are ready for your return out in the elements. You are grabbing a newspaper because there may not be one available once you arrive.