Life hack: How to stretch new shoes

Buying new shoes can be such a thrill…until you actually wear them. Hands up how many of you out there have gotten a blister after the first walk in a new pair?

It doesn’t have to be this way, so we have a novel way you can stretch your shoes so they fit nicely and don’t hurt your toes and heels!

If you need some extra breathing room, put a bag of water in your shoe and toss it in the freezer to stretch it a bit.

Now, that might sound easier said than done but seriously, it works! Because water expands when it freezes, the logic is that if you do this inside your shoe, it’ll expand the shoe without needing to ‘wear them in’ in the painful way we usually do.

So how do you do this?

1. Fill a freezer-strength ziplock bag with water until it’s about half full.

2. Gently squeeze out the air before zipping it fully closed.

3. Place the bag of water in the shoe, or where the problem area is. (Tip: You can block off parts of the shoe with crumpled newspaper to keep the bag of water where you want it)

4. Put the shoes in the freezer overnight, or until the water is completely frozen.

5. Remove the shoes from the freezer, wait about an hour for the ice to thaw, then remove the baggies.

Tell us, did this work for you?