If you have a pair of shoes you can't wear because they rub your heels, one YouTuber has the solution for you.
The scoop
Thrifting and upcycling extraordinaire Traci Myers (@tmyershandmade978) demonstrates how to fix the back of a shoe notorious for blisters — and all you need is a cloth, piece of wood, and hammer.
Set a cloth on top of a plank of wood. Then put the heel of your shoe against the cloth so that it's perpendicular to the wood. Wrap the cloth inside the shoe to provide a cushion and then hammer away at the inside of the heel.
The hammering flattens and softens the heel for a quick and easy fix. The best part? It works.
"You're not wearing them anyway. What do you have to lose?" Traci says in the video.
How it's working
Traci's hack saves you from having to buy another pair of shoes, which is a huge money saver.
Over the span of nearly a century, the average cost of shoes has gone from $20 to over $140, according to Statista, so anything you can do to salvage, repair, repurpose, or upcycle the shoes you already have will save you big bucks.
Preventing waste and recycling reduces our crowding landfills, which produce toxic gases such as methane — a harmful polluting gas with a warming effect 80 times stronger than carbon dioxide, as per the Environmental Defense Fund. These gases are responsible for trapping the sun's heat, warming our planet, and creating climate change.
With 2024 on track to be the hottest year ever recorded, anything we can do to reverse the trajectory we're on is great news for everyone. Less air pollution means fewer respiratory problems and better heart health.
If you do have footwear at the point of no return, there are ways to declutter your closet without contributing to landfill volume. For example, GotSneakers will send you a free sneaker recycling kit that includes free shipping to upcycle your shoes or pass them along to someone in need. If they're in good condition, you might even make some money.
What people are saying
Shoe wearers were very grateful for the tip.
"I can't say how many cute shoes I ditched before I knew this!" one YouTuber lamented.
"This truly works!" another confirmed.
A third chimed in, saying, "Life changing."
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