Monday, January 30, 2012

Shoe polish - who knew?


I haven't been too focused on my minimalist mission in the past few weeks.  However, as I found myself craving a new pair of Danksos and coveting those of others around me, I thought, "WWMD?" (you know, "what would a minimalist do?")

I didn't have to think too hard because that night, as I visited with my sister, "Auntie M," I noticed her shiny black Danskos.  Did she get new ones?  Nope. Her reply: "shoe polish."

Huh?

You mean, people still use shoe polish? It kind of seems like a lost art to me.  Maybe it is because I rarely by shoes that are real leather.  Somehow I think shoe polish doesn't quite work on synthetic clearance shoes from Ross.

Last week I had a minute to pull out my worn shoes.  Now, let me just tell you that these were purchased in Missoula sometime around when Clinton was entering his second term.  Yes, these puppies are OLD!  And WORN!  However, the basic structure of the shoe was still totally intact.  That is why I've kept wearing them.  They still work fine and are oh so comfortable.

Anyway, when I finally had time to contemplate refurbishing my old friends, I decided to rummage around the house before I went out to buy shoe polish.  Lo and behold, I found a bottle of black polish in Mr. Yost's things. Even more minimalisty!


The directions said you should make sure the surface was clean and dry.  Do you think I have time for that?  I decided to just jump right in (after I took some "before" shots of how pitiful they looked.)


Sad, sad Danksos.


2 minutes later and the results were, dare I say, dramatic?  I even had Mr. Yost use some fancy-schmancy glue from his workbench to fix where the stitching was coming apart.


Voila!  My beloved Danskos have entered a brand new chapter in their cherished life.  Every time I've worn them since, I get a warm little minimalist glow knowing that I have nice looking shoes that I didn't spend any money replacing and I didn't add to the landfill.

3 comments:

  1. Very nice. When you learn how to resole shoes let me know. I have some Keens that have a good upper, but the soles are wearing out.

    ReplyDelete