So I bought some new shoes a few weeks ago to wear for my reunion.  Cute little bright coral sandals.  Unfortunately Herberger’s did not have them in a wide width, and they were $40 cheaper there than online.  SOooo, I decided to see if I could have them stretched.  I thought about taking them to a cobbler.  But then I thought, that defeated the purpose of not ordering the wide widths online.  So I googled.  (seriously, how many magazines did our mothers have to read to find all these handy little tricks we can access in a matter of minutes – on demand!)

Here’s what I found:

1. Take a zippered sandwich bag.
2. Fill it 1/4 – 1/3 full of water.
3. Put it in your shoe.
4. Place in freezer overnight.
5. The water will expand as it freezes and stretch your shoe.
6. In the morning, remove your shoe, let thaw a little (just enough to pull the bag of ice out)
7. Put on your shoe.
8. Repeat if you need more.

I wouldn’t recommend this for just any type of shoe.  Mine was a leather sandal.  Canvas would probably work too.  Pleather or man-made uppers, probably not. Plus you would also maybe have to worry about them cracking in the cold.  Also expensive shoes, I wouldn’t.  Mine were $23, and I was willing to take the risk.  Fairly certain I will do this again, especially when I find bargain shoes that are just a teensy too tight.