Ouchie, owie! Tight shoes. The bain of my existence! Back in the day I could rock a little vintage pointy pump, or a pair of shoes that were just a weeee bit too tight. But now? I have a zero tightness policy. I would rather wear a pair of shoes a size too big than suffer a pinchin’ on my big toe. Dare I admit I’m workin’ a bunion over there? Oh yes. I am.

So I was extremely delighted when i discovered this easy peasy way to give your shoes a little added stretch. And all you need is this:

No, there isn’t a magic stretching liquid in that little bag….it’s simply  a little zip lock baggie of water! Just you wait, it’ll all make sense.

Fill a ziplock bag of water. Don’t use a cheap one, you def want to make sure that the bag doesn’t leak. I used the little snack size bags because my shoes were little flats (and I wear a size 7…or 8 if i’m wanting a little more roooom!). Don’t fill the bags to overflowing, just 3/4 of the way is fine.

Now insert the baggie of water into your shoe, make sure it is down deep inside if that’s the area that is too tight. Mine are always a little snug across the toes. Again, do make sure that bag is sealed tightly!

Stick those shoeies in the freezer! Of course you should put the shoe in a plastic/paper bag first, to keep things clean (and you may want to warn family members so they don’t think you’re crazy for putting shoes in the freezer!). Now we let the ice freeze. Here’s the thing. Water expands as it freezes….and as the water expands inside the shoe, it will stretch the shoe with it! Genius!

It’s not a perfect system, but it worked for me. I would say I think it works best on leather shoes….i don’t know if I’d try it on boots. You kind of want a shoe that you can manipulate your zip lock baggie in easily. I think strappy sandals/heels, pointy toed pumps and flats like these are probably best. So, to recap!

1. Fill two small ziplock bags 1/2-3/4 with water. Make sure they are sealed tightly!
2. Insert them inside your shoes.
3. Stick those shoes in a plastic bag and place them in the freezer.
4. Leave inside the freezer until the water has completely turned to ice .
5. Remove from freezer and  let thaw (approx 20 minutes). Don’t leave the ice in to melt completely or it could burst.
6. Remove the ice baggies.
7. Try on your shoesies and do the happy dance!