Stinky Shoes - Spring Cleaning Occasionally Series #5

I am not one for wearing shoes.  If it were not for the snow and cold, I might never wear them at all.  As it is I still wear clogs in the winter if there is no snow and if the temps are higher than 20 degrees.  Now just because I where clogs rather than tennis shoes does not mean that I do not have to deal with perspiration odor.  So these three recipes have all worked for me.  The Sage & Citrus one that I share first came from the book "The Naturally Clean Home" by Karyn Siegel-Maier.  She gives lots of recipes for crafting chemical free cleaning solutions, so check it out.  

This recipe gives my shoes an herby smell that most people assume is from the garden and I rarely admit to anything else.

Sage Citrus Sneaker Tamer

If your sneakers advertise the fact that you've been working hard, this recipe will help you keep the news to yourself.

2 cups dried sage

1 1/2 cups dried lemon balm

2 cups cedar chips

1/2 cup baking soda

2 tablespoons grated orange rind

10 drops rosemary essential oil

5 drops lemon essential oil

Combine the dried herbs, cedar chips, baking soda, and orange rind in a glass or ceramic bowl. Stir with a wooden spoon. Add the essential oils and stir to blend. Place half of the mixture in a clean sock and tie the open end shut. Stuff another sock with the remaining mixture and tie off. Place a stuffed sock in each sneaker overnight or when not in use.

I use baking soda and clay kitty litter (the cheapest kind you can get with no fillers or odor reducers is fine) to craft shoe deodorizers.  They impart the herbal scents and work great at absorbing the odors present.  I get mine at the dollar store.

Mint Shoe Odor Remover

With this recipe you get the germ fighting aspects of thyme and lemon grass.

2 cups natural clay cat litter

1 cup baking soda

1 cup calendula flowers

1 cup lemon grass

1 cup peppermint or spearmint leaves

½  cup thyme leaves

10 drops peppermint essential oil

10 drops wintergreen essential oil

10 drops eucalyptus essential oil

Combine the cat litter and baking soda in a glass or ceramic bowl and mix with a wooden spoon. Add the herbs and mix again. Add the essential oils and blend. Place half of the mixture in each of two clean socks and tie the open ends shut. Place a stuffed sock in each sneaker overnight or when not in use.

Stinky Shoe Sachet Blend

Makes 4 sachets

2 teaspoons essential oil of sandalwood

1 teaspoon essential oil of tea tree

1/2 teaspoon each essential oils of lemon and grapefruit
1/4 teaspoon each essential oils of spruce and lavender
4 cups natural clay cat litter
4 clean socks
4 rubber bands

Stir the oils into the cat litter in a glass jar with tight fitting lid.  Cover and let the mixture age for a week. Divide the mixture evenly between 4 socks and close them each with a rubber band. Place a sachet in each shoe and leave overnight. You may reuse the sachets for as long as the scent lasts.