When spring and summer make their annual appearances, stashing your cold-weather clothing away can seem like a celebration. For clothing like sweaters, long johns, or mittens, this can mean folding them neatly and placing them in a winter clothes bin or a dedicated dresser where dirt and insects won’t have access. Other pieces of winter garb, such as boots, can benefit from a less obvious maintenance method.

Tall boots, whether designed for fashion or function, are often tossed to the floor of a closet, where they get mashed, folded, and crushed over time as things get added, removed, and adjusted in the closet. This kind of abuse can lead to creases, and, in the worst case scenario, damaged leather. To keep cracks, wrinkles, and other deformations from happening, polyethylene foam is the perfect protection product. Ever-present in the form of pool noodles in the summer, foam cylinders can make a substantial difference when slid into boots. Rigid enough to stand the boots upright, the foam tubes mimic an actual wearer. Not only does maintaining this boot shape help prevent accidental damage, it makes organization, displaying, and even polishing and cleaning much easier.

Foam cylinders are very easy to cut, and just one tube, trimmed to size, can provide enough foam to protect multiple pairs of boots, based upon their height. Available in various diameters, your ability to find a size that works well for you is all but guaranteed.

—

Article submitted by The Foam Factory, an online source for all sorts of DIY craft foam. Whether you need thin foam sheets or a thick foam roller, you can find it there.