Smelly Shoes Don't Stand A Chance Against An Unexpected Kitchen Appliance

Even if you take multiple showers a day and maintain impeccable personal hygiene, the mere fact that you are a human walking around on your feet means three things. First, both your feet together boast about 250,000 sweat glands, a higher concentration than anywhere else on your body. Second, your feet produce harmless bacteria, and third, the bacteria produce organic acids that can smell bad. Get those three together and you've got foot stink, which immediately transfers to shoe stink.

Smelly shoes can be embarrassing, especially if you travel anywhere you're expected to remove them before entering like a yoga studio or someone's home. While there are a number of ways to kill bacteria in your shoes, we like the idea of freezing them out. In a cold environment, sweat, moisture, and bacteria shrivel up and your shoes are restored to freshness. If you've got a freezer, this hack's for you. Additionally, between your trips to the fridge, if you've got a closet where you normally keep your shoes, there are quite a few ways to keep it smelling fresh.

Unless you have a separate 1950s-style deep freeze sitting in the garage, you'll most likely have to use the freezer compartment in your kitchen refrigerator. The best way to make this hack as useful as possible is to plan ahead. If you know you'll be wearing a particular pair of shoes tomorrow, freeze them overnight to kill the bacteria.

If there's not enough room because of an ice buildup forming in your freezer, you might want to look into why that's happening. Otherwise, you'll need to do two things to prepare to complete this hack. Wrap each shoe separately or keep them both together, depending on the size of plastic bags you have available. Secure or tie the bags closed, then clear out a space just for your shoes. Even with layers of plastic wrap between them, you really don't want to toss a pair of shoes on top of a pack of salmon steaks or a bag of peas. Give them their own dedicated space. Then, in the morning, you'll have a cool and fresher-smelling pair of shoes.