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They’ve still got some mileage left in them, though!

As a Deputy Editorial Director for BuzzFeed’s shopping team, I love to get into the weeds of why a product’s worth the money by deep diving into customer reviews, and product-testing as much as possible.

Shoe shopping is tiresome *and* can get pretty pricey, so you wanna get peak use out of the shoes you already own and love. I get it! There are times when you've just gotta drop off those block heel sandals at the shoe repair, but there are all kinds of little tweaks you can make before you call in the pros. Whether you're realizing your go-to leather summer sandals are already looking worse for wear, or your perfectly worn-in running sneakers give the impression you roll around in the dirt for cardio, we've got some easy fixes for you. So if you're game for a little DIY, I rounded up a variety of ways you can easily improve your shoes. In fact, I've even tried and loved a few things below, like the Leather Honey conditioner and Boot-Fix glue!

Promising review: "Did an amazing job on white Crocs!" —Suzanne S.

It can remove oil, grease, ink, grass, and blood stains for all my vampires out there. Psst, a few months ago I recommended this to a friend who fell in a puddle of motor oil on a sidewalk, then accidentally wiped it on her camel coat. It got the stains out!

Promising review: "This stuff is so amazing. I'm a witness. My 2-year-old baby wrote all over my white leather couch. I tried many different things and nothing work but Grandma's Secret Spot Remover. I love this stuff." —L. Nix

This was an impromptu purchase once I realized just how bad my circa-2018 Asos midi coat was looking. It was SERIOUSLY fuzzy, and I'd been walking around in it, not even realizing it. How embarrassing for me! So I took this fabric shaver to it while I finally watched Lost about a year ago. It's a little loud, but it did some WORK. Here's a pic of a sleeve where you can see the difference it's making and also a glamour shot of the gobs of lint and fuzz it's removed from the coat. And unlike with other fabric shavers, there's no guessing how much charge the battery has left. This gadget has a little % countdown that's clear to read. My beloved coat looks brand-new!

Promising review (for using on shoes): "I bought this because I needed to remove the pilling on a couple of sweaters, some Moreno wool shoes I'd washed, and my wool couch. One charge completed all of those!! No trace of fabric damage. All pilling was removed, and my expensive wool couch and shoes look new!!" —a1shif

Get it from Amazon for $11.99+ (available in seven colors).

It can be used on leather shoes, accessories, interiors, furniture, upholstery, saddles, jackets, and tack. Also, Leather Honey is a small biz! 

Promising review: "I use this for my everyday boots as well as my dress shoes. I'm not always gentle with my boots and I thought I had ruined them the other day (worn out color, scuffs all over), but I cleaned the muck off, gave them a brushing, then applied this leather honey, and after letting it sit, my boots look almost like the day I bought them! It keeps the leather supple and restores color. You only need to use a small amount per use!" —David Horning

Get it from Amazon for $18.99+ (available in three sizes; clip the coupon for this price).

Promising review: "Absolutely love these. I get asked all the time where I bought them. The side hooks are so easy, and I have worn them on my Crocs for months, almost every day. Even in 'sports mode' they stay put." —Jasmine

Get the pair from Amazon for $11.99+ (available in five styles).

Promising review: "These Jibbitz are sooo cute!! And well made! I added them to my strawberry Crocs. They sparkle in the sun and just make the Crocs look so stylish. I love them and highly recommend them. I also wear these all the time and not a single one has fallen out." —Poppy

Get a 16-piece set from Amazon for $16.99 (available in four varieties). 

Promising review: "This stuff is amazing. Gets Sharpie off shoe soles. Win!" —dmcd

"I couldn’t love this more if I tried! It takes ink and Sharpie out of hoodies! It takes oil and adhesive out of Nike shoes! This is a powerhouse for cleaning laundry, and possibly the best cleaning product I have ever used!" —Jennifer Dereske

Reviewers say this stuff has also worked on lightening pen stains on a Dooney & Bourke leather purse, ink smeared on a corduroy sofa, ballpoint pen on a movie screen, pen scribbles on a white leather couch, lipstick on a rug, and more.

Fellow BuzzFeed editor Amanda Davis swears by this spray. Check out her Foot Matters Shoe Stretch spray review for more information!

Promising review: "I purchased my second pair of Dr. Martens three days before I was headed to New Orleans. Seemed like a mistake, right? Maybe it would have been, if I didn't have this spray. I used it once and then walked around the house for a bit with some thick socks on. Then I sprayed the boots again, and put beer cans inside of them and let them sit overnight. I wore my NEW boots all over three different airports (thanks layovers), and all over New Orleans. These were the only boots I packed too. It could have ended up a nightmare but it didn't! My boots still have a little ways to go to be fully broken in, but definitely ahead of schedule when I compare them to my first pair. I will use this spray on every pair of boots from now to forever." —lauren

Promising review: "This totally worked. Been walking on my repaired boot for a month now, and it’s still glued back together. The only reason I’m giving it 4 stars instead of 5 is because the glue dries white (not clear), and I had to use a Sharpie so it didn’t look ridiculous. Way better than buying new boots, though!" —Elicia

Check out a TikTok of the SneakErasers in action. 

Promising review: "I have a couple of pairs of sneakers I stopped wearing because they started looking a bit grungy. Just couldn't justify throwing them away though, because they were still in great shape and not very old. I came across these sponges and took a chance. They work like a charm. I cleaned two pairs of shoes and could not believe the results! Awesome." —Spencer

Promising review: "Very eye popping! No one missed these on my shoes! I wore a black and pink dress with my black pumps, and these clipped onto my pumps...I got MORE COMPLIMENTS on my shoes than I did on my dress!!!" —SherGary

Get them from Amazon for $12.99 (available in six colors).

Check out how to dye your canvas sneakers on Rit.

Get a bottle from Amazon for $5.99+ (available in a range of colors).

It has four sides: one to clean heavier scuff marks and stains, one to gently clean fine suede and light scuff marks, one to clean rounded corners, and one to clean hard-to-reach crevices and grooves.

Promising review (for the sandals): "So easy and quick. I had no idea I could get these this clean!" —tammi p.  

"I was really sad when I thought my bucks were at the end of their road, because I had always heard that suede couldn't be cleaned. With this brush and a little elbow grease my bucks are looking great again! I didn't use any water or cleaner, I just kept wiping the brush off on my jeans to keep the brush clean, then hit the shoe again with a clean surface. It even brightened the leather up a bit." —Roberto

Promising review: "Great quality, great colors. These laces are long enough for my boots... I use them with my canvas Keds sneakers too. It's nice to be able to change my laces with my outfits... It feels like a new pair of shoes every time I wear them!" —Tdelarme

And though they won't be as dramatic of a change, consider some stretch shoelaces that'll turn your favorite sneakers into slip-ons.

Promising review: "I get so many compliments on these!! Makes my nice sneakers look brand new and such a unique touch! Have the leopard on my Pandas and the gingham on my Adidas. So cute!" —Teresa S.

Get a four-pack from Amazon for $9.99 (available in eight combos).

It's great for leather furniture, car interiors, shoes, bags, and more!

Note: Furniture Clinic (the maker of this product) recommends testing to see if your leather is absorbent before using this product by seeing if a drop of water will soak into the undamaged part of the leather. If the water is able to soak in, use this balm! If it cannot soak in, they recommend using their leather repair paint instead. 

Promising review: "I bought the tan knowing my shoes had a tinge of red on the brown. While cleaning my shoes I got Dawn dish soap on the top and didn’t rinse it off right away, so the color and oils were ripped away, and my mink oil wasn’t able to condition it enough to bring the color back, but THIS made my shoes look brand new again with only two coats. I loved how easy it was to apply with the foam pad it came with. I would highly recommend and am buying the dark brown next for more projects. Tan was as pictured." —Zoe

Get it from Amazon for $24.94+ (available in 16 colors and two kits). 

Watch a TikToker use these inserts instead of buying a new pair of boots!

Promising review: "Saw these on a TikTok and had to get some! They work perfectly, exactly as advertised. I generally don't wear my Docs very often because I'm either lazy or in a rush and don't want to deal with tying up my laces. Problem solved with these zippers. I also have a problem where the tongue on one of my boots leans to the side (they've been that way since I got them, I've tried EVERYTHING to try and fix it). I can normally only wear them with tall black socks, or there will be a strip of ankle skin on the side of the tongue. This fixes that problem – that strip is now covered! The zipper doesn't seem to slide down if I leave them partially unzipped. The zipper itself is high quality, it's a standard YYK zipper (probably the same brand a lot of your pants and jackets use)." —the bunch

Get them from Amazon for $22.99 (available in 29 color combos and five sizes/styles).

Check out how one reviewer used the paint to give a pair of cowboy boots a colorful new twist. Angelus is a small biz. 

Promising review: "I was a bit skeptical of a shoe specific paint — it seemed more marketing hoodoo than a real improvement over other paints — but I was mistaken. This stuff rocks! It works well with stencils and brushes, has good opacity, great adhesion, and remains flexible when it dries. When combined with Angelus Paint 2-Thin, you can use it in any fillable paint pen. You lose some opacity but gain the ability to do longer continuous lines before needing more paint compared to a brush. I look forward to working on a few other projects with this paint." —Xaq F.

Get it from Amazon for $42.95 (12 colors available in a multipack).

Solemates is a US-based small business specializing in shoe care products. 

Promising review: "I purchased the narrow pair to wear with some high heels to my friend's wedding as a maid of honor. I also purchased some for the bride. These are amazing and did not pop off once! Everyone was asking me how in the world are my heels not sinking into the grass. They didn't notice the clear protectors until I pointed them out. This invention is genius and I definitely did not sink into the grass! Totally worth it, especially if you have expensive heels that you do not want to ruin! As for the bride's expensive shoes, they were definitely saved!!!" —swt caroline

Get them from Amazon for $10+ (available in two sizes).

BuzzFeed Shopping is service journalism first: our writers and editors spend all day shopping so you don’t have to, vetting products, fact-checking brand claims, and surfacing what actually helps in real life. We center readers over revenue, recommend products with authenticity (using real experiences, not ad-speak), and reflect our diverse audience, inclusive of a variety of price points, people, and needs. We cut through fake deals, favor useful info over glossy fluff, and recommend both budget and splurge options with context so you can decide what’s right for you — and still have a little fun along the way.

Reviews have been edited for length and/or clarity.