How to Stretch Your Shoes Out to the Right Size with Ice

There are so many reasons you might find yourself with a pair of shoes which are just slightly too small.  Maybe you ordered shoes online and they didn't fit in person the way you expected them to.  Or perhaps they were the only pair of their kind available at a thrift store, and you just had to have them.  Or another case might be that they used to just barely fit you, but you have some edema in your feet and now they are just slightly too tight.

Whatever the reason, if you are like me, you have probably passed on more than a few pairs of shoes that you would have loved to keep.

Well, now you can keep them!  I just discovered this awesome little video with a very simple science-based trick that works to stretch out a pair of shoes.  You can add around half a size to a full size!

You may recall from high-school physics class that water expands upon freezing.  This method takes advantage of that fact and uses it to stretch your shoes.

What you'll need:

• Two plastic Ziploc bags
• Some water
• A freezer

Here are the steps:

1. Get the pair of shoes that you want to stretch out.
2. Fill the plastic bags with enough water that you can stuff them inside your shoes and they fill out the space inside.
3. Put them in the freezer.
4. Wait for the water to freeze.  As it does this, it expands.  This stretches your shoes out.
5. Once the water has completely hardened into ice, you can pull your shoes out of the freezer.
6. Set them somewhere and wait 20 minutes for them to thaw.
7. Remove the bags and your shoes should be half a size to a size bigger!

In for more clothing hacks? Check out our 57 Clothing Tips, Tricks And Projects That Are Borderline Genius roundup.

And that's it!  It couldn't be easier, and you know it's going to work, because it's science. Video demonstration by Michelle Phan.