How to Pack Shoes for Moving

So, the time has come to make one of the biggest steps in your life – moving to a new home. And this is quite an enormous, bold, crucial step, indeed – one that will set you on the exciting and challenging path to a whole new world.

To be able to take this decisive step, however, you need to be well “equipped” for the road ahead and have all the essentials that will ensure the successful outcome of your moving adventure – a positive attitude, alert mind, sufficient savings, reliable moving assistance, comprehensive moving checklist, and… some good shoes. After all, who will dare to take such a rocky road without a pair of sturdy and comfortable shoes?

Shoes are a necessity every day, in every situation, and under any circumstances. You’re going to need your reliable shoes before, during, and after the relocation, so you should take every possible measure to ensure their excellent condition throughout the move.

To avoid smashing, tearing, breaking, or deforming your footwear during the relocation process, you need to know how to pack your shoes for moving the right way. Simply tossing them into a box won’t do the trick, you know.

Here are some quintessential packing tips for moving shoes you may find very useful when embarking on your own moving journey.

Sort Your Shoes

Your first step is to sift through all the pairs you have and decide which of them are worth moving to your new home (the same goes for every member of your family, of course):

1) Throw away worn out and damaged shoes that can be of no further use.

2) Set apart any shoes that are still in good condition but you don’t like anymore or won’t be able to use ever again – small shoes your kids have outgrown, formal shoes you will have no occasion to wear, uncomfortable shoes that hurt your feet, specialty shoes you will no longer need, outdated shoes you’ll be embarrassed to put on, seasonal shoes that aren’t appropriate for the climatic conditions in your new area, etc.

There is no point in moving all this impractical footwear to your new home – you will save time, effort, and money if you leave your unneeded shoes behind. (The fewer items you relocate, the less time you’ll need to pack your stuff, the fewer packing materials you will use, and the less money you’ll pay in the end – after all, moving costs are based on the weight of your shipment and shoes tend to be heavy.)

You can sell your most expensive no-longer-needed shoes online or at a garage sale, give the loveliest ones to relatives or friends, and donate all other “usable footwear” to charity. Many local charities will gladly accept shoes in good condition and will give you a receipt for future tax deductions (from $2 to $25 per pair of shoes).

3) Group all the shoes you intend to take to your new home according to their type – high-heels, boots, slippers, stiletto shoes, flip-flops, sneakers, etc. Shoes of a leather are best packed together, so to speak.

Prepare Your Shoes for Packing

Once you’ve decided which of your shoes you’re going to take to your new home, it’s time to prepare them for moving:

1) Check if any of the pairs need minor repairs, like replacing zippers or soles, sewing up, etc. Have them fixed before the move – take them to a local shoemaker and find out how much the repairs are going to cost and how good the results are expected to be.

If it turns out that fixing the shoes will not be worth it, you may decide not to relocate them after all.

2) Clean your shoes. Remove all the dirt and dust from your shoes and take out any pebbles embedded in the soles as any remaining dirt may harm your more delicate footwear.

Besides, you don’t want to find your shoes dirty and unsightly when you unpack them after the move, right?

3) Make sure your shoes are completely dry. Moisture trapped inside a moving box can result in mold, so you’re strongly advised to air out your shoes for a few hours before packing them.

When it comes to sports shoes, work shoes, and leather shoes (especially vulnerable to humidity), you may go a bit further and put some crumpled paper inside them to fully absorb any moisture – or powder the insides of the shoes to draw the moisture out of the leather and fabric.

4) Stuff your shoes with crumpled paper to help them keep their shape and prevent crushing during transportation. Packing paper is your best choice, but any other clean paper or soft fabric materials will do as well (don’t use newspaper, though, as the ink may leave ugly stains on your shoes).

In fact, you can play smart and stuff your shoes with socks that match the respective footwear – this may come very handy when you need to put on a certain pair before you’ve unpacked all the boxes.

If you are packing boots or shoes that go over the ankle, make sure you stuff them all the way up to the top.

If you’re packing high heels, consider wrapping the heels in bubble wrap to prevent them from breaking during the move.

5) Get appropriate shoe packing materials. Shoes can be quite an investment, especially designer shoes and branded footwear. To preserve that valuable investment during the risky relocation period, you need to provide your shoes with the best possible protection against potential damage.

So, don’t just put your treasured pairs into a plastic bag or a large moving box (the large box may easily collapse and the bag may trap moisture or tear during the move) – use quality packing materials instead. You’re going to need sturdy boxes, packing paper, quality packing tape, and a permanent marker.

Once you’ve organized your shoes and finished all the necessary preparations you can at last get down to the actual shoe packing process. But what’s the best way to pack shoes for moving? Here are some simple, yet efficient shoe packing tips for your forthcoming relocation.

How to Pack Shoes When Moving

When packing shoes for moving, you should focus on safety and efficiency.

Wrap your shoes in paper and place them in sturdy boxes to ensure maximum protection. Always pack footwear in pairs for greater convenience and alternate the directions of the shoes when placing them in boxes to save some space. Take every measure possible to make the packing process easier, simpler, and more effective.

Use an efficient shoe packing strategy

1. Pre-pack out-of-season shoes, specialty shoes, and any other shoes you’re not going to need before moving day. Set aside the shoes that are in season and pack all your other footwear as soon as it is properly prepared.

If you’re moving in mid-winter, you will most certainly not need your sandals, flip-flops, and straw shoes before the relocation takes place, right? So, there is no need to wait until the last days before your move to pack these pairs – box them up as early as possible, while you still have plenty of time and energy to deal with such tricky tasks as packing shoes for moving.

The same goes for any specialty footwear you won’t have an occasion to put on before moving day – formal shoes, dancing shoes, hiking shoes, beach shoes, and all other shoes intended for a specific activity you won’t undertake prior to your move.

2. Put aside a pair of sturdy and comfortable shoes to wear on moving day. You need good shoes with non-slippery soles that will protect your feet and ensure your safety and your comfort during the long, exhausting, and stressful moving day.

3. Pack separately the footwear you’re going to need during the first couple of days in your new place – season-appropriate shoes to wear when running chores around town, comfortable shoes to put on when unpacking your items and arranging your new home, shower shoes, slippers, etc.

Pack your shoes in a safe and efficient manner

Pack shoes in boxes

The best way to pack shoes for moving is to put them in boxes, preferably the shoeboxes they came in.

Wrap your shoes in packing paper and place them in their original shoeboxes. If you don’t keep the original shoeboxes, find small and/or medium-sized boxes that are clean and strong enough to ensure the safety of your footwear (when packed in sturdy boxes, shoes are less likely to get crushed and less exposed to moisture).

You can then pack shoeboxes and small boxes that contain a single pair of shoes together – inside a medium-sized moving box. Just make sure you double-tape the bottom of the larger box to reinforce it and be careful not to make it too heavy.

You can pack your shoes in plastic bins instead of cardboard boxes (the plastic containers provide excellent protection against shocks, dust, dirt, and external moisture), but make sure both the footwear and the containers are completely free of moisture before packing the shoes.

Never pack shoes in plastic bags

Bags tear easily and can’t provide adequate protection to your shoes – your treasured footwear may get soiled, scratched, or badly damaged if the bag tears at some point during the relocation process; the shoes may get crushed under heavier items during the transportation as the bags have no solid structure that can prevent shocks and impacts; etc.

Besides, plastic bags trap moisture which may cause severe damage to your shoes – mold growth, deformation, etc. If the ambient temperatures are very high, the plastic may even melt and stick to your shoes, ruining their surfaces.

Use proven shoe packing tricks:  

• Place tea bags in your shoes when packing them for moving (or spray them with anti-bacterial spray or a mixture of rubbing alcohol and water the night before packing them and let them dry well) to remove any bad odors and keep your footwear fresh during the move;
• Always wrap your shoes in clean paper or cloth before putting them into a moving container;
• Always pack shoes in pairs. Otherwise, you may waste plenty of time and nerves searching for the other shoe when you need to put on a certain pair. It’s highly advisable to wrap every pair separately and place it in a box of an appropriate size; 
• Never press or smash the shoes when packing them to avoid distorting their shape or causing damage to their surface;
• Pack heavy shoes first. If you’re packing several pairs of shoes in a single box, make sure you put the heavier ones at the bottom. Cover them with a protective layer of packing paper and put some lighter shoes on top. If you’re packing several small shoeboxes into a larger moving box, place the boxes containing the heaviest pairs first and stack lighter ones on top of them;
• Do not overload the boxes. Shoes are quite heavy, so make sure you don’t put too many pairs in a single box – it will become very heavy and difficult to carry, not to mention that it may crush under its own weight;
• If moving in rain or snow, be sure to keep the shoeboxes dry (cover them with plastic wrap, put them in larger plastic bins, etc.) Otherwise, the excessive moisture may harm your footwear;
• When loading the moving truck, be careful not to place heavy items over boxes of shoes, but make sure you don’t put your footwear on top of smaller, more fragile articles either.

The above tips for packing shoes when moving will help you avoid the most common risks of damage to your treasured footwear during the relocation process, but they do not provide a direct answer to the most fundamental question you’ll be asking yourself when standing before the pile of shoes you want to relocate to your new home: How to pack shoes for a move? So, keep reading – the secret to proper shoe packing is revealed below.

How to Pack Shoes for Shipping

Shoes come in various shapes and sizes which makes it quite difficult to pack them for a move. A single mistake can result in irreversible damage to your delicate footwear, so you need to be really careful when packing a shoebox. Here are the most essential shoe packing instructions to follow when getting your footwear ready for shipment:

How to pack shoes in boxes for moving

• Wrap each pair in clean paper (or a soft, clean cloth). Place one of the shoes at the corner of a sheet of packing paper, roll it about halfway, then place the second shoe opposite of the first and continue wrapping until the sheet ends. Alternatively, you can wrap each shoe in a separate sheet of paper. The protective wrapping will protect the shoes against scuffing and denting during transit;
• Line the shoebox with crumpled paper;
• Put the wrapped shoes in the box;
• Fill all the empty space inside the box with crumpled paper to prevent shifting;
• Tape the box shut and label it (use a permanent marker to write the name of the owner of the shoes and the type of footwear inside the box – for example, “Brian’s boots”).

That’s the best way to pack shoes in their original shoeboxes. If you don’t keep the original shoeboxes though, you may need to use slightly different shoe packing techniques.

How to pack shoes for moving without shoe boxes

If you have small sturdy boxes that fit your shoes, you can use them to pack your footwear for moving in the same way you would have packed the pairs in their original shoeboxes. (as detailed above)

If you don’t have strong boxes of appropriate sizes, you can pack your shoes in larger moving boxes:

• Wrap the shoes in packing paper as described above. Be sure to tape the bundles to keep them secure;
• Reinforce the bottom and the corners of the moving box that will hold your shoes and line the bottom with crumpled paper;
• Lay the bundles of shoes on their sides at the bottom of the box;
• Place the heaviest pairs first and cover them with a protective layer of packing paper or packing peanuts;
• Create a second layer of lighter pairs;
• Alternate the directions of the shoes when placing them in the box to save space;
• Fill any gaps in the box with crumpled paper or packing peanuts to prevent shifting and contact with other shoes;
• Be careful not to make the box heavier than 40 pounds as it will become too difficult to carry;
• Secure the box with packing tape and label it with its contents.

As mentioned above, you can pack several small boxes of shoes in a large moving box as well. If deemed appropriate, you can even put some small shoeboxes on the bottom of the large box and arrange several paper-wrapped pairs of shoes on top of them.

These shoe packing hacks should be enough to ensure your ultimate success when packing your footwear for a move. Yet, you may not have the time, the proper materials, or the inner focus required to perform such a tricky moving task.

In this case, you’d better leave the job to the professionals – the moving experts will pack your belongings and deliver them to your final destination with maximum speed, safety, and efficiency. Just make sure you find legitimate, experienced, and trustworthy movers to work with. It will be quite easy for them to stand in your shoes, you know.