All-Natural Shoe Deodorizer

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I have a confession.

My workout shoes are totally stinky (you weren’t expecting that kind of confession, eh?).

It’s true. My tennis shoes that I wear almost daily for running/walking/whatever-activity-we’re-doing-outdoors are not pleasant smelling. But, then again, I don’t know of anyone who actually has pleasant smelling tennis shoes.  The sad thing? My shoes are pretty new. I’ve had them maybe a month, and already they’re stinking up my shoe bin. It being summer and hot out really hasn’t been working in my favor lately.

It’s definitely time to “un-stink” them, so I turned to my pantry and found a few natural things I could use!

My all-natural shoe deodorizer is a simple but very effective concoction. To make your own, you’ll need:

• 1/2 cup baking soda
• 3/4 cup cornstarch
• 18-20 drops Purification essential oil (I get mine here!)
• 1 pair of new socks
• 2 rubber bands

To make your shoe deodorizers, start by mixing 1/2 cup of baking soda and 3/4 cup of cornstarch in a bowl. Add in 18-20 drops of purification essential oil.

Mix the solution well, making sure to break up any chunks from the purification oil.

Spoon the mixture evenly into each new sock.

It’s may not be pretty, but use rubber bands around the sock opening to keep the deodorizer from spilling out.

Place the socks in each shoe, stretching them out so it covers the whole inside.

Now, stink-be-gone! Seriously, I left these inside my shoes for like 12 hours and when I took them out, my shoes smelled sooo good. Weird, right? I’m really glad David wasn’t around to walk in on me with my nose all up in my shoes. I might have gotten some really interesting looks from him!

Now, why these ingredients, you wonder?

Baking soda is a fabulous deodorizer because of it’s basicity. Since our sweat is more acidic, it’s neutralized by the baking soda (helping with the smell, too!).

Cornstarch is a very absorbent powder, which means it draws the moisture out of the shoe, leaving a nice clean environment that bacteria and fungus can’t thrive on.

Purification essential oil is a blend of several different oils such as lemongrass, citronella, rosemary, and tea tree that all help to freshen the air and eliminate odors. And, it also smells amaaaaaaazing, which is a huge added bonus!

You can even use this deodorizing powder straight in the shoe without the sock as well, and just store the mixture in a jar.

However, I really like the ease of sticking a clean sock in after I take my shoes off and leaving it in until I use them again. Sometimes deodorizing sprays can mask the smell, but this actually seems to eliminate it altogether. And it’s all-natural!

I love using the purification essential oil because it’s so versatile. Not only do I deodorize my shoes with it, but I use it to get rid of stinky odors (aka: dirty diapers) in my daughter’s room, I add it to really dirty loads of laundry, and I even use it in a spray to keep those pesky bugs away when I’m outside! If you want to try some too as well as some other super versatile essential oils, you can find some more info HERE (and pssssst, you can even get your essential oils for 24% off retail like I do, too!)!

Please tell me I’m not the only one with stinky tennis shoes! What do you do to keep yours smelling fresh?

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