By SHELBY BILBRUCK
Columnist

Spring means spring showers, which means trudging through campus in soaking wet, most likely muddy, shoes. Keeping them clean and fitting right is important, but seemingly impossible this time of year.

Start caring for your shoes by purchasing a shoe tree and inserting it into your shoes, especially leather ones. Shoe trees are shoe-shaped blocks that will keep your shoes in shape while they dry.

Even if they aren’t drying from all the rain, using shoe blocks every week will help keep them in their original shape by drawing out sweat.

Another way to keep their shape after getting rained on is taking newspapers and stuffing it in your shoe. The newspaper will absorb the water and keep it from misshaping. So when you’re done reading the Muleskinner, reuse it by stuffing it in your shoes to keep their shape.

To keep your shoes from getting wet all together, you can purchase a water-proofing spray or a saddle soap.

No matter how dry you can keep your shoes, how clean you can keep them, is a different story.

Get a stiff bristle brush or a toothbrush and use that to brush off any dried mud or dirt that is on your shoes. If they’re still wet, wipe the mud off with a towel and wait for any excess to dry and brush off.

You can also use the stiff bristle brush or toothbrush to clean the soles of your shoes. This will prevent you from tracking dirt the next time you wear them.

After you remove all the dirt and mud, buff out any marks on them. The longer you wait to remove acid marks, the more likely they are to sink into the fabric and become permanent.

Suede shoes are a different story though. Never use water to try and clean them, and make sure to invest in a suede buffer.

If you have an extra stubborn scuff though, use a pencil eraser to gently buff it out.

No matter how dirty any of your shoes are, never put them in the wash. Washing machines will cause your shoes to become deformed and discolored.

Spring clean your shoes right this season and keep them looking new!