Homemade Shoe Deodorizer Sachets
I recently did a post on how to make your own homemade shoe deodorizer powder which works great. But there are some shoes that I wouldn’t ever want to dump a load of powder into, and I’m sure you probably do too.
So to solve that problem, I came up with my own solution for homemade shoe deodorizers which doesn’t require you to pour powder into you shoes to get those unpleasant smells out. Instead the end result is a tidy little bundle that works just as well and looks a lot nicer than a pile of powder too, and you can make them in whatever fabric you like. This is one of my all-time favorite smelly shoe odor remedies!
Time: 10 – 15 minutes
Related:
Homemade Shoe Deodorizer Recipes
– Ingredients –
Here’s the ingredients:
- Baking soda
- Arrowroot Powder, or Cornstarch
- essential oils (optional)
- fabric scraps
- twine
Makes: 4 – 6 sachets
Let’s make these shoe deodorizers…
– Step One –
1/2 cup Baking Soda
Add approximately 1/2 cup baking soda into a medium sized mixing bowl.
Baking soda, as you probably know, is an excellent odor absorbent. It is what will be sucking those nasty smells out of your shoes.
As with a lot of these homemade cleaners, you don’t have to worry about being exact in your measurements, and you can tweak the quantities to make as large or as small of a batch as you’d want, just use roughly equal parts baking soda and arrowroot powder.
– Step Two –
1/2 cup Arrowroot Powder
Next, add in 1/2 cup arrowroot powder into the bowl.
Alternatively, you can use cornstarch or possibly potato starch although I have used the potato starch before.
The arrowroot powder is what takes care of moisture control in this shoe deodorizer. Arrowroot is a common substitute for cornstarch which is often used in cooking as a thickening agent. All that means is that it is very good at absorbing water which is exactly what we want it to do.
– Step Three –
10 – 20 drops Essential Oil
Adding essential oils is optional, however adding them has more benefits than simply scenting your shoes. Many essential oils are also antimicrobial meaning that they can kill or inhibit the growth of bacteria and/or fungus.
That means that with the help of essential oils not only are odors removed, but whatever might be living in your shoes are also killed reducing the how quickly your shoes will become smelly again.
I didn’t add any essential oils to my shoe deodorizers this time, but I probably will from time to time in the future.
– Step Four –
Mix
That’s it, all your ingredients are in. Now mix it all together.
If you did add essential oils you might have to work a little to break up the essential oil clumps. If you can’t get the essential oil to mix in completely try using a whisk, that usually does the trick for me.
The more thoroughly you mix your ingredients the better they will each be able to do the work they are meant to do.
– Step Five –
Cut Your Strings
Next, it’s time to cut your strings. You can use whatever you want for the tie. Twine or ribbon would be great options. I played around with the idea of using the edge fabric piece from the fabric that I used, but I decided not to in the end because the hemp string looked better.
For this a length of 10 -12 inches is just about right.
– Step Six –
Measure and Cut Your Cloth
Cut your cloth into around 10 x 10 inch squares.
For my sachets I used cloth scraps I dug out of my wife’s sewing stuff. Most fabrics will work well for this, and those that are on the thinner side will work the best. Or, you can pick up some 10 inch quilting squares from your local fabric store or Amazon.
I love this because you don’t have to be super accurate about it, just get it in the ballpark, and it will still look great when you’re all done.
– Step Seven –
Scoop Mixture
Scoop up a good amount of your mixture and pour it onto the center of each cloth.
Aim for around a golf ball sized pile per fabric square (less and you’re not getting the most bang for your buck, and more you won’t be utilizing all of the powder that you’re using).
– Step Eight –
Pinch Corners
Next, gather up the corners of the cloth, and pinch them together.
– Step Nine –
Put A Bow On It
Tie a bow directly above where all the powder is in the fabric.
Tie the cutest bow that you can, mine looks ok, I’m not great with bows apparently. :(
– Step Ten –
That’s It…
That’s it, now you’ve got some pretty little shoe deodorizers that work without having to dump a load of powder down into you shoes.
– Step Eleven –
Use Them
Pop one of your shoe deodorizer sachet into each of your shoes. If you’re really wanting to make sure you get all the odor out of your shoes you can use two or three of these per shoe to really get the job done.
How long do they last?
How long these little shoe deodorizer sachets will last depends on how often you use them, and how bad the shoes are you’re using them in . That being said, they should last at least one to two weeks with heavy usage, and as long as a month or more with light usage.
– How Do They Work? –
These work really great. Previously I used a homemade shoe deodorizer powder that I would pour into my shoes to do the same thing. But these sachets do it just as well without leaving as much powder behind in my shoes.
The sachets do leave behind a little bit of powder after each use, but it is very fine, and nothing compared to what can get left behind when pouring the powder straight into your shoes.
These are something I will definitely continue to make and use going forward. They just work so well, and they’re so easy to make, how could I not continue using them.
Pre-made Alternatives
If you are running short on time and are looking for a solid natural alternative I’d recommend giving Moso Natural (review here) a try.
*****
If you found this posts helpful, please consider sharing it, leave a comment to say hi, and thanks for reading.
-Lance
Homemade Shoe Deodorizer Sachets
Here's how to make your own awesome homemade shoe deodorizer sachets with baking soda, arrowroot powder, and essential oils.
Materials
- 1/2 cup Baking Soda
- 1/2 cup Arrowroot Powder/Cornstarch
- 10-20 drops Essential Oils (optional)
Tools
- Fabric Scraps
- Twine
- Scissors
- Measuring Tape
- Bowl
- Whisk
- Scoop
- Smelly Shoes
Instructions
- Add 1/2 cup baking soda.
- Add 1/2 cup arrowroot powder to bowl.
- Sprinkle in 10-20 drops essential oils. (optional)
- Mix ingredients together to break up any clumps.
- Cut 4-6 pieces of twine about 10-12 inches long.
- Measure and cut cloth into 10x10 inch squares.
- Scoop about a golf ball size amount of the deodorizing mixture on to the center of your fabric square.
- Gather corners of fabric together.
- Tie the twine directly above where the mixture is.
- Pop a shoe deodorizer sachet into each of your shoes and let sit.
- And there you go, shoe odor be gone!
Last update on 2024-11-12 / Affiliate links / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API
Shara
Thursday 23rd of May 2019
I just find your page. Love it! Eassy to undertand, and covers most of my questions till now. Thankyou!
Mollie
Thursday 23rd of January 2020
So glad you found the blog and love the content! Thank you for commenting :)
cynthia
Thursday 29th of November 2018
In a pinch, when I didn't have fabric around, I have used socks to hold the baking soda.
Lance Shroyer
Wednesday 5th of December 2018
Cynthia, thanks for the suggestion! That's a great idea, I will have to try that next!
Debora Kummer
Thursday 7th of June 2018
Hi Lance, thank you for posting this about how to make deodorizing sachets for shoes. My thoughts are that these can also be used as closet fresheners, in the bathroom, in the basement and could be placed in a gym bag or somewhere in your car to kill those nasty, stinky odors. I made two 9&1/2 X 8 sachets and used baking soda & cornstarch. I also added 8 drops of Tangerine Young Living Essential Oil and 6 drops of Grapefruit Young Living Essential Oil and they smell amazing ! Those were only two of the scents listed that eliminate odors. These are bigger sachets and I hope to see how well they dispel odors in my closet. Wish I could post a photo of mine.....be blessed & hve an awesome and amazing day ! Deb K.
Mr Neil P Morbey
Wednesday 2nd of May 2018
brilliant, thank you.
Mollie
Thursday 23rd of January 2020
Thank you for your kind words!
Kimberly
Thursday 9th of November 2017
The boxes of tea bags you fill yourself work great for this type of thing, make a pretty covert to place them in. You can then empty the tea bag or just replace it I believe they are sold in boxes of 100
Mollie
Thursday 23rd of January 2020
That's a great idea, thank you Kimberly!