Tree Your Shoes for Less

If you have nay decent shoes, you should be storing them with cedar shoe trees when you aren't wearing them. (Not those square-toed Kenneth Cole things, either; throw them away and start over.) It's an easy thing to overlook, unless you are in the habit of getting the shoe trees when you buy the shoes. That's definitely one way to remember, but it's a more costly way of doing it.

Over the weekend I happened to visit a Nordstrom Rack (we had to wait for a table at a restaurant, and the store was in the same shopping center). On my few previous visits to Rack stores I've found them to be very hit-and-miss; much of the merchandise is no more interesting or impressive than what you'd find on any given day at your local TJ Maxx.

But as with any discount shopping experience, you often find good deals when you aren't looking for anything in particular. A couple of years ago the Mrs. found a pair of Keen outdoor/hiking shoes for $30, because they were technically boys' shoes. She was waffling on whether or not to buy them, but when I told her she would likely pay around $100 for the adult version of the shoe, she bought them, and has gotten a great deal of use out of them, since they are waterproof.

On Saturday I saw some shoes that might have interested me, but then I turned the corner and saw a display full of shoe trees. I needed a couple of pairs, and these were tagged at $12.90, which is an excellent price (they typically sell for $20 or more a pair, depending on where you buy them). They are the kind with the two-piece toe, made in Wisconsin by a company called Woodlore. I know this brand well, having several other sets of trees from them.

I grabbed two pairs and headed for the register, where I learned that some sort of additional discount was in effect: the trees rang up at $9.90 per pair, plus tax. I was in the process of considering whether or not to go back and get more when the restaurant buzzer went off, so I paid for the two pairs and hurried on my way.

I don't know how long this deal might last, but if you live near a Nordstrom Rack you might want to swing by and check it out. Even at the regular price of $13 a pair, these are a good deal.