If you have any type of white athletic shoes, you know how hard they are to keep clean. Before you go out and buy new ones, save yourself some money and try washing them in the dishwasher. Yes, the dishwasher.
Back in the day (because I’m oh so old, right?) I used to throw my dirty shoes in the washing machine. You name it: Uggs, Vans, Converse, Nikes, I threw them in the washing machine. The only problem with cleaning shoes in the washing machine is that they start deteriorating pretty quickly after that. Putting your shoes in a washing machine filled with water and spinning them around at high speeds on the spin cycle isn’t exactly the best way to keep your shoes in good condition. It bangs them around and weakens the glue that hold them together.
I’m sharing my step-by-step tips for getting your shoes bright and sparkly, odor-free, and in overall tip-top shape!
Before you venture into washing your cycling shoes or other workout shoes, please know that they need about 24 hours or a day in the sun to completely dry. You will want to wash these on a day or two where you don’t need to wear them!
You will notice that my prized Mavic Giova Women’s Cycling Shoes are a bit brown around the ankle area and tongue. They’re survived one year of spray tans and sweat, but they’re definitely looking a little grimy and not smelling that fab.
The fronts and sides are completely scuffed up from my spastic walking skills and running into stationary objects, ha ha ha.
Above is another angle showing the brown fabric tongue before washing.
Before washing, you will want to take out any removable soles inside of your shoes.
You will also need to remove your “clips” and any metal hardware from your cycling shoes (these will not be washed).
Once you have removed your clips and hardware, it’s time for some pre-scrubbing.
Check your shoes for any areas that need to be pre-scrubbed such as the soles or stained areas. I used a Clorox Gel Bleach Pen and an old toothbrush to get most of the deep stains and discoloration removed. Of course, if you have dark or colored shoes you won’t want to use bleach, but I would recommend using a little bit of dishwasher detergent on the toothbrush bristles to help remove stains and scrub.
Note: Do not use any type of foaming soap or detergent unless it is made for a dishwasher! Tide to Go is also a great option to remove stains from colored shoes.
You can also use dishwasher detergent and a toothbrush to clean scuffs off of the leather areas of your shoes. My other secret weapon for removing scuff marks is the Mr. Clean Magic Eraser. They really are magical! I use Magic Erasers on everything from shoes, to walls, and laptops!
Once you have spot treated any visible stains, it’s time to put those babies in the dishwasher and watch some serious magic happen. Place your shoes on the bottom rack of the dishwasher, upside down and the removable soles in the racks next to them. Set your dishwasher to delicate and turn off heated drying cycle. Heated drying can shrink your shoes, as well as damage and weaken the faux leather or vinyl areas of your fancy shmancy kicks.
My favorite dishwasher detergent is Mrs. Meyer’s Clean Day in Geranium. I love Mrs. Meyer’s products because they use mainly naturally derived ingredients, minimal chemicals (only for efficiency of cleanliness), and smell absolutely delightful! Read more about Mrs. Meyer’s Product philosophy here! If you haven’t tried their Basil Hand Soap, you must. I get most of my Mrs. Meyer’s products at Target and Whole Foods.
Once you remove your shoes from the dishwasher, lay them out in the sun to dry for the rest of the day, or until completely dry! You will be left with sparkly clean shoes that look brand spanking new and smell flowery fresh! I mean… check out how clean and white they are now!
I hope that you found this useful for cleaning any types of workout shoes, or shoes in general! Of course, always read and inspect your shoes to make sure they are safe to put in water beforehand. Most will be just fine, but you won’t want to put your leather Top Siders in the dishwasher. Ha!
Health & Happiness
xo Catherine
This years Fit Trends Expo took place at the stunning 
After check-in I finally got to meet Monica from 
After check-in, we began a warmup routine led by Venus Williams on our fresh Jamba Juice yoga mats!
Once the warmup concluded, we went straight into our first workout of the day: 
Check out Venus following along with POUND founders 
Katy from 
This picture describes it all. We were asked to walk across the room while hooping. I love the concentration from Gillian (
Monica from 
I had a tofu wrap with spinach, garlic hummus, bell peppers, and sun-dried tomatoes and a colorful salad with pistachios and goat cheese. After lunch, we headed inside for a Q&A session with Venus Williams and fitness mogul Jake Steinfeld of Body by Jake.
You will never guess Venus’ least favorite things: broccoli & planks. Sounds like a blog name haha.
Jake had so much charisma and made us laugh multiple times. He was precious! Once the Q&A session ended, we went outside to do a taste testing game!
We were each given 4 different Jamba Juice smoothies and had to match them to the correct smoothie name/ingredient list!
I had to share a picture of my epic Emoji nails for the event. I printed and cutout fruit Emojis and put them on my nails. I thought it was perfect for Jamba Juice!
After the Fit Trends Expo 2014 concluded, we got to take pictures with the beautiful Venus. She’s wearing her own line 
You know a RFFMBT blog post just wouldn’t be complete without a healthy recipe, so here is my slimming smoothie for those cutoff shorts at Stagecoach and bikinis by the pool! This smoothie is a complete “Rabbit Food” approved meal with the perfect balance of fruit (produce), whole grain, protein, and plant-based fat! Chobani Simply 
Of course the weekend was filled with tons of skinny margaritas! My friend Julia used her 
On Friday morning we went to 
After brunch we went back to the hues and relaxed before getting ready for our first day at Stagecoach.
Of course I found “Southern Fried Vegan” within seconds of entering the venue. Love that they have vegan food and even gluten free options! How cool is that?
Day two started with 1 Tbsp of 
We hangout by the pool and sipped on skinny margs while getting our tan on before heading out for days two of the festival.
Day two outfits! The temperature was expected to drop to the low 60’s, so we all went with jeans and sweaters. Never thought that would happen at Stagecoach, where it’s usually in the 100’s during this time of year!
I am addicted too roasted corn, so I had a hay day (ha ha ha) with it! I made my poor friends walk the entire perimeter of the venue (which is huge) until we found corn haha. And it was SO worth it!
Day three outfits! I got my dress from 
On the last day I found a smoothie stand with rest fruit smoothies and young coconuts!
Coconut water on a hot desert day? I die. So perf.
Andddd you can bet I ate more corn in the last day!
Such a fun weekend, I can’t wait for next year!
Gift with purchase guarding all of the packages! Just kidding, you can’t have him, I am obsessed with my little nugget, Teddy!
I went to a local grocery store called Gower’s Direct and loaded up on fresh produce to make juices and smoothies. Their prices are unreal! All of this was $20.06! 2 ruby red grapefruits, 1 oro blanco grapefruit, 4 lemons, bunch of 6 bananas, 10 Fuji apples, ginger root, 5 bunches of kale, 2 bunches of celery, 1 pineapple, and 4 cucumbers!
I made tons of juice all week long. One of my favorites is my Sweet Cucumber Lime Juice!
I also went to Las Vegas with a few of my best friends for a little weekend getaway. It’s only a 4 hour drive from Southern California, so it’s fun to go for a weekend. We got to ride “
I’m still spinning 6 days a week at 
My friend Brett’s cat, Tuna is never impressed with my hard work at spin. hahaha.
Still obsessed with Pitaya Bowls from 
Andddd still obsessed with avocado with salt, pepper, and lemon juice, mashed onto whole wheat toast!
Last weekend I went to my friends Brett & Kayleigh’s wedding! Here is a photo from the big day with my other friends Brett, Michael, and Kevin!
Last Sunday was my sister’s first bridal shower! Yes, you read that right, she is having multiple showers because she is extremely loved! haha. Not to toot my own horn, but toot toot, I totally nailed it on that ribbon bouquet that she will use for her wedding rehearsal! Maid of Honor extraordinaire!
My mom’s friends threw the most gorgeous shower. I cannot even begin to tell you how lucky and blessed my family is to have such wonderful friends. My mom’s friends always give my sister and I so much love!