Looking for a “shoes too big hack” to finally wear your loose fitting shoes? In this post, I listed several methods on how to make big shoes fit smaller.

Whether you are looking for ways to shrink down your running shoes, sneakers, or high heels, I listed several effective solutions that will work for most types of shoes.

Too wide shoes are annoying to wear, cause unnatural walking, and eventually lead to foot pain. Luckily for us, there are multiple solutions to fix a big shoe.

Without further ado, here’s how to make shoes that are too big fit!

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Ultimate Shoes Too Big Hack (How To Make Big Shoes Fit Smaller)

Not every shoes too big hack might work for you. Depending on which parts of your shoes are too big, one solution or a combination of two might work better for you. I’ve listed solutions that will work on most shoe types, not just running shoes or sneakers.

Each hack below targets a particular part of your shoe. For every idea, I also listed a product I felt had the most value for the cost. Fortunately, there are lots of quality affordable products to reduce the size your shoes, so no need to spend a great deal of money!

Before purchasing a product, I recommend wearing your loose fitting shoes out. Determine which part of your shoe is too big. Is it the toe or heel section? The whole thing? With this knowledge in mind, let’s look at some awesome budget shoe hacks and products!

Best Products For Shoes Too Big

1. Use A Heel Liner Cushion

One of the easiest solution to make big shoes fit smaller is to use a heel liner cushion. A heel liner cushion is cheap way to reduce the size of big shoes (you can get a set for less than $10!). All you need to do is take off the adhesive coverings and stick the heel liner cushions into the inside heel of your shoes.

Although cheap, a good heel liner cushion should stay put and feel comfortable. I recommend using this quality budget heel liner cushion from Amazon. If you experience heel pain from your shoes, this is the perfect double solution to resize your large shoes and also reduce pain.

As long as you have shoes that cover your heel, you can sneak in a heel liner cushion without detection. Try using a heel liner cushion for too big high heels, boots, sneakers, running shoes, etc.. This is a great idea on how to fix shoes that are too big in the heel!

Best Budget Heel Liner Cushion

Are your heels too big? This heel liner cushion is one best products for resizing large shoes. It comes in a pack of four pairs (two pairs in black and another two in pale apricot) for a low price.

This product has excellent grip so you don’t need to worry about your heel slipping when walking. These heel liner cushions are also easy to put in, have a strong adhesive, and are comfortable. If you are looking for an inexpensive solution to fix half sized up shoes, I highly recommend checking out this product.

2. Tighten Your Shoe Laces

Looking for tips on how to make shoes smaller without insoles? If you own laced shoes that are too wide, try tightening up your shoe laces as much as possible. This is an easy shoes too big hack to quickly adjust loose fitting shoes. Chances are, all you might need to do is tighten your shoe laces!

Tighten your laces securely, but comfortably. If your feet is sliding inside your shoes while walking, try other hacks from this list to prevent unnatural feet movement (like an insole).

3. Use An Insole

Not sure how to make big shoes fit smaller? Use an insole! A quality insole will not only provide better arch support for your feet, but also prevent feet sliding that commonly occurs with too wide shoes. A thick insole provides extra comfort for aching feet, while reducing the size inside your shoes for a better fit.

Some insoles are expensive, but you can still get a quality one for an affordable price on Amazon (like this fantastic memory foam insole). To tighten your shoes, I recommend placing the insole on top of your shoes’ original insoles.

Best Budget Comfortable Insole For Men And Women

This thick memory foam insole from Amazon is the perfect solution to tighten too big shoes. Not only is this insole affordable (less than $10!), but also comfortable under your feet. These insoles also have excellent cushioning to help reduce the size of your shoes, as well as, diminish foot pain.

Not sure if these insoles will fit inside your shoes? No worries! These memory foam insoles can be adjusted to three different sizes. The back of the insole has three cutting sizes so you can easily adjust the insole to a size that suits you best with scissors.

This is a great insole choice for running shoes and heavily used footwear. The insoles are made of a breathable material to help reduce moisture buildup inside your shoes. Perfect for preventing smelly shoes!

4. Use A Shoe Crease Protector

Another clever shoes too big hack is to use a shoe crease protector. Shoe crease protectors are shoe toe liners that help reduce wrinkles in sneakers, running shoes, and other types of shoes. They are comfortable enough to be worn inside your shoes and are also a great way to reduce toe slipping in loose fitting shoes.

If you own shoes that crease easily, I highly recommend using a shoe crease protector to preserve the look of your shoes by reducing wrinkles. Compared to other suggested shoe products from this list, shoe crease protector liners are thin. If your shoes are only slightly larger, try using a shoe crease protector to slightly tighten them.

However, if your shoes are a half size too big, I recommend using a product with more cushion, like a thick heel liner cushion or insole.

Best Budget Anti-Wrinkle Shoe Crease Protector

This anti-wrinkle shoe crease protector is an awesome budget option (around $10 for 4 pairs!). This listing comes with four pairs of crease protectors (two white pairs and two black ones).

These shoe crease protectors are comfortable, washable, slip-resistant, and breathable. They also are adjustable and have convenient cut lines so you can easily adjust the crease protectors to a size that suits you best.

If you are a shoehead who needs a comfortable, affordable shoe crease protector, you can’t go wrong with this product! Although thin, this crease protector is a great shoes too wide hack to slightly tighten toe shoe space and reduce toe slipping from loose shoes.

5. Shrink Your Shoes At Home

How do you make big shoes fit smaller at home for no cost? Trying shrinking your too wide shoes with heat and water. Here’s how:

Although this loose shoes hack will shrink most shoes, it is an unreliable method that might cause discoloration or cracking. Use this hack at your own risk. When you add water on your shoes, only slightly wet the surface (your shoes should not be damp!).

For best results (and to prevent heat/water damage), I recommend using shoe inserts for loosely fit shoes.

6. Use A Ball of Foot Cushion

If your shoes’ toe space is too large, try using a ball of foot cushion. A ball of foot cushion is an excellent shoes too big hack for shoes that have excess room in the toes. These types of cushions are inserted and adhered inside your shoes under your ball of foot (the area where your toes are attached to your foot).

Since ball of foot cushions are placed under your foot, you can use this adhesive insert in basically all types of shoes (running shoes, sneakers, high heels, etc.). However, I recommend using these types of shoe inserts with high heeled shoes instead of flat ones. Since ball of foot cushions will slightly elevate the front section of your feet, it might feel strange in flat shoes (although it will definitely still work). Instead, try wearing insoles for flats.

If you have loose fitting heels that need to be slightly tighten around the toes, try using a ball of foot cushion! A ball of foot cushion will also help reduce foot pain and feet slipping that common happen with wearing high heels! This is a great tip on how to make heels smaller!

Most Comfortable Ball of Foot Cushion

Looking for solutions on how to make big heels fit smaller? This ball of foot cushion set is an awesome choice for loose fitting high heels and shoes. It comes in a pack of two (two pairs of beige ball of foot cushions) for a great price. These ball of foot cushions are one sized fits all and should comfortably fit inside all shoe sizes.

Applying the cushions is easy. Simply peel back the adhesive protector and securely adhere them inside your shoes!

The height of these ball of foot cushions is around .12 inches or “4 stacked credit cards”. This is a great product to tighten loose shoes around the toe section. If you are looking for a quality ball of foot cushion, I highly recommend this product!

7. Wear Thicker Socks

Looking for a simple hack on how to make big shoes fit smaller? Wear thicker socks to fit into your shoes better! If you don’t have thick socks, you could try wearing two socks over each foot (for longterm use, however, I highly recommend investing in a pair of thick wool socks).

This is a great way to finally wear too wide shoes comfortably. If you live in a cold region, this is the perfect solution! I recommend wearing thick, breathable wool socks like these ones from Amazon, so your feet won’t get cold or sweat.

Best Thick Wool Sock Set

Looking for quality thick wool socks? Check out these Ebmore wool socks from Amazon. This set comes with 5 pairs of wool socks (multiple colors available!) for a decent price.

These socks are made of a blend of cashmere, merino wool, and cotton, making them durable, breathable, and soft. They are excellent at keeping your feet warm AND dry (the perfect thick socks for people who get sweaty feet). If you are a boot lover, these are excellent socks for boots.

These socks are definitely thick. I highly recommend these wool socks to add extra cushion inside any loosely fit shoes. If you are on the look out for a nice set of thick socks, you can’t go wrong with these ones.

8. Get Professional Help From A Shoe Cobbler

Although this is not really a shoes too big hack, a shoe cobbler is a reliable option to adjust loose fitting shoes. Since shoe cobbler services can be expensive, I recommend only going to one for high-end or sentimental shoes.

If you are looking for a budget solution to resize inexpensive pairs of running shoes or sneakers, try hacks from above instead.

Conclusion

I hope you found a helpful shoes too big hack from this post. Loose fitting shoes can be annoying (especially if it’s too late to return them). Thankfully, there are multiple shoe tricks to help reduce the size of too big shoes.

Above, I listed several hacks on how to make big shoes fit smaller. I listed several different solutions, so you can find a hack that best fits your shoe. Whether you are looking to shrink down the size of running shoes, sneakers, high heels, dress shoes, boots, etc., there is a solution for you. Be creative with your strategy!

I recommend walking around the block with your too wide shoes to determine what changes they’ll need. Isolate which sections of your shoes are too big and are causing problems for you. Then, work with one (or a combination) of these hacks to fix this problem.

Good luck!