OVERSHOES Box for Overshoes.—Take up the boards from the back doorstep, cleat and hinge them, and make a box un derneath for the family rubbers.
Or make a shoe pocket to hang on the back of the outside door. Take a piece of any old waste material the width of the door, fold it upon itself about two thirds of the width, and stitch pockets on the sewing machine of a suitable width and number for the family overshoes. Turn a head ing at the top, through which run a curtain stick, and attach brass rings to the top to hang it up by. Line the pockets, if desired, with oilcloth to facilitate washing.
Care of Overshoes.—Wash the dirt from rubber overshoes with a wet sponge. It will tend to rot them if left to dry on. After the newness has worn off, apply an ordinary paste polish, the same as for leather.
To Dry Rubber Boots.—If rubber boots become wet on the inside, heat oats or coarse sand or newspapers crumpled until they are quite soft.
Fill the boots with any of these. Repeat if necessary.
To Mend Rubbers.—If shoes are allowed to run down at the heel, overshoes will quickly wear out in the heel. To prevent this, replace the heels of shoes promptly.
Or glue a little crumpled paper in the heel of the overshoe. If the heel wears out when the rest of the over shoe is good, it can be mended by a shoe repairer for about five cents a heel. Or anyone can mend it by means of rubber cement. Cut a patch from an old overshoe. Rub the patch and the shoe with sand paper to get a clean surface. Apply rubber cement thickly to both patch and shoe and let the cement dry. Do this four or five times. Then apply ts last coat and put on the patch while the cement is still tacky. Let dry under a weight.