The August Shoe Cupboard Clear-Out

August is the month the shoe cupboard stops making sense. The winter boots are still in there. The sandals are a size too small. Somewhere near the back is a pair that was bought in a hurry in June and worn twice.

This is a good ten minutes to spend before the weather turns and you buy the wrong thing in a rush.

Everything out, onto the floor

Every pair, including the ones in the hall, the car and the bag by the back door. You cannot judge a cupboard you cannot see.

Then sort into three piles, and be quick about it. Keeps, maybes, and gone.

The four checks that decide the pile

1. Length. Press a thumb in front of the longest toe with your child standing in the shoe. Less than a fingertip of space and it is finished, however new it looks. If you have not measured recently, do that first, it takes two minutes: how to measure your baby's feet.

2. Width. Pull the insole out and stand the foot on it. Toes over the edge means gone, even if the length is fine. There is more on this in wide feet, narrow feet.

3. The sole. Look at the tread under the ball of the foot. Worn smooth is worn out. On a wet pavement in October that is not a small thing.

4. The fastening. Hook-and-loop that no longer grips is the most common reason a good pair stops staying on, and it is the most common reason a shoe goes missing on the way home. That is covered in why baby shoes come off.

What actually gets used between now and October

In this country, September is not autumn and it is not summer either. What you want is one pair that copes with both.

• A closed-toe summer shoe that still fits. Warm days are not finished, and a new walker scuffs their toes into the ground constantly. More on that in sandals or bare feet.
• One everyday pair with a proper sole. The workhorse. Breathable, bends where the foot bends, fastens twice.
• Something for indoors. Nursery floors are cold long before the heating goes on. A sock shoe or grip sock does this without adding structure.

That is three pairs. Not eight.

Clean the keepers now, not in October

Sand and salt water are abrasive and they do not improve with three months in a dark cupboard. Rinse, brush, dry slowly and away from the radiator. The full method, and the drying mistake that separates the sole from the upper, is in how to clean baby shoes.

Measure before you buy anything

Feet in the first two years can gain a full size in eight weeks, and a summer of being barefoot at home tends to hide it. Measure both feet standing, in the late afternoon, and buy for the longer one with about a centimetre of growing room.

Our size guide shows foot length and insole length side by side, so you can see exactly how much room you are buying rather than guessing at it.

And do not buy the winter boots yet

It is tempting while you are in the mood. Do not. Whatever you buy in August will be measured against a foot that is going to be bigger by the time it is cold, and the fit is the whole thing. When it is actually time, this is what to look for.

For now, the everyday pair is the one worth getting right. Our first walkers and baby sneakers all list foot length in centimetres, so you can match a measurement rather than a guess.