One of my sweetest students gave me the Coach lanyard pictured above.  She was the last of three siblings that I had watched grow up, and each time I pull it out of my purse I think of that dear family and say a little prayer for them.  Unfortunately, I’d never had such a nice ID tag holder before, so I didn’t realize that I should have been taking better care of that leather strap.  As you can see in the photo below, the strap shows a great deal of wear and tear even though I’ve only used it for one year!  It cracked, even peeled in some areas.   The state of this leather strap made me concerned for the other leather in my life.  What about my adorable Tieks, or my husband’s favorite recliner?  It’s time to act!  If you have some well-loved leather, restore it to rich beauty with a few simple steps.  First, make sure you use a high-quality, gentle cleanser like this one we received from  Leather Nova.  I like this environmentally friendly one because it’s formulated using non-toxic ingredients, and it’s made in the USA.

Start by using the cleanser to wipe away stains and marks.  Notice how dull this recliner leather looks!  That’s from years of being happily used (and abused) in our home.  I sprayed the Leather Nova cleaner directly onto the leather seat, but you could also spray it on a soft, non-abrasive cloth.  Gently rub in circular movements, making sure that you cover all surfaces.  I could tell where I’d wiped because the leather recliner was so worn; it’s already showing dry areas like the lanyard. Oh no!

Next, use a high-quality leather conditioner.  We used the soft foam applicator that came with this bottle, but you can also use a brush or sponge.  Immediately, the beautiful red raspberry shade was restored to this recliner!  The results were instant.  You’ll need to allow your leather to dry after the conditioning process.  After one hour, you just rub away any excess conditioner that might appear.  It’s so simple!   For an even easier one-step process, you can find the Leather Conditioner + Cleaner on Leather Nova’s site.  Our recliner looked wonderful after just one use.  Over spring break, I’ll tackle the rest of our leather furniture. Since it’s a considerable investment, leather furniture must be well cared for!

If your leather is starting to show its wear, take care of it.  Through this process, I learned that leather should be cleaned and conditioned once a month for optimal results.   Love your leather, too, and keep it looking its best by showing it some TLC on a regular basis.   Do you have leather shoes, purses, or furniture that could benefit from Leather Nova?