Write an article based on this "Put your shoes on. Mark your laces. Cut the laces. Consider cutting length from middle of the lace."
While you can eyeball how much of the laces you want to cut off, it's usually best to try on your shoes to see how much excess lace there is on each side. Tie your shoes as you normally would for the most comfortable fit, and take note of how long the laces are so you can decide how much you want to remove. When you're trying to decide how much of the laces that you want to cut, think about how you prefer to tie your shoes. If you don't want to double knot the laces, tie them normally and see how much of the length you'll need to take off on each side. You'll need to know exactly where to cut the laces, so it helps to mark them at the right spot. Use a felt tip pen to draw lines on each end of the laces to indicate the excess that you want to remove. You can leave your shoes on when you mark the laces, but it's often easier to use a ruler to determine how many inches you want to remove from each end with the shoes on and then remove the laces to mark them. Shoelaces come in standard sizes, such as 30-, 40-, or 54-inches, so once you figure out how much excess there usually is on your shoes, you'll know where to mark laces of the same length in the future. They're usually fairly easy to cut, so any household scissors should do the trick. However, you'll want to make sure that it's a sharp pair to minimize fraying when you cut the laces. Follow the marks that you made to ensure that you cut at the right spot. Don't cut all of the excess off one end of the lace. You'll wind up with one finished end and one unfinished end, so they won't match when you relace your shoes. Instead of trimming the excess from each end of the lace and having to finish the ends, you can opt to take out the extra length from the center. You'll wind up with two pieces that each have an aglet at one end, so you only have to tie them together to create a single lace. Try on the shoes, use a ruler to see how much extra there is on each side, add the numbers together, and cut that amount for the middle of the lace. Tie the pieces of the lace together as tightly as possible, and secure it further by applying a small amount of instant glue to the knot and allowing it to dry. If there is any excess lace outside the knot, make sure to trim it away. You can also sew the two pieces together.