• Pack of shoe polish
  Buy some REAL shoe polish, not some instant crap. It has to stink like shoe polish (the more it stinks, the better quality it is). Shoe polish has to be soft and it has to rub in your shoes well (and it mustn't rub off and stain your pants). Pick the colour that matches your shoe colour best (Doctor Marten's makes a shoe polish for every shoe colour they make plus their polish is far better than their shoes, perfect shoe polish if you ask me). Buy it in a metal, not plastic, can (explained later).

This is what good shoe polish looks like.

• Piece of cloth
  An old cotton sock or anything, just cloth, used for applying shoe polish in small amounts.

• Nice long strip of some fine cloth or deerskin
  A long (at least 50 cm X 15 cm) strip of fine cloth or deerskin is used to polish your shoes to perfection, to add a shiny reflection for better impression (if you like matte shoes you don't need this piece of equipment).

• Small hard brush
  A small hard brush is used for applying shoe polish in large amounts (anything from an old toothbrush to some fine natural hair brush will work).

• Medium sized hard brush
  A medium sized hard brush is used for dirt removal. It mustn't be too hard so it won't damage the shoes, but it should be pretty stiff if you live in a muddy area.

• Big soft brush
  A big soft brush is used for initial polishing, it should be made out of natural bristles.

1. Take your dirty muddy shoes, and leave them to dry (you can't brush off mud, just dirt, so give it an hour or so to dry up)
2. Remove the shoe laces, brush off the dirt with a medium sized hard brush. You shouldn't have any shoe polish on the dirt brush, and it's a very bad idea to apply the shoe polish over the dirt. Brush it over an old newspaper or anything, or do it outside (you don't want to mess up the house, do you?).
3. Once the shoes are 100% dirt free, open your pack of shoe polish and use a small cloth to apply small amounts of imaline (shoe polish) on your shoes. Distribute it evenly, and give special attention to places where the wrinkles are forming. Do not put too much polish, it will rub off later on everything. If your shoes are new and they are soaking up water forget about the first part, take a small hard brush and give them loads and loads of shoe polish (it will make them more water resistant). It's a good idea to use the brush every time on hard-to-reach places like the place there the upper part of the shoe meets the sole (the welt).

Applying the imaline.

4. Let the shoe polish dry. You'll note an oily reflection on your shoes when you apply the imaline, then as it dries the shoes become matte. If you are happy with that colour just brush the excess imaline with a soft brush and you're finished.
5. If you want to really "polish" the shoes, first brush off the excess shoe polish with the soft brush and polish them as much as you can with that brush. Now put the shoe laces back, put your shoes on, take one end of the long strip of fine cloth into each hand and polish your shoes. Make long, fast swabs over the shoes, put some pressure... Cool, huh? If the shoe polish is good, you can almost see your reflection!

After the imaline dries (overnight or so), brush with the soft brush.

Now that's clean!

1. The excess shoe polish stays on the big soft brush. Every day when you put your shoes on, you can brush the dirt off, brush them a bit with the big brush (adding a bit of residue shoe polish) and polish them with the cloth. That way you have perfectly clean shoes every day and trouble yourself with the real cleaning once in a week.
2. An skill for advanced cleaners: you bought a metal can of imaline, right? For perfection set your shoe polish afire (stinks like hell), close the can to put out the flames open it again and quickly apply liquid and running imaline to your shoes with a cloth (really minimal amounts). After this, let it cool down and dry and DON'T brush the shoes, just polish them with a strip of cloth until your arms drop off (this won't have influence on the water resistance part, but you will have mirror-like shoes).
3. Some shoes have excellent welts (sole-shoe body) but still soak up water because the leather they are made of was not treated right in the factory. You can lessen this fault a lot with big amounts of shoe polish. Again, let it dry and then brush it off well so it won't stain your pants (the trick is that the leather gets soaked with some oils from the polish and the wax so it gets better protection form the elements).
4. The shoe polish prolongs the shoe's life span. It makes the leather softer and less prone to cracking.