Needless to say, we all have different procedures and opinions about how to take care of boots and blades. I had one pair of boots for about 12 years, used for thousands of hours of ice time, and some blades for many years and over a thousand hours - but I took care of both fairly well, as explained below. Also, I am not in the very highest humidity type of climate, and do not live in a corrosive environment, like near a salt-sea shore or desert.
There is a difference between protecting your boots from rot, and protecting the blades from rust.
I don't have trouble with my boots, because I leave them out to air dry. I NEVER put them in a bag, suitcase, Zuca, car trunk, etc., with the possible rare exception of an open mesh bag. If I use that open bag, I never put anything else in it wet, e.g., a towel, shirt, etc.
I regularly seal my outsoles with Sno-Seal, so they don't rot. Some people here use Silicone.
I sometimes now play rink-guard on a water-covered outdoor rink. The boots sometimes get soaking wet. Then I dry the boots with a towel too. I do worry that much water could make my boots eventually rot. I haven't got a really good solution to that.
The same would apply if my feet sweat a lot.
I used to heat-dry ski boots used in mixed wet/snow conditions, but I'm not sure my skate boots are quite as heat resistant. I think if you used boot driers limited to 99 degrees (about body temperature), like some of the Dry Guy brand driers, you would be pretty safe - but they wouldn't dry very fast. I've used them some, mostly to keep the boots warm in transit, because I don't like cold feet, but not much to dry them.
I dry my blades with a towel completely immediately after skating. Before applying soakers. That way, the soakers don't get wet, and I can leave them on. But if I am going to store the blades for more than a couple days, I take the soakers off. If for some reason, I have to apply the soakers while the blades are wet, I take them off as soon as I can, and use a second pair of completely dry soakers, when transporting them in the car, because moving around might scratch the edges. If the environment was dirty, I would leave the second pair on to keep out the dirt.
Soakers and other blade guards need to be cleaned! Dirt can destroy your edges very fast, especially if you walk on them, even in guards.
I used to oil the blades after drying them if it would be more than a couple days before I skated again, which prevented rust even more. But with stainless steel (Ultima Matrix) blades, that isn't needed - for me. If I lived in an even more humid climate than DC (where it rains almost every summer day, but it eventually goes down - and I bring the boots inside, where we have a de-humidifier), perhaps I still would, because there is no such thing as a completely stainless steel. When I used non-stainless-steel blades (such as most MK and Wilson blades), I oiled the blades after every skate.
I used to oil boots with Lexol once in a while, back when I had single-layer leather boots. But with multi-layer coated boots, you can really only oil the inside - if that.
If I lived near the sea shore, I would wash the blades before drying them, and store the blades in a second pair of extra-dry soakers. Because the salt in the air makes ANY steel rust really, really fast, even marine grade steels. Especially the "high carbon stainless" steels used in stainless steel skating blades. I've had even marine-grade steel bolts in and around marine environments rust completely. (I've sea kayaked, and camped on beaches...) Though skating in indoor rinks probably doesn't expose them to as much salt as skating outside would.
I handle my blades carefully, and so do not need cut protection for my hands. I understand that isn't possible for some people. For example, if you like to bounce the boots in your lap, or you carry the boots in such a way that they cut you. I carry my boots upside down, with my hands between the mounting plates, and the tops of the blades - which aren't sharp. (Of course that means the weight of the boots is supported by the mounting plate screws, so they have to be mounted well.)
I also use soakers lined with Kevlar at the bottom, which last longer - I can walk on the rubber mats just outside ice rinks a little using them on the blades. I sometimes prefer them to plastic blade guards, because they fit in my coat pockets, so don't get stolen. In principle, walking on your blades on the rubber mats wears down the blades much more quickly than skating, and can also bend the edge to the side, which makes them skid a lot; so using soakers or other guards is a big deal. Though I confess I sometimes don't bother anymore - I don't keep my blades as sharp as I used to. Plus, as a part-time rink guard, and volunteer-instructor, I sometimes don't have time to do everything right, because I sometimes have to get on and off the ice too quickly and often to do that. Many coaches have the same issue. The careful handling you can do as an amateur isn't always practical as a pro.
My blades also last as long as they do in large part because I don't let professional sharpeners touch them. I sharpen my own, carefully, using purpose-built hand tools. That way, I remove less steel with every sharpening.
I use boot covers when practicing lunges. I also try to do what Isk8NYC said about touching down on the side of the boot, not on the blade - because I was taught that letting the blade touch on a lunge is bad form. OTOH, the underpush of a progressive or crossover is supposed to progress from the blade to sliding on the side of the boot. So my boot covers wear out fast. I never tried skate tape. Probably should.
BTW, the biggest factor in boot life is probably how well they fit. If there is room for movement inside the boot (other than sliding forward and back ABOVE the ankle, when you flex and point, boots break down very fast. I work very hard at getting a perfect fit.
Finally, I'm not a great skater. I don't jump very high, or rotate very fast. Real skaters sometimes break their blades, and I never have.
P.S. This is what I do. Other people, as you can see, do other things. You will have to make your own compromises with time, cost, and reality. I go further to protect my gear than most people. Kids who don't pay for their own equipment, and adults with a lot of money, are often pretty careless with their equipment.