Tonight's post was inspired by an article I read recently on social media listing reasons why you shouldn't wear shoes inside the house.
Now I know for some of you this probably sounds absurd! The majority of our friends and family allow shoes inside the house. In fact, throughout my entire life I can only think of a total of 2 houses I have ever been to that requested that their guests remove their shoes before walking around inside their home. So as you see, this was not a tradition or anything that Colt and I grew up with. Quite honestly, I don't exactly remember how Colt and I decided this. It's not like we discussed this topic while house hunting 3 years ago. All I can remember, is that once we found the house we wanted to purchase, it's like we both knew instantly and agreed that our house, that we would make into a home, would be one without the wearing of shoes inside.
I am a little on the OCD side. Colt and I both are very sanitary and do everything in our power to keep germs at bay. Colt deals with quite a bit of allergy issues and therefor, not wearing shoes inside the house seemed like the most logical thing to do in our home. I once read somewhere that Good Morning America did some kind of test and found that, "The bottoms of shoes were dirtier than toilet seats!" That has always stuck with me. When you think about it, it makes perfect sense. If you really think about it, our shoes literally step everywhere! Our shoes step in water, oil, gas, animal waste or droppings, gum, vomit, mud, bars, daycares, schools, parking lots, bathrooms... the list goes on and on! Yuck! We just couldn't fathom stepping in all these things then bringing all that dirt, bacteria and germs into our home and stepping everywhere in the house. So you see, our decision was made for us.
Just a few of our shoes lined up in our foyer by our front door.
From day one we have taken off our shoes once walking inside the front door. We've asked for our guests to remove their shoes before entering inside our humble little abode. Now I know this is an unexpected and sometimes uncomfortable request for some of our guests. If you've visited our home then you already know our rules. If you haven't visited our home yet, we usually try to give our guests advance notice regarding our request. That way, if our guests are uncomfortable with walking around barefoot, they are able to make appropriate accommodations. For example, we have loved ones who prefer to walk around in socks, we've had guests bring their own house slippers and we have had some guests who prefer to have had a pedicure before taking off their shoes in front of others. Our home is always open for the ones we love and we want all our guests to be happy and comfortable however, this is one thing we haven't budged on.
Now you may have asked yourself, "Well, what happens when Terminix or painters or the AT&T U-verse guy or home repair guys or the insurance adjuster comes over?" Simple. We also ask them to remove their shoes. Even the washer and dryer guys and the men who delivered our refrigerator as well as the men who mounted our tv when we first moved in were asked to remove their shoes. You'd be surprised to find out that most of these people bring little booties to place over their shoes when they walk into a house. They don't automatically put them on and wear them, but once we asked them to remove their shoes, they willingly do so or the majority will walk back to their van and get their booties. The booties look like scrubs doctors wear for surgery. It's perfect!
Don't get me wrong though, being diligent about not wearing shoes in the house can also be a pain in the neck! For example, our shoes for just us two, will pile up by the front door, back door and garage door quickly!!! Before you know it, there are 654795025 shoes that are out and need to be taken back to our closets to be put away. It is quite a task. Colt and I always have the best intentions of taking our shoes back up to our closets at the end of the day, but we usually forget or are just too tired and lazy and put it off for tomorrow. Thus, the shoes eventually start piling up. There have been a few occasions where I have had to get a laundry basket to pile all our shoes into so that I can take them back upstairs and put them away. Also, it can be quite annoying when you've already put on your shoes and tied them, or put on your boots and realized you left something upstairs. In that case I usually call out to Colt and beg him to bring down the item I forgot. If it's just me in the house, then it's a huge hassle and a few unladylike words may come out. It's especially annoying if this happens AND I'm already running late! Grrr! First world problems! Haha!
I also vacuum and steam clean our floors as often as I can. Between our hectic work schedules and school schedules, we don't always get this chore accomplished weekly. I don't know if the shoe thing has anything to do with it, but I can honestly say that Colt and I hardly get sick. I was sick for the first time in 2015 back in December and I work with 5 and 6 year olds daily! (I am also a firm believer in frequent hand washing!)
All our family and friends that come over are always very obliging to remove their shoes, and for this we thank you. We appreciate that you love and care for us so much that you respect our wishes.
If you are interested in reading the article I read on social media and the reasoning behind not wearing shoes inside the house, you can do so here. Good Housekeeping published an article regarding reasons not to wear shoes inside the house. You can find that article here. My favorite quote from this article is, "When you remove your shoes, you're subconsciously telling your brain that you're done for the day and it's relaxation time. Go ahead, you deserve it." If you google this topic, you can find some other pretty cool reads.
Just a few shoes by the back door. We are getting better about not leaving as many shoes out!
Floors are not more important than people and we want all our guests to feel welcome and comfortable in our home so we do have new socks for guests to use if they prefer. Emily Post Institute says that removing your shoes is something you can ask of guests so in that case it's a win-win! Hah!
Thanks for respecting our wishes and our home! We love you all!
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