We are shoe-free in our current apartment and have been for many years. We remove our shoes upon entering and most of our guests do the same without us asking because they know the rule. We live in the Tender Nob and the sidewalks near our building aren’t the cleanest–they are downright foul. Because we have carpet and I sit on the floor a lot, I didn’t want the dirt from outside tracked inside so that is why I instituted the No Shoe rule.
Lately, Mitch and I have been a little more lax about no shoes in the house. If we forget something in the living room for Izzy as we’re on our way out, we’ll just dash down the hall and grab it even though we have our shoes on.
After reading this article on Eco Child’s Play, we’re not allowed to be lazy anymore. Shoes come off. I don’t care how long it took to get Isadora ready for an errand.
When we move to the new place, I am going to be hyper-vigilant about no shoes. I’m going to buy house slippers for regular visitors. For less frequent visitors, they can run around in socks that I will have on hand and wash after each use. And for those few who really don’t want to take their shoes off (the cable guy, the plumber, etc), well they’re going to be putting plastic bags on their feet. I don’t care how ridiculous it makes them feel. I would love to get those shoe covers used in hospitals. I wonder if they’re available to the general public. I’ll have to conduct a Google search later.
Oh, and by the way, before you jump the gun and start railing me about how we need exposure to germs to build up our immune systems, blah, blah, blah. I’m totally in agreement. I don’t use antibacterial products. Plain soap and water will do just fine, thank you very much. I use hippy green cleaners when I clean the house, there is no need to use harsh chemicals that strip the environment of all living microbes. It’s just that when I know people use the sidewalk in front of my house as a toilet, and we walk on said sidewalk, I don’t want it tracked in my house where Isadora will no doubt be crawling and dropping and subsequently picking up and eating cheerios in the very near future.
Read the article and tell me if you still refuse to be a shoe free convert.
I think it is excellent that you have gone for the shoe-free option. It really does make a difference.
I have an whole blog dedicated to this subject. You might want to take a look.
I will bring you guys some from my lab. If you like them, I will burgle more.