Shoes On, Shoes Off

Is your house shoes on or shoes off indoors? I know there are people who think it's nuts but I have a shoes off inside house and I even have a little heart-shaped sign on the front door informing guests to, "Please remove shoes." Not that everyone pays attention to my little heart-shaped sign but it's there. In plain sight.

My house has been this way for about 30 years now. I'm not a strict enforcer. It's not like I tell people to take their shoes off if they don't. I also do not expect anyone to remove their shoes when I'm hosting an oyster roast or shower or birthday party and there are 20+ people in attendance. Yes, I'm all over the floors when everyone leaves with a good dose of thieves oil cleaner and the steamer but I don't freak out about shoes being worn inside the house. However, being the germaphobe I am, when people do remove their shoes while inside it calms my anxiety about that particular issue. No one in the family wears shoes in the house and they are the most frequent fliers so it works out ok.

I was a bit more insistent when there were babies crawling around on the floors and I really didn't give a hoot what anyone thought about it because the babies come first here. Always have, always will.

Admittedly, there are some whose shoes are probably cleaner than someone's bare feet around here but that's another story altogether. I considered buying a box of little slippers for people to change into but those things were ridiculously expensive so I took a hard pass on that idea (thanks anyway, Martha Stewart.) I don't even want to tell y'all the bacteria that was found on the bottom of shoes by a professor of microbiology and environmental sciences at the University of Arizona but I will---
fecal bacteria (pet waste and splashes from public restroom floors) and E. coli. Those are two types of bacteria I do not care to have on my floors if I can avoid it which I feel I can by being a shoes off indoors person.

This professor also said shoes pick up mold and pollen and with the allergies we have in this family, it's best to keep our shoe wearing outside. 

I do realize there are little organisms on our socks and bare feet as well but not nearly as many as attach to and frolic around on our shoes. And I do believe things can get out of hand when we try to keep our houses sterile which I do not do. But I think keeping the bacterial partiers down to a manageable number or not purposefully increasing their numbers is not a bad thing. It's not like I wrapped the kiddos up in bubbles. And yes, we've had cats and dogs the whole time but my head tells me they don't spread as much nasty as our shoes do and no, it's not science-based it's I'm-keeping-my-dog-and-I'm-taking-my-shoes-off-anyway-so-shut-up based. 😂

It probably helps that it's either hot or super warm most of the year down here in the low-country of SC so we basically kick our shoes off to cool our feet anyway. And there is no carpet in my house so those little icky things can't fester as much. Except when people step on the area rugs. Sigh.

I could be wrong but the bottom line is this, I'm not a shoe person and I prefer dirt to remain outside as much as possible. I'm not anal about the shoes off/shoes on (except with my family) so I won't make you remove your shoes if you come for a visit but I'll appreciate it if you do and I most certainly will leave mine on or take them off according to your preference in your home.

So, tell me friends, what's your take on wearing shoes indoors? Is your home shoes on or shoes off?

AND---

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