Please, No Shoes

What do cowboys and samurai warriors have in common?

Neither of them would dain to step foot into someone’s home without first removing their shoes.  Besides the obvious dirt shoes track inside, there are more insidious, invisible guests that tag along on the soles of all our shoes.  A study from researchers at the University of Arizona found 9 different species of bacteria on the bottoms of people’s shoes, including coliform (from fecal waste), E. coli and Staphyloccus aureus (good ol’ Staph infections).  To make matters even worse, 90% of those germs were transferred to the floors when shoes were worn inside.

We wear shoes to protect our feet.  Admittedly, for some of us, it’s more about fashion than function.  We would never walk barefoot in a public restroom, in a hospital or a gas station.  Our shoes bravely barricade our feet from the germs in those dirty locations.  The problem is those germs hop along for the ride.  Bacteria can live for 1-3 days without food, but food usually gets onto our soles too.  It’s revolting, but our shoes are mobile motels for bacteria, even if you sport Christian Louboutins (In that case you’re the Ritz Carlton for germs.).

If you have a baby at home, you know two things: they spend most of their waking lives on the floor and their hands are constantly in their mouths.  Even the best housekeeper can’t eliminate these germs if they are brought in with every step wer take.

As disgusting as this problem is, the solution is simple and obvious.  Embrace the no-shoes home.  Make a point to remove your shoes right at the front door and ask your guests to do so the same.  If they hesitate, you can always inform them of the scary facts you have just learned. 

In order to be gracious and to keep your home clean, set up an area to store shoes, such as a small shelf or a storage bin.  Family members should keep a pair of indoor-only shoes, socks or slippers, so they can swap out their shoes at the front door a la Mr. Rogers.  Keeping a few pairs of inexpensive and meticulously cleaned guest slippers in your foyer is also important.  Every home in Japan has these available for visitors.

If you don’t have a big foyer, or any foyer at all, you can add a piece of storage furniture for this purpose.  We had to do this in our home.  Each family member has a bin to store his or her shoes, as well as a guest bin.  The top drawers provide us with a landing pad to place our keys, wallets and sunglasses when we walk inside. 

It does take a little effort to remove shoes at the door, but that effort is counterbalanced by less dirt to clean off your floors.