I have had quite a few people ask me lately whether or not wearing shoes in the home makes a big difference. On a cleaning standpoint, I have seen a huge difference in my own home by eliminating outdoor shoes. You just don’t track dirt and debris in and onto your floor like you do when your wear your shoes inside. I have also read that getting rid of shoes at the door can actually keep you from getting sick. Researchers have found that our shoes play host to a variety of bacteria and germs. We walk around all day picking up a plethora of grime and drag it into our cars, homes and schools. Some of the bacteria they have seen on shoes are clostridium difficile (C-diff), E-Coli and klebsiella pneumoniae. All of these bacteria can make people very, very sick. Definitely not what we want!
Now that I have your attention, you are probably wondering what we tell guests that come over to our homes. I personally like to just play the cleaning card. Explain that you have been able to cut your cleaning down drastically by adopting a “no shoes in the house” policy. Most people can appreciate that and are quick to get behind the no shoes rule. During the holiday season, we tend to see a lot more foot traffic in our homes and it can be hard implementing this idea. Try one of these helpful tips and see if it makes things a bit easier:
- Offer guests clean socks from a designated clean sock basket
- Buy a box of surgical shoe covers that people can slip on over their shoes
- Mention to your guests ahead of time to bring their favorite pair of house slippers
- Or just simply have your guests go barefoot.
