At my house, we have a shoeless policy. Everyone takes off their shoes before they come inside.
Prior to having children, this is something that would have never even crossed my mind. “Sex and the City” (anyone remember “Sex and the City”???) did an episode about Carrie attending a baby shower at a friend’s apartment with such a policy, only to have her Molonano Balanics stolen. Legal Disclaimer – if you own a pair of Manolo Blahniks, please do not wear them over to my house. I cannot be held responsible for the safety of your insanely expensive shoes. Years ago when I watched that episode, I completely related with Carrie. What lunatic makes you take off your shoes?
Flash forward 2013 when my daughter was born, and that lunatic is now me. Once your little one becomes mobile, with those sweet little hands on the floor, and subsequently, in their mouth, it makes you think twice about wearing those old gym shoes in the kitchen. I would never let my kids crawl around on the grocery store floor, for example, so why would I wear shoes in the house that just walked in said grocery store? I’m by no means a germaphobe. Kids should eat a little dirt now and then, just not off my hardwood floors!
Sans shoes really wasn’t too difficult to implement. We just put a shoe rack at the top of our garage steps, easy peasy. I have a pair of flip-flops handy in case I need to go out in the garage for something. And who says you can’t teach an old dog new tricks? My husband has no problem with taking his shoes off. He agrees with my logic and appreciates the end result of cleaner floors.
For guests that don’t know the shoe rule, I have prominently displayed an Etsy hand-painted sign that reads “Because little hands touch our floor, please leave your shoes at the door.” Cute, right? Apparently not.
After recently moving to our new house, we threw our first party. I prominently displayed the shoe sign on the front door for those that had never been to my house before. Guests politely complied, as a pile of shoes lay by the door. One individual came inside with their shoes on. I explained that we have a shoes free house but apparently this offended this individual’s dignity and honor. I might as well have insulted their mama! I thought I was going to have to forcefully remove their shoes. The shoes were finally taken off with an audible huff, but it was a weird exchange that I thought was unnecessary. And for the record, the shoes in question were definitely not Manolo Blahniks!
Am I militant about the shoe thing? Yes. But that’s just my personality. Once I commit to something, I’m all in. So, you’ve all been warned. Please leave your shoes and attitude at the door!
Until next time, I’d love to hear what you think about my barefoot brouhaha. Does anyone out there have a shoe-free home? Any Carrie’s out there that think being asked to remove your shoes is offensive and borderline OCD?
