Remove Your Shoes At The Door

With the outbreak of viruses and the flu season comes the fear of getting attacked with malignant things we sure do not want living in our body system.  Want one of the many solutions to this? Simply remove your shoes at the door.  Yes, it might sound simple and common sense, yet so many people/ families don’t do it.  This simple action at the entering of your home can save you from so many troubles.  

Examples: Listed in no particular order of importance

• Keeps the dirt out of your home and where it belongs (in the street) along with any other microorganisms/bacteria that may infect the house upon entering. 
• The reason you wear shoes in public is to spare your delicate feet from dirt, grime bacteria etc, to begin with. So why bring it into your home? 
• Dirt out? Clean house.  Well, for the most part.  Sure the home gets dirty with factors other than dirt & dust making them not the only culprits, but they sure play a huge role.
• Less cleaning.  Notice how most of the time the urge one gets to want to clean comes not only from the visible mess but by what’s on our floors. If your floors need a scrub know that it will be because your toddler (if you have one) dropped some spaghetti sauce all over it or because the dust particles collecting on your blinds can’t keep themselves there. Jajaja! So use preventative measures.
• It will keep your carpets/rugs dramatically cleaner.  

Have more bullet points? Comment down below, I’m happy to expand on this.

Now, in order to make the change easy, have some shoe storage accessible to you as it will make transitioning your shoes from your feet to their “home” a lot easier. 

Shoe Storage

• Baskets
• Shoe shelve or cabinet

• Bench seat with storage for shoes or other miceleanous things

Keep your soft, cozy (or your favorite pairs to wear at home) slippers by the door so that is the first thing you wish to put on upon entering. 

How to Ask Guests to take Off their Shoes?

Perhaps you do not want to directly (with your voice) tell someone “Please take off your shoes” because it might be too much really, and I agree to some extent.  But you can definitely have your guest gather the idea on their own.  Check out these tips:

• Hang a frame with a formal sign “Please remove Shoes” at the entry way and accompany it with other bits & pieces so that it is not the only random sign around (Make it part of the decor). (This would be a great add on to a gallery wall) Make sure it is big enough to read.

• Keep a basket of your own shoes and an empty one by the door so they know to take off theirs & that they actually have a place to store it just like they would store their winter Jacket for instance.
• Say it with a Mat.  Make or buy a welcome mat that portrays this message.

HERE  you can find a very nice tutorial on how to create your very own personalized door mats.  

If all fails and your guests do not get the message, I say let it slide, after all they are your guests and you want them to feel content at your house plus no biggie right, you can always clean after if you are truly concerned (maybe it was raining or snowing outside?) 

Ps- I know getting the family to change habits is quite difficult (I am still trying to convince my brother who doesn’t even live at my apartment to remove his shoes at the door) <—- I think he is just lazy to untie his laces to have to tie them again later on.  (Urghhh, lazy people) Hmmm, I’m kinda lazy too but I attempt to strive.  

Do you already do this or are planning on doing so?