15 Benefits Of Having A Shoe-Free Home - Page 9

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I used to think that households that didn’t allow shoes inside were just a bit uppity. Or going for some ultra-sophisticated European vibe. I remember getting all dressed up for dinner parties or house parties, and then being annoyed when I had to take off my shoes – the cute, strappy stilettos I’d carefully selected for that very outfit – at the front door. Then my pants were too long or the outfit looked awkward. And I felt weird about walking around barefoot on their floor. I felt so exposed – so vulnerable. But then, my partner and I bought our first place, it has beautiful white wood floors, and I became precious about things. You guessed it: we now have a shoe-free home. In addition to minimizing the number of times you need to wash your floors each month, it has tons of other benefits that you may not have thought of. And really, it’s a tiny lifestyle adjustment. Get a good shoe rack by the front door – you can get a wall-mounted one so it doesn’t take up much floor space – and you can quickly start realizing the pros of a shoe-free home.

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More closet space

If you invest in a spacious shoe rack to keep by the front door, then that means you no longer need to keep all of your shoes in your closet. Translation: more closet space! Maybe that means finally moving some items you had stored in hard-to-reach places, back into the closet. Or, just keeping a roomier closet.

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No dragging in feces

Even when you don’t see feces on the ground, your shoes pick them up. Just because people pick up after their dogs, doesn’t mean that bacteria doesn’t still live on the ground where the feces once was. Then there is bird feces. Squirrel feces. Many of us don’t realize just how much poop we drag into our homes. Yuck!

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Fewer lawn toxins

Then there are the toxins people spray on their lawns. Even if you don’t walk directly on neighbors’ lawns, know that their gardeners don’t contain the chemicals exactly to the perimeters of the lawn – some spray onto the sidewalk. And the HOA may have their gardener use chemicals on the public grass areas. You don’t want to drag those toxins into your home.

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Dragging in fewer urban toxins

What about all of the other toxins humans put on and in the ground? Cigarette butts. Chemicals found in building materials. Potentially more severe drugs than nicotine could be on the ground in your neighborhood, depending on where you live. Your shoes bring these right into your home.

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Babies crawl on the floor

If you have young children, then you know they love to crawl around on the floor. Babies crawl all over. Toddlers love to roll on the floor. Even older children like to lie and play on the floor. You don’t want them to come in direct contact with all the toxins shoes can drag inside.

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Dogs walk on the floor

Maybe you don’t walk, with your shoes, on your bed and pillows. But if you have pets that go outside, then they likely walk with their little paws all over your pillow – right where you put your face at night. Stopping this is a twofold process: 1) Keep pet wipes by the front door to clean pets’ paws after walks and 2) have a shoe-free house. If you don’t do the second part, then wiping a paw’s pets isn’t that useful, as she can just pick up the germs your shoes dragged in.

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You can dine on the floor

Sometimes it’s nice to dine on the floor. Maybe you already do this a lot. On busy nights when you’re tired, instead of sitting at the dining room table, you just sit on the floor at the coffee table to eat while you watch TV. But you’re sitting in germs if you don’t have a shoe-free house.

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You can meditate on the floor

If you like to meditate – which hopefully you do since it has so many benefits – then you may know that meditating on the floor is the best practice. Your throat can really open when you lay your head flat like that. And it’s literally and emotionally grounding to lie on the floor. But it’s gross to do if you allow shoes in the home.

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You’ll save your floors

Your shoes do damage to your floors over time. Between the pumps, stilettos, wedges, high heels, athletic shoes, and more, your footwear really puts your floors through a lot. And that can mean paying for repairs when you move out.

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You’ll drag in fewer critters

A lot of things jump onto your feet while you’re out and about, catching a ride inside your home. There are so many teeny, tiny critters that live outside from ants to ticks to fleas that you don’t want all over your house. Take your shoes off at the front door, give them a good shakedown, then put them on a rack.

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Your neighbors may complain less

If you have downstairs neighbors, they may come knocking on your door often to ask you to keep it down. If you don’t think you’re that noisy, it’s likely just your shoes. Shoes on hard floors make a lot of noise, so going shoeless could improve neighbor relations.

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You’ll feel more relaxed

There’s something about taking off our shoes that really signals that the day is over. Responsibilities are done with. We are leaving obligations outside, as we are literally removing the accessories that we would need to wear to go outside. Being barefoot helps you kick back and connect to your home.

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It’s better for your body

Unless you strictly wear shoes with orthotics or shoes created for you by a chiropractor, then there is a good chance most of your shoes are hard on your spine, and your entire body, really. Healthy posture often begins at the foot arch. Give your body a break sometimes.

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Your feet may smell better

If you wear shoes all day long while you’re at work and running errands and at the gym, and then you keep your shoes on at home, then your feet never get the chance to breathe, and can be stinky. You can also aggravate issues like bunions or blisters by keeping shoes on all day.