Comments on: See Mum, No Shoes!

By: Natural Attachment » Seeing & Feeling the Ground…As Well As Other Things: Thoughts On Unshoeing

Mon, 27 Apr 2009 03:06:55 +0000

[...] no real surprise that I belong to the shoes-off-at-the-door-club. I think it’s funny that I can be having a lovely [...]

By: michele james-parham

michele james-parham — Wed, 06 Feb 2008 22:44:30 +0000

Matthew: HA…wash my hands…ha…only if I am going to be cooking right after going to the bathroom! But we are dealing with a crusty punk person here! I don’t pick my nose before sticking my finger in the peanut butter (actually, I don’t stick my fingers in food, but I do drink from the bottle/jug/carton), but germs don’t really scare or bother me.

It’s funny how people are in their own home versus other peoples’ homes. I mean, I am really lax about things in my own house, but when I go to say, attend a birth at someone’s house, I wash my hands religiously! No one has to tell me to do it, I just do out of consideration for other people and because I believe that it will keep most germs at bay.

By: Matthew C

Matthew C — Wed, 06 Feb 2008 22:11:47 +0000

Michele, I am the same about food!

People expect me to be a germaphobe because I hate people coming in the house with shoes, but I dont worry in the slightest about food that has fallen on the floor, and as bad as this is, I often forget to wash my hands before cooking.

Maybe if I had children I would worry more about germs.

By: michele james-parham

michele james-parham — Wed, 06 Feb 2008 19:26:44 +0000

Matthew: You are welcome for the link.

Stu: You know, I would love to remove our shoes before we enter, but in this house we don’t have a front porch, just the double vestibule setup, which though nice, is inside…how does one keep their shoes looking nice and not weather/element worn, if they are taken off outside the house?

Cindy: Thanks for stopping by hon. I think anyone who lives in a city with over say 250,000 people living relatively close together, should not give it a second thought about removing their shoes!

I say people should remove their shoes because of dirt and whatnot, but I am also the same person who will quickly pick up and eat food that has dropped onto the floor! Hmmmm…some how I am ‘ok’ with this! I guess, for me the removal of shoes is less of a hygienic/aseptic (gems, etc.) thing and more of a cleanliness/aesthetic (removal of dirt, appearance of clean) thing.

By: Matthew C

Matthew C — Wed, 06 Feb 2008 16:00:47 +0000

Cindy, I am sorry to say that in England most people dont take their shoes off when they enter homes; though it is becoming more common. I am doing my best to encourage it.

I dont think they do in France either, except perhaps in the Alps.

By: Cindy

Cindy — Wed, 06 Feb 2008 08:09:09 +0000

In Chicago (where I live) if you wear your shoes in the house, you’re trudging in all the dirt, urine, vomit, trash, disease, and God knows what else from the streets. It’s hard enough just to keep your house clean from the mess created within. Most of the western world observes this, Russia, France, England, etc. and they’re healthier. Amen to checking shoes at the door.

By: Matthew C

Matthew C — Tue, 05 Feb 2008 06:52:02 +0000

Thanks so much for posting the link.
Some of the other links you mention are great too.

I have tried to keep the content of the blog free from partisan views for the most part. Thanks for understanding that.

Have a great day.

By: Stu

Stu — Mon, 04 Feb 2008 16:47:17 +0000

Our next-door neighbors are from India, and actually leave their shoes outside, on the porch. I’ve learned to remove my shoes *before entering*. During the coldest part of the winter, shoes are left on a mat just inside. But what’s handy about this is that it’s easy to see who’s home, and/or if one of our kids is over there, just by seeing whose shoes are out.

By: feebee

feebee — Sun, 03 Feb 2008 18:55:37 +0000

We’re no shoes. I don’t ask guests to take off their shoes, but most do anyway!