Chaos and Cupcakes

We have a strict no-shoes in our house policy. I have had various little signs up asking visitors to remove their shoes, the cutest and most current being a little sign my mom just brought me back from Hawaii. I also keep baby wipes in our mudroom and by our back door and we wipe our bare feet when we enter our home during the summer. We wear flip flops a lot during the hot months and feet can get dirty and germy wearing these so we clean them up before we come in. I know that not everyone is a germ-hating clean freak like Jared and I. I was raised in a “no shoes in the home” family by a “no dirty feet” mom so to me this is just second nature. Jared is a bare feet kind of guy who appreciates having a very clean home so to him it is second nature. I saw this today and this is exactly why we don’t wear shoes into our home:

http://abcnews.go.com/GMA/Consumer/story?id=5177409&page=1

Note: I edited this post because after I went back and read it later, it seemed like I am a total freak germaphobe. Well, the truth is I am a total freak germaphobe. But I needed to turn down the freak a bit! So if you get this in an RSS feed and read the first post- hey, don’t be afraid to come over to my house. After all, I own a great steam cleaner. Anyway, if you read the article it talks about etiquette when asking people to remove their shoes. I do keep clean socks in a basket by my door for those who aren’t comfortable barefoot (it’s what Martha Stewart does, too). But bottom line is my job is to keep my kids safe and healthy. Did you read about the bacteria that can cause stomach, eye, and lung infections? Gross! I just read some interesting things about people removing their shoes in others’ homes and there definitely are some cultural trends to it. For instance, I read that in Canada and Hawaii you wouldn’t think twice about taking your shoes off at the door; it’s just what everybody does there. In our new neighborhood, everyone takes their shoes off in their homes and their neighbors’ homes. That probably has more to do with the fact that everyone wants to keep their new carpets nice. When Jared and I went to the Parade of Homes you had to put on booties before you could go into any of the homes. Great idea! Well, as they say in Hawaii, “Mahalo for removing your slippahs!”

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