Remove Your Shoes on Entering? 7 Reasons Why

Do you remove your shoes on entering your home? Many of us who are not culturally predisposed to this activity avoid thinking about it because we are conflicted about starting a daily routine that you would then need to impose on others.

There are many kinds of sanctuary this routine can bring, and here are seven:

Natural Style, Easy Grace
From Dutch homes of the 15th century, where it was not permissible to set foot in a room without first removing one’s shoes, to removing shoes at the front door in most Asian homes as a mark of respect to the house and to honor its cleanliness and purity, taking off one’s shoes at the front door can be a deeply ingrained cultural habit.

For those of us who don’t share this habit, a good reason to consider initiating it is grounded in the pollutants they carry in from the outside world.

The benefits of removing shoes are many, including:

Taking off one’s shoes at the door can be a simple celebration of everyday life, as easy as kicking off your shoes at the front door to symbolize leaving behind the harried outer world, then lighting incense and being soothed by the subtle aroma of lavender wafting through the house.
Less dirt and small rocks gouge our floors, gently buffed by bare feet in the warmer seasons and by softly slippered feet in the cooler months.
Bare feet are treated to the comforting sensation of walking on smooth wood, or other flooring, an uncommon experience in itself.
Less time is spent cleaning the floor.
Infants and young children with more sensitive immune systems inhale cleaner indoor air.
A healthier home is ensured because shoes track in lead, pesticides and other pollutants, contaminating carpets and floors, turning a home into a toxic place for pets and young children, especially, who spend more time on the floor.
Shoes in Japan are left in the foyer, and traded for house slippers, with the gesture being both symbolic and a conscious desire to leave behind the outer world by shedding, literally, the first obvious steps—shoes.
Home is seen as a separate, special place, a sanctuary.

Adapted from Japanese Style, by Sunamita Lim (Gibbs Smith Publisher, 2007).

Disclaimer: The views expressed above are solely those of the author and may not reflect those of
Care2, Inc., its employees or advertisers.

Valentina R.

4:18PM PST on Mar 5, 2013

Always take them off.

March 5
send a green star

Teresa W.

8:44AM PST on Jan 25, 2013

That's what I always do!

January 25
send a green star

Donna H.

5:49AM PDT on Sep 14, 2012

Thanks. I always remove my shoes indoors and ask others to do the same.

September 14
send a green star

Dale O.

8:23AM PDT on Jul 31, 2012

Already done, take my shoes off first thing and there is even a thick mat outside my apartment door to place my wet winter boots so they can dry off for a few hours, or rain soaked shoes. Walk around the apartment bare foot!

July 31
send a green star

Laurita W.

10:15PM PDT on Jun 17, 2012

I just don't put them on again when I go outdoors!

June 17
send a green star

Sonny H.

8:57PM PDT on Jun 17, 2012

It is easy to remove shoes with no laces and we do no bring in the dirt from the street.

Winn A.

4:25PM PDT on Jun 17, 2012

Thanks for the article.

Abbe A.

5:33AM PDT on Jun 17, 2012

thanks

Danuta W.

1:03AM PDT on Jun 17, 2012

thanks for sharing.

Liz E.

1:59PM PST on Dec 4, 2011

It's law in my place. When I think of all the crap on the bottom of shoes I cringe to think that people wear shoes in homes all the time. I like to walk barefoot at home. I would rather have mud, organic of course, on my floors than what's on the streets of cities. Everything from spit to puke to dog shit and who knows what else!
My kids call me a germaphobe but this is one area that I am a little obsessive about. The germs in my home are my germs ~ not some stranger's.