“In the olden days (as my kids call them), taking your shoes off at the door was the norm. This custom is still the standard practice in Korea, Japan, and many other countries.”  Helen Suh MacIntosh

What are you bringing into your home on the bottom of your shoes?

Then said the Lord to him, put off thy shoes from thy feet: for the place where thou standest is holy ground.  (Acts 7:33; KJV)

Let’s play a “pretend” game today!  Remember when you were a child and you played, “Let’s pretend?”  I usually was pretending about having a lovely tea party complete with fancy tea sandwiches and dainty cookies.  See even then I was a “foodie.”  J

Anyway, imagine with me today that tiny cameras are on the bottoms of your shoes, taking pictures of not only where you walk, but also what you actually step on (and in).  Think about this.  From the time you leave your home until you return at the end of the day, where all have your shoes walked?  Think of parking lots doused with grease and oil, dirt, gum and yes, even spit.  For the male species among our readers, what all do your shoes step on when you go to the restroom at the office or in a store while shopping?  Your little cameras would have dozens of rather amazing and unbelievable shots, don’t you think?  Now imagine walking into your homes and carrying all of that with you onto the carpet and flooring.

We can also pick up a lot of pollutants on our shoes.  Things such as pesticides, lead, and other chemicals that can be present in dirt get on our shoes.  The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency showed that people bring lawn pesticides into their homes on their shoes. These pesticide-laden shoes can be a major source of pesticide exposures, especially for young children who spend a lot of time on the floor and who put dirty fingers and toys in their mouths.  A very interesting study showed that wearing shoes indoors was a larger source of children’s pesticide exposures than eating non-organic fruits and vegetables!

Infants are particularly susceptible to organ damage when exposed to various volatile compounds.  Because they spend so much time on the floor, primarily on carpets, it is estimated that an average infant ingests 100 milligrams of toxic chemicals every day, according to Dr. Steve Nugent in his book, How to Survive on a Toxic Planet.  Although wiping our feet on a standard doormat can reduce the amount of toxins brought into the home on our feet, it is far better to do as the Japanese and other Far East cultures do, and remove our shoes.  The simple act of removing our street shoes when we enter our homes can drastically reduce toxins in and around the home.

Jerry and I first began learning about this several years ago from the brilliant naturopathic doctor, Steve Nugent.  It can be a hard pill to swallow at first…and a hard habit to break.  However, once I began picturing what I was bringing in on the bottoms of my shoes, I was easily converted. We each have “house shoes” that are only worn indoors.  My father will be 86 years young this year.  And although he has made some major changes in his life with his diet and nutrition, he has never taken his shoes off in the home.  While recently caring for him, I could see how much dirtier the kitchen floor and the carpet became from just one person wearing shoes in the home.  It was almost as if he was wearing little cameras on his shoes!  J

Prayer Power
Lord, thank You for our homes, and thank You for keeping us healthy.  May we honor You in our everyday lives, doing all we can to make our homes as healthy as they can be.

Link of the Day
Remove toxins from your home

Blessings on you as you contemplate not wearing your shoes in the home.