Simple Pleasures: Put On Your Slippers

The moment you enter your home after a long day is an opportunity to slow down — and one simple way to ensure you do that is by getting in the habit of taking off your shoes and slipping on a pair of comfy slippers. This small daily ritual says that the inside of your home is a special place. It encourages relaxation and ease. Why not give it a try?

Keep floors cleaner and your home healthier. Leaving shoes at the door also means leaving behind the road dirt and toxins picked up while walking around outdoors, making your home a healthier place. And less dirt tracked in means less time spent cleaning. What’s not to love about that?


You could even have white floors. With less dirt getting tracked in, what might normally seem like an utterly impractical choice of flooring becomes doable. Just be sure to put down a generously sized rug in the entry to protect your floors where people take off and put on shoes.


Enjoy more quiet. A barefoot home is also a quieter home — a blessing, especially in multistory homes where the clomping of boots can be heard clearly from the floor below. Savor the restful atmosphere when the members of your household are padding around in slippered feet.


Delight in the textures of wood floors and cozy rugs. Sinking your bare toes into a thick, fluffy rug on a chilly morning and feeling the cool smoothness of wood floorboards underfoot on a warm summer afternoon are two simple pleasures in store when you leave your shoes at the door. And on really chilly winter days, you can savor the feel of warm socks or wool slippers that keep your feet toasty.


Make it a routine. It’s easy to forget a no-shoes rule when you’re used to wearing shoes indoors. Make things as simple as possible by providing a seat near each entrance to your home, along with a place for shoes and slippers. Try your hardest to remember (and enforce) the rule the first few weeks, while the new habit is taking root. Soon enough it will become second nature.


Tap into a worldwide tradition. Japan and Sweden are just two places where going shoe free indoors is the norm — in many cultures throughout the world, people make a habit of removing shoes before entering a dwelling. Adopting this tradition would connect you to a rich history of showing respect for a person’s home by leaving your shoes at the door.


Compromise with no shoes upstairs. If a total no-shoes rule doesn’t work for you, consider splitting the difference with a shoes-off-upstairs rule. Often the upstairs contains bedrooms and may be carpeted — great places to keep free of dirt, not to mention cutting down on the sounds of stomping feet.


Provide nice slippers. Keep a stash of slippers near the door for your family members — and extras in a few sizes for visitors, too. Boiled wool slippers that can be easily slipped on and off are traditional in Sweden and some of the other Scandinavian countries, and they feel especially cozy in winter.

Tell us: Do you have a no-shoes rule in your home?

More:
House Rule: Off With Your Shoes8 Life-Enhancing Home Resolutions for the New Year

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