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Joined 3 years ago
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Cake day: July 12th, 2023

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  • I understand the gut-level aspect, even though for me it’s the yucky feeling of bare feet on wood or tile floors. No carpet or rugs in our place, it’s easier for the wheelchair. Which by the way can’t change its wheels when coming in. I tried outdoor shoes but they were disgusting in a week. I’m trying out a habit of stepping barefoot into the room, (from the balcony) picking up my shoes and clapping them outside before putting them back on, rubbing each already-dusty-feeling foot on my leg as I do. We shall see. I’m terrible at consistency.




  • By the time I get to my apartment any dust I picked up outdoors (Los Angeles, little mud and no snow) has been lost to the hallway carpet. Meanwhile road grime blows in through every air gap, and the great majority of household dust is generated by indoor life, whether it’s the detritus of our own skin, lint from fabrics, particles of paper, cooking vapors, asthma nebulizer, and even cleaning products. What has made the most difference is using a MERV13 filter in my HVAC and keeping the doors and windows shut except when I go out to my balcony garden to tend to my plants.


  • I’ve tried it but I could’t keep track of which was which, especially when I go out one door, across the big balcony (10 meters) and in the other door, to a different room, which would have another “outdoor” pair but no “indoor” pair sitting there. I would have to put down the watering can, go back around the other way, and back around through the apartment.

    I also noticed no difference in floor dirt when I was trying to be strict about it. So it seemed like a lot of attention paid for no payoff, and I stopped.







  • I have tried the “no shoes inside” thing and can’t stand the constant feeling of dirt particles on my bare feet even while I’m walking on the floor behind a swiffer, broom, or mop. I’d rather keep my shoes on and just assume the floor is not 100% clean even when someone has just cleaned it.

    But I have a logistics question: I know you have a place for shoes by the front door, but what do you do about the back door? Or in my case the three sliding-glass doors onto balconies that I use daily? Is one supposed to keep going to the front door to get shoes and carrying them through the house? My balconies overhang the street and get a lot of road grime, plus my plants drop leaves etc., so shoes are very necessary out there. And many people have back yards. I’m curious about what you do.