This. And not only where you sleep. Public transport seats or even chairs that were used by many, many people over the years are just yuck. Same with door handles (i so hate the Americanbones - you can't use your elbow or wrist to push them!), public transport, handrails, ATM pinpads...
At what point do you come to the terms with our inability to eliminate all germs and get on with life? I apologize if it's a condition and not just a preference.
Laugh all you want, just observe the typical shiny keycaps of most people's keyboards. You won't find those on mine, i wash hands frequently.
Btw: i bet quite some of you who are laughing about my 'regulations' just started to wash hands and wear masks because the CDC etc. told you so, and saw no issues with it.
Just don't have an desire to sit in seats where bums and people with god-knows-what conditions have been, or hold onto rails touched by people scratching their butt. Washing hands frequently, espeially after handling cash + followed by having a snack. Didn't your parents teach you that?
Not having issues with dirt etc., if it is MY dirt. How many strangers to you willingly exchange frsh or dried bodily fluids with?
Also a reason i have absolutely no intention to ever visit India, if i don't have to for business reasons. And i've walked Ethopian streets.
I once triggered a pretty severe allergic reaction from my partner because of the pollen and dust I unintentionally brought inside after working out in the yard all day.
We make an educated guess, try to collect data in a study that is hopefully a bit controlled, then paint a picture of what we think it means and why things happened (or didn't happen).
And if not, a bit of exposure to germs is fine.
Most diseases are hand and air transmitted.
And in my anecdotal experience germ freaks are more suck then dirty people. But maybe I'm just biased.
When I'd mop the rest of the condo with those disposable Swiffer mop pads, the mop pads would only get a little dingy, but when I'd mop the one specific part of the entryway where we wore shoes, the mop pads would instantly turn dark grey, almost black.
No shoes in the house. Ever!!!
As a Canadian, I think every household I've been in you take your shoes off at the door. Experience limited to Ontario and every province east of it.
In that case I'll chip in with my experience with every province west of it: it's the same. No shoes inside - ffs the prairies have snow on the ground half the year.
Your grandma and my mom would have gotten along.
Yes, but then you take them off anyways, out of politeness.
> but then you take them off anyways, out of politeness
...as is the Canadian way
Also people who come from wet places to dry places will still not want anyone wearing shoes at their homes.
In the America I grew up in, dogs were almost always outdoor animals, and people did NOT sleep with them (how gross).
That changed somehow in the last 20 years. Now it seems like half of Americans sleep with a dog.
That whole thing seems to beg some uncomfortable questions. I mean yes, I'm of WV descent but that isn't how we get our pets.
I am a Millennial from Europe, and I am well acquainted with the alienation of my generation, but the dog mommy thing doesn't exist in the country I'm from, and sounds something a suburban mom in her 40s would say. It makes me cringe.
I had dogs and cats growing up, and I considered my "mates" or friends rather than my children. They lived in the house, able to come and go outside, but were absolutely forbidden from sleeping on beds (except cats when the beds are empty because they don't care) or from soliciting food at the table while we were eating.
This reminds me of some sci-fi movies I think, such as "Invasion of the Body Snatchers". Also cults.
99% of indoor surfaces (and some outdoor areas too) are tile floors, or polished concrete/granite/terrazio. These are really easy to keep clean by just sweeping for 5 minutes. The few carpets I've seen were always really gross. No way I'm taking off my shoes to walk on that!
We don't wear shoes/sandals or socks indoors overall. It's normal to walk barefoot, even at many workplaces.
Socks are a weird thing that we wear to travel somewhere cold, or if we have to wear shoes for some reason (very formal events or workplaces, or for safety). Some people wear socks to sleep.
Sometimes we have a separate set of sandals to wear in the bathroom. You take those off before entering the rest of the house.
The other use of sandals is a form of low-damage ammunition for parental authorities to launch at you. We have a lot of memes about this.
I'm in Canada and this is true, but I've found that this is usually said when I'm already far enough into taking my shoes off that it would be too weird to go "alright then" and put them back on. I also find it awkward to keep my shoes on in someone else's house. As if I'm some sort of special guest with special privileges that allow me to bring dirt into their house, while the owner of the house clearly isn't wearing outside shoes. I would actually much prefer someone saying "please take your shoes off", and avoid the whole awkward and illogical politeness ritual.
Where I was born in a European country, it was positively unthinkable. Nobody ever wore outside shoes inside. In fact, my grandma would be upset if I set in my daily jeans upon my bed - jeans that set in school seat, street car seat, benches, dirt, etc, should not be in contact with where I'll sleep.
In USA and Canada, it seems to largely be an instinct to say "Don't take off your shoes, please!" out of politeness.
I think there are other aspects too, though they get fuzzier.
In my country/childhood, kids were discouraged from playing on the floor in unfamiliar places. I observe less of that in Canada. Most dogs were "outdoor animals", whereas here dogs are pervasively inside. Many people sleep with dogs in their bed!! Completely crazy to me and completely normal to my Canadian wife :-)