House Rule #9: No shoes in the house.
At the bottom of our staircase lies a pile of shoes. Large shoes, small shoes, medium shoes, flip flops, sparkly shoes, crocs and sneakers.
Being the anal-retentive perfectionist that I am (confession is good for the soul), clutter is my enemy. Paper piles, clothes piles, piles of this and piles of that…piles of stuff in general unnerve and irritate me. So what to do about this little pile of shoes at the bottom of our staircase?
When it comes down to it, I am the one to blame for this unsightly collection. In my effort to keep the dirt out, I made a “house rule” that shoes are not to be worn indoors. It is my mantra as I am unloading the kids from the car, “Shoes off when you get in the house!”
The result…a pile of shoes.
I have one of two choices here: I can get frustrated about the shoe pile and whine and complain and make a big stink about it, OR I can take a step back and be grateful for it. (Grateful? Where am I going with this?) If there were no shoe pile then that could only mean my children, husband – and myself included – would not be following one of our house rules. That annoying shoe collection is evidence that we are team players, working together to keep our house clean. We are showing respect for each other and for our home when we take our shoes off at the door.
It is also a GREAT reminder of the feet that fill those shoes. Each pair represents someone who lives in this home and is a part of this family. There’s a dad, a mom, a couple of sisters and a little boy. Five people…and countless pairs of shoes! You know…I think I can let this one go. I am much more concerned about the people that wear those shoes than I am with the pile they leave. Not everything has to be perfect (gasp!), and that shoe pile won’t bother me anymore!
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And then… what really would the house look like if the shoes weren't in that pile by the door? Would they be here and there and everywhere? Now, that would be frustrating!
I love your thoughts on team players and respect… we so need that in our families!