Shoes are a thing of evil. Sort of.

When Husband and I were first married I found out, very quickly, that he was of the remove-your-shoes-or-face-my-wrath school of house entering. No shoes in the house. Ever.

We had that rule at our house. For about a year. Just after we moved in and the carpet was brand new. Slowly but surely QM succumed and we started tromping across the floor in what ever we happened to have on.

So when Husband and I got married it took me a bit of getting used to. I didn't wear shoes around the house on a regular basis, but I also didn't shuck them at the door the moment I set foot inside.

But now, 4 kids, 10 acres, and countless animals later, I'm 100% on board. And I know it's not just those of us who live on a farm that face these issues.

 I've found quite a few pages dedicated to the removal of shoes upon entering an abode. Did you know that up to 60% of the toxins in your house can travel in via your shoes? GMA did a whole bit about how much dirt you can keep out of your house by removing your shoes. There's even fear of pesticides you may be tracking into your home.

In many parts of the world, you'd never dare to enter into someone's home with your shoes on your feet. Inkling could explain a bit about Canada's shoeless practices.

But this is what I know for sure: there is a rug at my back door. It is the heaviest traveled spot in my entire house. Husband and the FarmHands are in and out 800 times a day and this is where the shoes stop.

I willingly admit that this rug does not get cleaned as often as it should. I'm a haphazard housekeeper at best, so there are often weeks it goes unvacuumed. This was not one of those times.

Early on I discovered that even after I vacuumed it, when I picked the rug up to move it, dirt would still fall out onto my vinyl floor. I'm not sure what prompted me to vacuum the back side of the rug, but I did one day and I was beyond shocked to see the mess that was left behind when I picked the rug back up.

The top picture shows the rug prior to vacuuming. The second shows me vacuuming the back side of the rug (yes, it's frayed  and stained and in bad need of replacing- I just haven't found one I like that will fit the space). The last 4 pictures are what was left on the floor after I vacuumed the underside of the rug.

I flipped and vacuumed the rug 4 times (once on the underside and once on the carpet side for each "time") before it quit leaving massive amounts of dirt behind.

I cannot imagine what would be in my living room carpet or in the FarmHands' bedrooms if they'd have worn their shoes into the house.

So if you come to my house and find yourself accosted at the door over shoes, you'll know why. I'm not trying to be rude, but this mess grosses me out!