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Lose Those Shoes Before Entering

Jasmin Malik Chua, Jersey City, USA

Jasmin Malik Chua

By Jasmin Malik Chua
Jersey City, NJ, USA | Sun Mar 23, 2008 01:21 PM ET

toes.jpg


Unknown.

There are myriad reasons for leaving your shoes next to the welcome mat: Your hardwood floors will hold up longer, for instance, without grit and sand constantly grinding into its finish. Most household dirt and contaminants are also tracked in by your shoes, including lead from soil. (Soil can pick up lead from exterior paint-especially from houses built before 1978-or from a car's prior history of leaded-gas use.)

While adults are by no means immune, childhood lead poisoning remains a major environmental-health problem in the United States, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, resulting in nervous system and kidney damage, learning disabilities, speech and behavior problems, poor muscle coordination, decreased muscle and bone growth, and hearing damage.

Here are some tips from Blueprint on getting your guests to give their shoes the slip.1. Lead by example: Try the "seed" method for getting guests to take off their shoes. Plant a few of your own pairs next to a basket of slippers by the door and hope they notice it and take the hint.

2. Use humor: Download and frame one of these signs.

3. Use reason: Cry "New baby!" or "New carpet!" or "New floor!" If they fail to pick up the clue, just ask very, very nicely: Please, if you wouldn't mind. ::Blueprint'

Difficulty level: Easy

 
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