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are they under your bed?

 
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I find the answer to this question revealing about a person. Do you keep hard soled shoes (or sandals or slippers, etc) under your bed?

Do you?

Living in an earthquake zone, it's always been standard to stuff the off-season shoes under the bed (cleaned and aired out first) so that there is something to put on the feet to avoid broken glass and stuff.  Next to the bed slippers are no good because glass and debris can fall in it.  But under the bed ones are the best.

Later I learned that this is recommended in non-earthquake zones too.  Fire of course.  And apparently there are storms that can break windows.  And other things I wasn't paying attention to.  

And yet, almost everyone I know says no.   They don't keep hard soled shoes under their bed.  They can't imagine why anyone would, especially as they have this lovely shoe rack.  

So am I the only one?  

 
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No.  But I do keep a complete change of clothes, including shoes & credit card, in my car in the spare tire well.
 
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Yup. I also have hooks on the wall for easy to throw on clothes, my bathrobe and a few other items.
 
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No, because our bed frame sits directly on the floor.

When I lived in Florida, I put my Sunday shoes under the bed.  When I went to wear them they were covered in mold.
 
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It's a great idea but like Anne mentions they will mold here although I suppose in an emergency moldy shoes are better than no shoes?

All we have under our bed is a huge set of inherited pink flowered haviland dinner ware that no one seems to want 🙄
 
Carla Burke
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Mine don't mold there, because they're only there for the night. I take them off and go to bed. In the morning they're back on my feet. Come to think of it, we use that space to store several things, and even though they get dust, they don't mold. Something regional that I'd never thought about, I guess.
 
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I can't say that I have intentionally. Today I learned something new!

My slippers are 'hard' soled and I keep them by my bed. I have a bad habit of leaving my pants right next to my bed from when I used to volunteer as a fireman/emergency medical provider where if the pager went off I'm running out of the house as quickly/safely as possible.

I might just have to be a little more intentional in planning it seems!
 
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Seems to me that having lived through some kind of disaster influences one's thinking forever afterward....we have been years since moving out of California wildfire zone, and yet there is still the "go bag" with all the most important papers in it, in a known place, ready to grab at a moment's notice.  And it's also forward looking....where we live now is a tornado zone, and there is an in-ground shelter, but it is prone to flooding.  So it became a high priority project to build a platform in it above high water line, so that it can be used in any kind of weather.  
 
r ransom
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Mold under bed?

I've never had that.  Does everything in your climate go moldy under the bed?  I've always used it as a storage location for lots of differnt things.  But shoes specifically get cleaned and dry first and turn down my bed each morning to prevent moisture build up from sleeping.   It's really good for stashing seasonal clothes if we get one of those moth resistant bags from ikea.

Perhaps it's a climate thing?


 
Judith Browning
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Mold under bed?  




Actually it's just leather things that grew surface mold and where we live now it's a bit musty so I don't want to risk.
It also depended on how long things sit there out of circulation...no long term storage other than china.

It is humid enough in our house at times that unused wooden spoons grew surface molds.
 
r ransom
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Ouch.
 
Carla Burke
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We get about 45"/ year, and fairly humid (not New Orleans humid, but fairly). BUT, we heat with a woodstove in winter, which dries the air, and in the summer, John doesn't do well, with the heat and humidity, so we keep the a/c on much more than I'd like, and he runs a dehumidifier. Those could the the biggest differences.
 
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After testing my ability to respond to "DANGER NOW!!!" scenarios from a dead sleep,  way back in the 90's, I keep all the bedside stuff as simple as possible.  Slip on shoes, click button flashlight, simple gun, etc.  The blue heeler isn't simple, but he's not complex either.

I am the most humid. It is a rain forest here. My front door mat grows grass and seedlings which I have to pull out. My cars grow moss, even the daily driver.  Mold is the fifth state of matter. But my crocs have never molded and I can put those on without looking.  I did have a pair of slip on Keens, those were good as well.

I have never been in a earthquake, but I have gotten into some troubles barefooted. Never again. I  may look silly in my crocs, but I won't be wincing on the gravel or bleeding from broken glass either.



 
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It took me a while, but I've learned that one big factor affecting the risk of mold is air-flow. If our box-spring wasn't so ugly, I would ditch the "dust-ruffle" on my bed, because it decreases the air-flow.

My indoor slippers aren't super "hard soled", but they also aren't as wimpy as many slippers I've met. They also have a sturdy insole inside that I need because most shoes weren't designed for my feet. (Although with age, my feet have widened and this has helped a lot.)

That said, I really have to up my game so far as emergencies go. We have an old motorhome that I used to keep up for that purpose, however, after Hubby let the rats in for the 3rd time, I gave up. Hubby's truck has a cap with a leak, but a tarp will fix that in the short term, so long as whatever emergency creates the need, if the truck doesn't get squished or burned, getting from my bed to the deck to the ground to the truck would be do-able in my slippers.

Shoes are an important first step, but it's good to know what step 2 is in your head also.
 
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Yes I grew up putting my shoes under the bed. So yes my shoes still go under the bed.
I have lived in quake prone areas and in hurricane and tornado prone areas, now we live in an area that has wildfires and tornados. Important papers are in the bright red metal box near the bedroom door, the go bags are near it... meds are in a ditty bag so easy to grab also.  At night the dogs sleep in crates so we know exactly where they are and leashes are by the door.  Cars are never allowed to have less then half a tank of gas.  Yes I have evacuated a couple of times in the past...  
 
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We do not wear shoes inside. They have too many different types of animal poops on them and it would be hard to reconcile when I lay on the floor for something.
 
r ransom
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Slippers, house shoes (aka, shoes that don't get worn outside) and house sandles are very popular here.  Quite a few doctors recommend them for people with chronic pain.

Not all footwear need be worn outside the house.
 
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I live in what is probably the world capital for brown recluse spiders, and I'm sure shoes under the bed is their #1 favorite habitat, so no no no no!!
(we also would get amazing mold if shoes were kept there. it's a climate thing. If our humidity falls below 50% it's basically a rarity, more often it's 75%+, you learn to live with it)

Instead, we have the ubiquitous rubber soled flip-flops next to the bed (no place for spiders to hide in them), they are what everyone wears around the house unless it's winter and slipper time.
 
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Tereza Okava wrote:I live in what is probably the world capital for brown recluse spiders, and I'm sure shoes under the bed is their #1 favorite habitat, so no no no no!!
(we also would get amazing mold if shoes were kept there. it's a climate thing. If our humidity falls below 50% it's basically a rarity, more often it's 75%+, you learn to live with it)

Instead, we have the ubiquitous rubber soled flip-flops next to the bed (no place for spiders to hide in them), they are what everyone wears around the house unless it's winter and slipper time.



A mossie head net over each shoe?
 
Tereza Okava
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jason holdstock wrote:

Tereza Okava wrote: brown recluse spiders under the bed  


A mossie head net over each shoe?


I don't go under the bed/behind sofa/etc without gloves. If you don't touch/move something every week, it is perfect habitat for brown spiders. A net over the shoe just makes another good space for nesting!
At any given time 80% of the population here is probably wearing hard-soled thongs -- which are kept next to the bed! Not OSHA approved, but will do for stepping over broken glass. Or to get to the shoe cabinet, where the real shoes live (a well-closed spider-proof space that gets cleaned out regularly).
 
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We do
Sheepskin boots that are warm and practical, easy to slip on and off.

But not necessarily for earthquakes, tho that’s a great idea and that will become part of the reason now 👍

We do it because of fire possibilities, which we also have, and because we raise and keep animals both in our house and in the pastures/barn. One never knows when getting up to do or take care of something animal-related overnight is needed.

We also have to-go backpacks w clothing, and other necessities.
 
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yes, and Judith we would love!!! that Haviland!
 
Judith Browning
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T Murphy wrote:yes, and Judith we would love!!! that Haviland!


hi T. Murphy and welcome to this site😊
A grandson has spoken for the family haviland since I posted here...it may still live under the bed for a number of years though!  
 
pollinator
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This is not an earthquake zone at all. Flooding can be the problem here.
I have shoes and boots, and a coat, next to the doors (both front and back door). And I have my camping gear ready to take with me if I need to evacuate (including food, like cans of beans, for a few days).

 
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Smart little notion there - keeping shoes underbed to be ready and free of broken-glass.

Under my bed I have totes of first-aid supplies and seeds and such.
I take off my shoes in my entrance room to keep the dirt and dust down, so that's where they stay.
However, since my house is so tiny, that is only ten feet away from my bed.

I do expect some night that heavy snow or high winds might eventually drop a tall fir tree or the barn roof on my little shack...
Many a night I lie there wondering if this next big gust is The One...
I have a window in my bedroom that I made easy to jump out of for quick escapes, though... so I might just make it.

I think I'll keep a spare set of shoes under my bed, right by my jump-out window now that I've read this thread.
 
pollinator
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I do not have shoes under my bed; I am not in an earthquake zone, though the place I just lived for 13 years was prone to flooding (New Jersey, USA; we get the tail end of hurricanes and are at sea level in an overly paved part of the state). I didn't realize that I have been more prepared for emergencies than I thought. I thought everyone had enough canned/dry goods for at least a month, and kept their most important documents in one safe place so they can be grabbed.

When Hurricane Sandy was coming (2012) I knew that my house had flooded all around, the whole neighborhood, for far weaker storms. So I left ahead of time, with my car full of: a tote box of family photos & my mother's jewelry; important papers; my laptop; clothing; and enough food & water for 2 people for 10 days. I went to stay with my boyfriend's family in an area that never flooded. I simply left all that in my car unless it was needed (I shared some of the food & water). The house I was in (with 13 people total!) lost electricity for about 2 weeks, but my own house got it back sooner so I was able to go back to my own home after all. The supermarkets were bare for over a week; some items longer. People were standing on long lines with gas cans at gas stations.

I have always been grateful to know when hurricanes are coming. Earthquakes are a whole other ballgame. Tornadoes, too; although they are seen coming they seem unpredictable and you don't have much time to act.
 
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