Parttime Barefooter

I'm a part time barefooter.
I have a no shoe policy in my house, which is most usually abided by. I also love to go into the gas station barefoot, for some reason. And occasionally the grocery store. But when I'm going anywhere else, I wear flip flops. Occasionally my pair of moccasins. I own one pair of sneakers for working on a shovel and such. Even at other peoples home I will debate on taking my sandals off, I try to follow the house rules.

What can I do to get past the fear of cutting my feet or being stared at? I'm pretty unique so the stares aren't as much of an issue as the potential damage the street can do to my feet!

 

im sure in time you wont even notice the looks or comments

 

Watch the ground in front of you, it won't be long when you are able to coordinate your eyes with what's ahead of you. To be honest, a lot of these so called hazards of barefooting are exaggerated.

 

Practice. Practice. Practice. Watch where you're going. Before long it becomes second nature. As far as being stared at it kinda goes with the territory. You're doing something different than most so it will catch some attention. Lots of folks may notice but most simply will not care what do you do or don't have on your feet. Good luck! Enjoy your free soles.

 

exactly what he said!!!!!

 

Your feet will SLOWLY adapt to their new environment. I emphasized SLOWLY because many times when the weather first gets warm one will go barefoot all day then get blisters or achy feet and swear off going barefoot again. Take it easy, slowly. You will develop a self protection mechanism that makes you more conscious of where and how you step. I easily walk on hot pavement, city streets, etc. with no ill effects. Have I ever pulled small shards of glass out my my callouses? Yes, of course. But I've never had any problems more serious than occasionally those.

 

I guess it isn't really that bad, getting a little hurt. I mean, we aren't supposed to wear shoes anyway.

I also want to find out how you get around any "no shirt no shoes" policy?

 

for the "hurt" part well, cities are dirty but rather safe. no big rocks, no thorns, no snakes, only some occasional broken glass and tough feet can "handle" that. most times.
for the NSNSNS policies, ther aren't any where i live so i can't tell. for looks, it's all to you.

 

This is no easy task You can have trouble right when you enter an establishment for the first time, or you can get lucky and visit a place several times before you encounter any resistance. It's a roll of the dice IMHO.

You might want to try wearing barefoot sandals, as they look as though you are have something on your feet when in fact you are still barefoot. It can fool many merchants, especially if you are wearing them with blue jeans or other kinds of pants.

 

I live in the country. I live in the middle of a forest basically. We have briers and fire ants and snakes out the wazoo! Do I just have to suck it up?

And what do you mean by gradually? I would say that when it comes to time being barefoot I'm a 6 out of 10. Should I just start by going into Walmart without my shoes?

I didn't mean for this to turn into a question and answer forum... but.

 

Try going into a store late at night, perhaps near closing time, good change no one will even care.

 

little to do with snakes but i understand that they usually bite ankles and calves more than feet so i think the next best thing after boots is long thick trousers. who knows, leather tipped ones could be both cool and safe... never seen such trousers around, though . i think you'll never get rid of ants, but tough feet can stand some thorns unless you have goatheads around, those things come from hell for sure ! spent some time in alpine woods infested with terrible ants but they almost always bit me in my hands while collecting wood, maybe my soles were too thick, got only a few who made it to the top of my feet (dunno about fire ants) and yes, i'm routinely unshod at big stores so I would also go barefoot at wal-mart without a second thought... only, walmart is not here neither their policies about footwear are.

 

I'm in the same boat. Barefoot at home, while driving, at gas stations, hiking, my last airplane trip.

I want to barefoot in certain stores, but haven't found the courage yet. One thing I may try is to wear flip flops into the store, get a cart and then take the flip flops off. This would avoid any issue with being stopped by a door greeter. Also, pushing a cart gives me a little something to "hide" behind. Maybe this would help build some courage so eventually I could barefoot all the way from the car. I haven't had a chance to try it yet though.

I'm not too worried about hazards - I hike barefoot, so parking lots and tile floors are not too difficult, just need to pay attention to possible glass and other urban hazards.

 

You'd be supprised people arnt as bothered about feet as you might think, the main concerns of business owners tends to be health and safety. This I understand from a certain point of view. TBH I get more prejudice from being a 'stinky hippie' than being without shoes

 

The more you go barefoot around people, the more they get used to seeing you barefoot. The more you go barefoot, the more you don't even realize you are barefoot. And finally, the more you go barefoot, the more your feet will adapt to the environment. Don't be so self-conscious, You are doing something others wish they had the guts to do. Give yourself a break and free yourself!

 

fuck'em. prejudice stinks, not ya sister. :love:

 

Your feet will toughen up eventually, as they say, no pain, no gain. I've cut my feet very infrequently when I go barefoot, and when I was doing it regularly, I dont think they would have been cut very easily.

 

I tried this yesterday and it worked fine. I was only in the store 15 minutes and I put flip-flops back on before checking out, but it's a start. The smooth cool tile felt nice. Not as nice as nature - wet grass, soft sand, mud - but nice in it's own way.