I went into a McDonald’s the other day (for the sole purpose of going to the bathroom on a road trip) and was annoyed to find that there was no place whatsoever to put my purse while I was in the stall. What do they think we’re going to do with our bags? Put them on the floor? Of a McDonald’s restroom? One shudders.
I ended up managing to do what I needed to do with my bag never touching that floor, but I was so irritated when I left that I forewent a cheeseburger. That’s me taking an intense stand because I love me some McDonald’s cheeseburger. I railed on to my husband for 5 minutes about this afterwards and today, he brought home this handy little item for me:
Over The Door Hooks from The Container Store
So smart! It’s the Over the Door Hook from the Container Store. They come in packs of two so I was able to slip one into my purse and give one to a Penelope friend. Somehow I feel empowered knowing I’m no longer beholden to the designers of bathrooms in restaurants and movie theaters.
This made me remember that my sister-in-law carries The Handbag Hook with her so that she doesn’t have to put her purse on the floor when she’s in a restaurant. Clever.
The Handbag Hook from the Container Store
I’m not usually germ-phobic, but I do care about where I put my purse.
And I’m also weird about shoes. I obsess about what I’ve stepped in while I’m out and about and don’t want to track that into my house. Ick. I get the heebie jeebies just thinking about it.
Tell me you feel the same way.
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{ 34 comments… read them below or add one }
First off I love this blog. I found it a couple weeks ago and now consider myself a “Penelope in Training”! I think I choose to not think about where my purse is going even though I KNOW its one of the most germ-y things we own!
Also about the shoes… where I live (northern Canada) I don’t know anyone who wears shoes in their house unless they are dedicated inside shoes. I’ve never understood the whole “wearing shoes in the house thing”. Also in winter our houses would be destroyed by snow and muck! So I’m with you on that one!
I am the same way about shoes!
Awesome tip, I have one of those over the door hangers floating around my house somewhere! I will keep it in my purse!
One thing to think about is having your purse so close to the top of the door. Know someone who had her purse “lifted=stolen” while she was in the stall. Some of the stalls that have hooks are now placing them half way down the door to prevent this. I end up slipping the strap over my neck.
So with you on the purse thing. HATE IT when there is no hook. I’ve been in many airports recently like that. So you have your luggage that you have to bring in the stall (if you’re alone), which is gross enough, but then you have to carry your purse while you…do what you need to do…Poor poor design.
I also agree on the shoes. We never wear them in the house, they are taken off right near the front door. I even (yes, i know) wipe my dog’s paws (and bottom!) with baby wipes when we come in. I have a crawling baby that is all over the floor, which is my excuse now, though I did all those things way before I had the baby!!
I am SO with you on the shoes. It amazes me when people allow shoes in their house!
I have a “thing” about public restrooms. Dislike them. *shudder* A recurring nightmare is that I have to go into a public restroom barefoot and the floor is wet and it’s just not my cup of tea.
I make do when there’s no hook but dang it, they should provide hooks of some kind.
Shoes in the house: My new policy now is no shoes in my apartment. I live in a rental and there are unknown stains on my carpet trudged in by me and by church youth group kids who visit me… plus a friend once brought a friend along who has a motorized wheelchair and that chair left oil stains all over my carpet. *sigh* doubt I’ll get my deposit back when I move out. Where was I? Oh yeah- no more shoes in my house. who knows what gets tracked in?!
What a sweet husband! Totally with you on the shoe thing too. I swear my Penelope-ness gets worse (better?) when I get stressed. If I can’t control what’s going on, I can at least control how clean my house is.
Haha! Brilliant idea! I am totally grossed out by all things “public” to be honest. My family laughs about it, but they know I’m for real.
As for the no shoes…..NONE in our house. We put them in the coat closet the second we step from garage to the mat on the other side of the door. My son even knows. Ever since he was 3 (he’s almost 5 now), he has taken his shoes off as soon as he walks in….even at everyone else’s home. People think it’s funny, but I’m so glad that he knows and doesn’t have to be asked. SHOES ARE SO GROSS!!!! I try to make sure that guests notice that we have all left our shoes by the door b/c I feel bad asking people to take them off, but I don’t know why people don’t do it automatically. It’s polite to at least ask!
Totally with you on the shoes. When I was a kid, I didn’t know anyone who had a policy on this, but now, in my circle, no one keeps shoes on inside. Just wish I could talk my parents into removing theirs when they come in….
On the purses: I share your fury. I usually check before I lock a stall; often a different stall will have a hook. So sweet of your husband, but echoing Fran, I do think there’s a risk in putting a bag on a high-up hook (one I’m willing to take, BTW). I believe that in some public bathrooms the hooks were removed for that reason–& why more of them with hooks seem to have them mid-door.
Totally with you on the purse! And never, oh never on my kitchen counter or table – they have done numerous studies on the types of bacterial on handbags – thoroughly disgusting. And the others are right about being careful in stalls and high up hooks, but I would rather that than the floor any day.
And no shoes inside. I keep a pair of inside dedicated flip flops next to the door.
So glad to know that I’m not the only weird one about shoes.
@Fran: you bring up a great point about the purse possibly being lifted and stolen while you’re in the stall. One thing I do is to hang the purse on the inside wall of the stall, rather than on the door. Makes it a bit harder to steal.
But, we’ve all still got to be aware!
I watched a news story once about how many germs we have on the bottoms of our purses and then we put them on our counters. It freaked me so I am pretty weird about putting my purse on the floor particularly a bathroom floor. I need one of those hooks.
I am completely with you on both points. What I haven’t found a way around, though, is how to bring in 8 bags of groceries without wearing my shoes in the house. Taking them on and off is such a hassle with toddler in tow. This is especially on my mind today as I tracked who-knows-what into my home along with my groceries. Ick!
I’ve got to get a purse hook. Great idea!!
This actually made me laugh out loud. I am a home health nurse…meaning I have been in more public bathrooms than I care to think about. Hey when you gotta go ya gotta go! Most public restrooms have removed the hooks because of theft.
Personally I don’t take my purse in anywhere that I don’t have to. I have one of the purse hooks (like your friend) except…I used e6000 glue to stick a magnet on mine…so it sticks to the wall of the stall, right by me, so no one can steal it!
As for the shoe thing…ever since I took microbiology no wears shoes in my home!
I am one of those people that had a purse, actually an overnight bag, “lifted” from a back of the door hook at an airport restroom. Luckily, my screams kept the bag in the adjacent stall, but my passport narrowly missed being flushed down the toilet! Now I NEVER put anything on a hook up high. While the idea of keeping your purse off the floor is admirable, I would advise people to find another way. Believe me, it may not happen often, but when it does, the price you pay for using a back door hook is too high.
Such a great idea. I just returned from a week of traveling, and I had more than one instance of potential handbag/bathroom grossness. And while we are on the subject – I also picked up the idea to carry a folded up square of paper towel for those many instances of no paper towels after the hand washing. I’ve walked out of the bathroom with dripping hands for the last time, my friends.
This is a great idea, as is the handbag hook. I do try to remember to disinfect the bottom of my purse regularly. One tip I would add is not to use the over the door hook in very touristy places. For example, most bathrooms in Vegas have the hooks on a side wall or behind the toilet because people were reaching over the doors and stealing purses. Your reaction would of course be slow, because you are busy.
Also, the nicest restaurant I ever ate at, provided purse hooks for all of the ladies at the table. It was awesome!
Good post, and agree with the comments too.
TAKE OFF YOUR SHOES WHEN YOU COME IN MY HOUSE, PEOPLE!
I clean in here, a lot. Outside is dirty. Do the math.
As for the purse thing, lots of guys including moi have to carry a bag – a murse, if you will – for iphone, keys, wallet, sunglasses etc. And we don’t want to put that on the filthy floor either. Stalls usually have a hook for a coat, so I put it there.
Interesting discussion- many times I’ve looped the strap of my bag over my neck while in the stall. It’s awkward, but it works. Also, my everyday bag- the one I use 95 percent of the time- is hot water washable, and only large enough for the essentials, with a long strap that I can loop diagonally across my chest when I’m in a crowded public place to discourage stealing. It’s not a designer bag, or pretty, but very functional. I have the 15-year-old version of this bag:
http://www.tombihn.com/Merchant2/merchant.mvc?Screen=PROD&Store_Code=001&Product_Code=TB0201
This is hilarious – I knew your gripe as soon as the headline popped up in my RSS feed!
I’ve often said, my second act as President (after a huge crackdown on texting while driving) would be the mandating of hooks in restrooms. It’s not just for purses, but coats and other shopping. Like you, I don’t usually get worked up about germs, but I do have limits. I’ve also heard of the theft problem, but hooks on the side walls seem pretty good.
I hear you about the shoes! I have to purposefully not think about it to keep myself from being grossed out.
I also hate the shoes in the house problem. I have a doll-size “shoe bench” in my foyer. Both my kids know to stop and take off their shoes and stow them on the way into the house. And they are 1 and 4!
Unfortunately, as much as I hate shoes in the house, I also hate bare feet. This is unfortunate because both of my children take after their father and believe that feet should breathe and immediately remove socks once they remove shoes.
We solved the inevitable sock-leaving-around with an IKEA tall, square “sock basket” right next to the shoe bench. It works like a charm! My one year old has even gotten to where she will search the house for socks to put in the sock basket! And since the basket is raffia, Febreeze keeps it smelling lovely even after all those sweaty Arizona socks!
So clever! I have the table hanger but I never thought about the over-the-door hook.
I had the same thought (“who designed this place?”) in a restaurant that had 20 highchairs in the dining room, but no changing table — not even a counter, only wall mounted sinks — in the enormous restroom.
This is hilarious that you wrote about this b/c while I was at work the other day, I sat my purse down on the floor and someone said, “Girl, I know you’re not putting that gorgeous purse on the floor!” I was never before conscious of putting my purse down, and have started to wonder if there is purse etiquette. Is it improper to put your purse down in certain places?
I have those over the door hooks all over the place in my house. I never thought about slipping one into my purse for bathroom “emergencies”. Genius!
I don’t wear shoes in the house, either. Ick! My grandkids play on the floor!
I throw my purse around my neck like some huge statement necklace. I look silly but it works. *lol*
That’s such a good idea! So funny, this just happened to me 2 days ago at Walmart!! I think there was a hook there, once upon a time..
So with you on not having a place to put my purse. LOL my aunts have this superstitious thing that you should never put your purse on the floor or it will result in financial bad luck.
I’m sorry, I really am, but I’m not putting my bare feet on anyone else’s floor, not even in socks. If I know in advance, I’ll be more than happy to bring flip-flops, but if they’re not welcome, neither am I. I can understand others being squicked out by shoes (somewhat), and I know that for some parts of the country it may be commonplace, but I am rather disturbed at the look-down-your-nose attitude at everyone that doesn’t do the same. Now, I’m getting to the same level of squickness that many others are; e.g. I am revolted by shopping cart handles, I also can’t put my purse on the floor, counter or table, and I gross out when others twiddle their fingers under a sprinkle of water for 3 seconds and consider their hands washed – however, there are many things to consider. I’m diabetic, as are several million others in my country. It’s foolhardy to walk without something between you and floor; something more than socks. Second, we have dogs, one of which has GME, and when’s she’s not in remission, accidents happen. This is real life. I keep a clean home, but as I said, common sense and real life both play a big part of whether or not I wear shoes in the house. Again, I understand that it’s a way of life some, and you have every single right in the world to choose what does and doesn’t come in your house, but sometimes it’s just not feasible – and that’s just fine.
Edited to add that we do try to have indoor shoes and outdoor shoes, but that sometimes things get switched.
I agree entirely about wearing shoes in the house! We have always taken our shoes off when we enter anyone’s home. I don’t ask people to take off their shoes when they come in, but most people do – they see some of our shoes on the rug inside the door.
You are totally right to obsess about what you step in. Removing shoes at the door makes so much sense.
I have an whole blog on the subject of removing shoes in homes: Shoes Off at the Door, Please You might like to take a look.
I’m the same way! Not only are floor germy and gross, but stowing my purse on the floor at a restaurant is potentially hazardous: my companions could step on it (thus crushing my ipod…eep!), or a member of the wait staff could trip on it and hurt themselves or someone else. A few months ago I received a Handbag Hook as part of a “thank you” gift from a bride (best bride ever, right?!), and now I don’t know how I lived without it.