Shoes on or off in your house?

[petek]

Do you generally keep your shoes on when you go in your house or do you remove them at the door always?

As kids growing up I don't think we ever took our shoes off when we ran into the house etc but I remember some neighbors who were adamant that shoes came off at the door. Now it seems like it's common practice here to remove your shoes and walk around in your socks, slippers or barefoot. When someone comes over they also automatically start removing their shoes at the front door and I always tell them to leave them on if they want, still they insist on removing them.

 

[rpm]

shoes off

I hate wearing shoes and am in bare feet most of the time so its the first thing I do when I come inside.
Good thing you don't live next door to Hyacinth Bucket.

 

[oldhouseman]

Mine

stay on. The house tends to be cold in the winter so some form of footwear stays on. In the summer I may change my shoes when I come in to a more comfortable pair. I have friends who have the practice of removing their shoes because they don't want to track dust or dirt in. They have carpeting and a few rugs. I have wood floors with Persian and Oriential rugs. I keep good door mats in place both inside and outside every exit door (I have 6 doors that exit the house). I have two Boxers so the place gets a good going over with the vacuum almost everyday anyway and I send my rugs out to be cleaned on a regular basis twice a year since they are antique. I believe the practice of not having outdoor footwear on inside is rooted in Asain culture. It makes good sense for some and not for others. It's really not a practical idea in my household. Besides it's to much trouble to put my shoes back on everytime I want to go out on the piazza.

 

[vulcanchef]

hate shoes too, only have them on when i have to

 

[panthera]

Definitely off.

We had quite a court case here several years ago. Nasty old bitch - sort of like the one who lived under me for years and years - complained that neighbor's kids left their shoes on the doormat before going into their apartment.
Took it to court.
Took it up to our version of the Supreme Court. The woman running the court asked if the nasty old bitch was willing to clean the neighbor's floors and carpets everyday after four kids and two dogs had tramped in and out in their shoes?
So now it's legal whether the old biddies like it or not.
I grew up in a house where they came off at the door, a matter of simple hygiene.
Besides, who wears shoes when they can go barefoot? Not I!

 

[tomturbomatic]

I was raised to remove my outside shoes when entering the house and exchanging them for house shoes so I still do. "Keep the outside shmuts outside." I would have been knocked off my feet if I had ever uttered the logical extension about keeping the inside shmuts inside.

 

[rp2813]

Generally there are no shoes on in our house. This started about 5 years ago when we got new carpeting, and it has paid off. We are naturists anyway so shoes are rarely on. When I get home from work I remove my shoes in the kitchen and carry them back to the closet. During colder weather we wear heavy socks. Some guests remove their shoes when they visit but we don't require it.

 

[conate]

SWAP shoes.

We are people who always wear footwear -- when you live in a 200 year old house with rough wooden floors (we don't anymore but did for 10 years. They say 'they don't build 'em like they used to' and this is true. In some ways things are better now, in some ways worse) you always wear shoes. But we'd swap stout soled shoes for stout soled slippers. (My normal shoes, Danners or other book type shoes, don't have 'marriage saver soles' on them so they would track dirt in horribly if I wore them inside.).

Inside slippers tend to be Clark's or Merrill's slip on camp shoes, so they are technically outdoor shoes too. But quite comfortable.

(The one thing I DO remember about all the 'duck and cover' kind of stuff was 'never track fallout dust in the house' so that's where some of that comes from too. Not that there's fallout, but also, since I used to live in a rural area you don't want to track pasture dirt into the floor!)

Nate

 

[polkanut]

I keep mine on because I have foot problems and need to wear orthotics to help correct the problems. I will on occasion go barefoot, or wear slippers though.

 

[toggleswitch]

Marika is off today.*

*They mythical maid's universal name, known to Greeks and Greek-Americans.

No outside shoes in the house.
An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.

 

[hoover1060]

always on...

My feet are usually always cold, something I inherited from my dear mother.
I usually always have shoes on, for no other reason than keeping my feet warm(er)
I have slippers, but usually only wear them in the winter, I'll come in from walking Jack or shoveling snow and take off the wet shoes and replace them with warm slippers.

 

[maytagbear]

I'm supposed to never go barefoot--

One of the things stressed in Patient Education when I was diagnosed with diabetes all those years ago, was that I was not to go barefoot, ever, except while in the shower, or pool.

I remove my shoes, when visiting, and asked to, quietly, but I am not pleased about it.

However, if people value their rugs more than their friendships, I am more than willing to leave them to their rugs.

Lawrence/Maytagbear

 

[tuthill]

Always on... generally the temperature dictates it

 

[58limited]

Always on unless I get them dirty. I have separate shoes for mowing the yard and I take them off at the door to keep the grass clippings (and dog doo if I wasn't watching where I was going) outside. Slippers in the late evening.

Never had anyone come over and remove their shoes - if they did I would ask them to keep them on: I don't want to smell their foot odor or deal with their foot germs.

If I go to someone's house and I am asked to remove my shoes, I will but I won't go back again.

 

[washerboy]

matters not to me

I hate shoes..period..I wear them as little as possible..I take them off at the office, my home, in the choir loft where ever I can. Now I do have my limits..no I'm not going in a public bathroom or resturant in bare feet...but have been to the grocery store a time or two (well actualy many times) in my adult life in bare feet. In the winter I run around the house either in house shoes ( some folks call them house slippers) or socks. As far as visitors in my home..on or off..whatever..so long as you dont have mud or dog poo on your shoes it's okay. But..I have hardwoods through out and as few throw rugs as possible...if I had wall to wall carpet...everyone would take their shoes off...when all my kids were little...they had to deshoe everytime they came in from playing..otherwise I was calling Stanley Steamer once a month.

 

[iheartmaytag]

It doesn't matter to me.

I have several very strong vacuums, and a good hot water extractor. Besides, the carpet man said the worst thing you can put on a carpet is a bare foot. You have more sweat and oil glands on the bottom of your feet than anywhere else on your body.

 

[washabear]

Shoes off for me. Not for any concerns about the house but strictly for comfort. I will wear them in the house if I have visitors, but otherwise I'm barefoot (or in socks during the winter).

I don't leave them at the door, but the first thing I do when I come in is take my shoes off and put them in the closet.

I even dislike buying shoes and usually have only a few pairs at any given time. Shoes last me years.

 

[cehalstead]

shoes or no shoes

I don't wear shoes in my house, or anywhere else unless I have to. I love to drive barefoot. I spend 8 hours a day in steel toe boots and that's enough! I don't ask anyone to remove their shoes when entering my home, but most do since they see me barefoot. I always tell them, if I am asked, that shoe removal is their choice. I would never insist on it, unless the shoes were dirty.

 

[jamiel]

I always keep mine on, but my partner takes them off (there's a line up in the dining room of 3 pairs of black shoes), but I digress. I hear my mother's voice "if you'd had your shoes on, you wouldn't have stubbed your toe" if I take them off. I even get irritated if I'm going into a real estate open house and they ask for you to take your shoes off. That's what a stout upright vacuum cleaner is for!

 

[toggleswitch]

I take my shoes off voluntarily if I know my host fairly well (or it's a formal gathering), unless my socks will end up functioning as mops. I do have friends who keep a filthy house where one needs to wash all of their clothes immediately upon return home and have a good hot shower. (And I do mean from a NORMAL visit!)

~I love to drive barefoot.
That is illegal in my state and considered to be a dangerous practice. You won't want to brake if a sliver of glass makes it into your foot.

I will also not be a passenger with a driver that has open-back shoes. It is extremely easy for the shoe to slip off and wedge itself under a pedal.

 

[DADoES]

Driving barefoot does NOT work for me.

Right now, shoes are off .. but I haven't yet been out of the house today.

I typically visually check my shoes, take them off if dirty ... or I sit on the patio and scrub them with an old towel and brush before coming in.

When visiting someone else, visually check, remove if needed. I'd never be offended if someone asks me to take my shoes off in their home.

A little grass or dry dirt is one thing, not particularly destructive, cleans easily. Gum, tar, or mud is entirely different.

 

[cehalstead]

dangerous practice....

My dear Toggles:

i have read many places that driving barefoot is actually safer than driving while wearing shoes. The reasoning is that your reflexes are better in barefeet. While many think that driving barefoot is illegal (and I am sure it is in many places), most state driving codes make no mention of shoes at all...neither requiring nor giving permission to do without.

ps....call me soon.....

 

[frigilux]

I was raised to remove shoes upon entering the house. We had white carpet in the hall and living room, so no shoes were allowed.

I still remove my shoes and put on moccasins when I get home.

 

[oldhouseman]

Wow

...what a wide range of response and household practice. I think this is interesting from a cultural standpoint. Region to region and social demographics. I can see some of the students that come into my office looking for a topic to research for a school research project taking this up.

White carpet...hhhmmm...what's that particular design thought about. Certainly a late 20th century convention. I would be interested to know where the roots of that idea came from. Clean looks of course but what inspired it?

Walking into my home is much like stepping back into time 200 years so the shoes are kept on. I have a great interest in modern home particulars such as this. Believe it or not this kind of information helps me in my work as a Cultural Historian. Thanks for all the great information.

 

[jmirawm]

a little relaxed here ......

in the house: boxers and ankle socks. It is kind of a pain when someone comes to the door and i have to rush to throw on pants and a shirt. I have been known to drive to the hardees drive thru early on a saturday or sunday morning barefoot.

 

[mayken4now]

OFF, brings dirt in my house, aint having it.

 

[joeekaitis]

Deerfoams slippers. They feel even better than bare feet, but we're not shoes-off obsessed about visitors.

 

[mattywashboy]

we have a rack just inside the front door for shoes to come OFF. Even tho we have mainly tile floors shoes still leave marks and scatter any dirt or grass, its just a lot easier to keep the place clean.

 

[dirtybuck]

Hmmm...

I usually run around the apartment barefoot a great deal of the time, but when I go out, it's basically ankle socks and sneakers. However, now that Spring is here and the weather is warming up, the flip-flops have been taken out of the bedroom closet.

 

[panthera]

Shoes/no Shoes

I asked two groups of students about this. One, first semester engineering, mostly still living at home. The other, last semester (they hope!) (but not as much as we do), engineering, nearly all living on their own. I'm trying to teach them how to communicate with non-engineers using English as the intermediary. If any of you live with engineers, you can guess how well I'm doing...not. Anyway,

Both groups answered exactly the same:
Guys living alone: Hell no.
Guys living with mama: But of course.
Guys living with girl friend: Yup. If I want any, you betcha (we don't do political correctness here, so men really do still talk like real men in the classroom. Women still roll their eyes, they just don't go screaming to the PC police).
Women: "What is the first thing you saw your mom do after a day at work?....Ok, ok, got the point. As I have often mentioned here before, I just can not walk straight in 4' heels.

I don't ask guests to take their shoes off who don't think to do so at the door - I wouldn't want them to feel uncomfortable in my home. By the same token, I am not offended if someone asks me to take them off at the door - it is, after all, their house. Can't imagine not ever going back somewhere again simply because someone asked. I would expect said host to provide hygenically fresh houseshoes in my size (13D/47).
Shoes aren't the issue here, regardless of reality, the "mentality" in Germany is still agricultural and the pig shit doesn't belong in the house.
We have five major food groups here in Bavaria: Cigarettes, Coffee, Beer, Salt and Pork. Everything else is negotiable. The daintiest Hausfrau, wearing her fluffiest pink boas and 6" spiked-heel house-slippers would rather spend the next weekend re-painting the living room walls than ask a guest not to smoke in his appartment. My allergy to cigarette smoke means no smoking at my house. That one has led to more than one friend's lover refusing to ever visit me again.
Cultures vary in their expressions, but never in their basic human characteristics.
There are only two types of people. The ones who wish you well the way you are and the ones who demand you be who they tell you you have to be.