Do You Have Guests Remove Their Shoes Upon Entry?

MamatoJackson · April 2010

We visited a couple's house last night for the first time and when we arrived, there was a cutesie wooden hanging by the door-bell (very classy-looking) with their last names and a note saying "Please Remove Shoes Upon Entry."

At first I was put-off by it as I've always felt that was a tad rude - Guests are guests, after all, and they shouldn't be made to feel like kindergarteners by taking off their shoes.

I got over it quickly. lol And I actually started thinking that with a baby who will eventually crawl, stumble, lick the floor, whatever they do... I might want to implement this for our family, too.

Do any of you do this? Do you find it awkward when you have guests?

ilovejimh · April 2010

I personally always ask what the owner would like. We used to live near a large population of middle eastern people and it is just custom not to wear shoes in the house.

rianals · April 2010

I grew up in a home where everyone took their shoes off...except my friend Jason. His feet stunk so bad that he was required to keep them on.

rianals · April 2010

Well, my last post posted before I finished...oops!

Anyways, my DH hates taking off his shoes (he wears big clunky lace up boots) so he, and anyone else who wants to, can wear their shoes inside. However, upstairs is a shoe free zone.

TrinaKay · April 2010

We don't really have an entry way, so as much as I'd like for guests to remove their shoes, they would have to walk into my living room to do so, and it just seems silly at that point!

Our playgroup does remove their shoes when we host. The moms know that before hand, so they wear easy slip on/off shoes.

jen5-03 · April 2010

We do not. I have foot problems and a bad lower back, which is made worse by not wearing supportive shoes. Going shoeless is one of the worst things I can do to my back.

If I was going to your house to sit and watch a movie or eat dinner or play a boardgame, I'd be fine with it. If I was up mingling at a party or on my feet for some other reason and had to be shoeless I'd be pretty pissy about it.

Daisy77 · April 2010

We have a sign near our entry when you first walk in that says, "Please remove your shoes, Thanks!". However if someone is uncomfortable doing so and continues to wear them (my grandparents do) we don't say anything. We have found that most take them off.

We have a gravel/rock driveway that goes up to our entryway and despite two rugs (one outside the door, one inside), dirt still comes in pretty easily....

Fwiw, I normally take my shoes off when entering a home unless I see the owners wearing shoes inside.

ETA: We also have our shoes lined up right near the door so it's clear we take our shoes off right away.

mandymack · April 2010

We have all hardwood floors and because they can be cold, we are all more comfortable with socks and shoes on so, we've never really had a "remove your shoes" policy.

I might be more strict about it if I had carpet though!

thumper57 · April 2010

Our guests remove shoes when they come in, including friends, and playgroup mommies . I usually don't say anything and most ppl just assume to take off their shoes or will ask me if they should.

If someone is coming to the house for an appointment or is doing repairs, I don't ask them to remove their shoes.

You could also leave your shoes at the door as a hint that you would like shoes to be removed.

Ilumine · April 2010

I have dogs. They bring in as much if not more gunk than the average shoe. It would be pointless.

Ilumine · April 2010

HOWEVER, I DO require my SS and his buddies to be shoeless. NO ONE knows where their shoes have been.

mdepping · April 2010

I generally take off my shoes when I go to another person's home unless I am told not to worry about it. I don't ask guests to remove their shoes at our house. We have a dog and he brings in more dirt and sand than anyone could possibly bring in on their shoes.

Stacyc625 · April 2010

Personally I hate wearing shoes. so i always chuck them off as soon as i get in the door- I honestly don't care what anyone else does- and I have white carpeting throughout most of the house (previous owner installed it- what a monkeyhead)-

I leave it up to guests- i never ask or say anything.

DH hates shoes as much as me so he takes them off too-

Alexandra*sMom · April 2010

We do. It is really a ND thing, so everyone up here does it. I was a little put off when we moved here (like why try to wear cute shoes, when no one sees them anyway!), but it really does save the carpet. After visiting my parents farm last summer that they wear their shoes in the pastures, then in their house, it really taught me why to do this!

shellyxo · April 2010

Growing up, I felt weird when I would take off my shoes at my friend's houses and they told me to keep them on.

However, I am part Korean and this is traditional in Korean families to always take shoes off when you enter your house or guests homes.

So I am very bias in favor of no-shoes and entry ways in homes.

When my husband and I were house shopping and saw "split-entry" homes, I couldn't believe these kind of houses existed.

(For some reason.. I never saw split-entry homes in Michigan, so seeing them in Omaha was new to me.)

I just couldn't get why anyone would design a home with no entry way. It doesn't make sense why the designer wouldn't design a house with a entry space to take off shoes or put coats away or have room to greet guests. To me.. it screamed a man design. XD

Well, we ended up getting a regular ranch house with a lovely big entry way and a closet right by the door. I love it, and can't really imagine having a home where everyone keeps their shoes on.

meyemn28 · April 2010

It's pretty much the norm around here to take off shoes when you go into a house--probably because there is snow on the ground for half the year and houses would be really trashed if people walked around the houses with shoes on. If a guest didn't take their shoes off I wouldn't say anything, but I'd definately be annoyed. A couple times I've had some of DH's friends try to walk around in my house with their shoes on...but to them I do say something (and it usually isn't very nice, lol). Now they know the rules.

ariel06 · April 2010

thumper57:

Our guests remove shoes when they come in, including friends, and playgroup mommies . I usually don't say anything and most ppl just assume to take off their shoes or will ask me if they should.

If someone is coming to the house for an appointment or is doing repairs, I don't ask them to remove their shoes.

You could also leave your shoes at the door as a hint that you would like shoes to be removed.

This is us exactly. We have wood floors that seem to scratch like crazy. We generally won't ask people to take them off, they just assume. We let it slide for anyone older or who we know has health reasons to keep them on.

wheelsonthebus · April 2010

I hate taking my shoes off when going into a house. I feel like I'm not dressed. I totally understand why some people ask guests to remove shoes, but we don't at my house. The only time I will ask people to remove shoes is when it's snowy and salty out and people are wearing boots. That ruins the wood floor.

babypuplove · April 2010

I don't ask guests to remove their shoes, but I really wish they would! I actually got into a mini-argument with my dad about it a few months back when I asked him to (I don't consider him a guest since he's here pretty much weekly). He said I was being rude, and I told him I didn't care, that his shoes were always dirty and he was careless about wiping them off. :-) Otherwise, no, I just hope people will see that we don't have shoes on and will remove them.

FIL was here on Friday and just watching him walk around in his tennis shoes drove me crazy, but I didn't say anything. I vacuum/mop about twice a week (once during the week and almost every weekend), so I figure it's not that big a deal.

When I go to other people's homes, I just follow their lead. If they are not wearing shoes, I take mine off.

Sawyerplus1 · April 2010

Can I just say I find this strange. Not in a bad way, but we've ALWAYS taken off our shoes as soon as we come inside. Any house I've ever been to (my own growing up and now, ILs, friends, family, etc) all across Canada this has always been the case. Maybe it's a Canadian thing? It makes sense to me, considering I dont know where your shoes have been and what they may have walked through, so no, I dont want that on my carpet for my children to crawl/play on.??

HarrietNJMommy · April 2010

No, and I find it rude if people ask me to remove my shoes.

Mereou12 · April 2010

This post makes me think of the episode of Sex & The City where Carrie goes to the party where the hostess makes her remove her shoes...and someone steals her Manolos. Stick out tongue

Anyway, I do prefer that people remove their shoes, but I don't make a big deal about it if they don't. DH and I lived in Japan for three years, so we got used to taking off our shoes in all homes, and even at some businesses (you have to remove them to go into dressing rooms!) and restaurants. So while I don't go out of my way to ask people to remove their shoes, we try to make it obvious by keeping our shoes by the door and always being barefoot ourselves. We may start asking, though, as DS gets older and starts crawling.

Emily_Ann · April 2010

Ilumine:
I have dogs. They bring in as much if not more gunk than the average shoe. It would be pointless.

This. I'm also one of those that hates wearing shoes and takes them off every chance I get. At home actually, inside or out, I'm probably not wearing shoes. (Yeah, I'm that Southern girl standing barefoot in the front yard with a baby on my hip. lol)

DH and I had a discussion about this recently. I hate carpet. It only exists in our bedrooms because we haven't made our way to that part of our to-do list. Therefore, I do not care if people track dirt in my house. I can sweep and mop. A friend of ours has carpet throughout her home and freaks out if people don't take off their shoes in her house. Her reasoning is that she doesn't know where your shoes have been, and she's barefoot and then gets in her bed and doesn't want your nasty stuff in her bed. Um, she has a cat though. That cat goes outside and comes back inside and climbs around in a litter box. What's the difference?

Temp174496125006552 · April 2010

No, I have never asked people to take their shoes off. Some of the moms in my moms group do anyway when they come over for playgroup and I think that's because it's what they do in their own homes. My daughter's friends always take their shoes off when they come over.

DarcyLongfellow · April 2010

I think it's pretty rude to require guests to take off their shoes. It always makes me think of that Sex and the City episode.

I don't wear shoes in my own house, but I don't insist that others take them off.

DD is going to be exposed to a lot of germs in her life -- if there are some extra germs in the house because of people shoes, oh well. I figure it's good for her immune system.

jerseycaptive · April 2010

I don't have a sign per se, but usually when people see the pile of shoes near the front door, they know what to do. And yes, because I have a lil' guy, I want people to take off their shoes. Especially, when guests visit the nursery.

Liz342 · April 2010

I am shocked at how many people think it's rude to ask to remove your shoes. It must be a regional thing or something because I think it's horribly rude to walk into someone's house and leave your shoes on or at least not ask.

I don't ask people to remove their shoes in my home but most people generally do. We have white carpeting so I would think it would be common sense anyway.

JDCSKF · April 2010

Ilumine:
I have dogs. They bring in as much if not more gunk than the average shoe. It would be pointless.

This x2!

We keep a shoe cubby by the front door just to store shoes. People see it and want to take off their shoes. I insist they keep them on, because our rugs are dirty from dogs (no matter how many times I vaccum a day!).

tabi_ja · April 2010

I hate shoes, and would go barefoot all year long, if our Kansas weather would allow it. As it is, I nearly always go barefoot in a house - whether it's mine or someone else's. The only time I ask others to remove their shoes, though, is if it's rainy or snowy outside. Most of our friends are like me, though, and just prefer to be barefoot, so it would be a non-issue, regardless.

safy · April 2010

I don't do it that way, but I always do appreciate it when people remove their shoes when they come in. I always remove my shoes and have my kids take their shoes off when we go into other people's homes unless they tell us otherwise. I don't always check what's under my shoes and I wouldn't want to track dirt, mud, etc into other people's homes. I'm thankful that they have us there the last thing I'd want is to make a mess for them to clean up after we've been there.

yeshuahamasshiah · April 2010

I have a sign at my front door which at this point is almost irrelevant because anyone that I actually care to have over my home knows that we have a NO SHOE POLICY!

We have a crawling baby around and thats a good enough excuse for me, though DH and I have always walk barefoot while in the house, even before DS arrived.

lilone_06 · April 2010

I personally hate this and have never asked it of my guests, but IF you're going to do it, I think the little sign you encountered is the nicest possible way to do it. I wouldn't be put off by this, and certainly understand why people do it. (The reasons you mentioned - it's impossible to keep a house clean enough for a crawling baby!)

jacksjerseygirl · April 2010

When going to someone's house - I tend to look for signs as to whether I should or would want to take my shoes off.

If the owners respect their home and are shoe-less, have implemented a note (as in your case), or ask - then certainly I will automatically remove my shoes.

If the owners floors do not look well cleaned and they are wearing shoes - then I take that as a sign that me removing my shoes is not necessary and not really something I want to do.

PERSONALLY - in my own home - a person can tell immediately that we respect our home space. We do not wear shoes in the home, 99% of the time our home is well cleaned and the floors are ALWAYS clean (no matter what the floors in our home are cleaned - almost daily) because I don't wear shoes in the house - I don't want to feel stuff on the bottoms of my feet nor do I want Grant walking/crawling/picking up anything that may get on the floor.

I would say that 75% of the time when people come to our home, they immediately remove their shoes without me saying anything. 10% of the time people ask me - I make a judgement call based on weather and what their shoes look like as to weather I say "if you wouldn't mind" or "no it's okay, just wipe them well". The other 15% they just wear them without even asking me which I find incredibly rude and ill mannered.

My husband's brother/sister NEVER take off their shoes and NEVER ask. IN their own home, I would NEVER take off my shoes (except for the first time I visited them) because the floor is always dirty - cleaning is not a priority for them (their children are grown/married so no excuses from that aspect). This past weekend, for example, they went for a walk at our local park - which has lots of geese - which means lots of bacteria/poop - which means that when they came to my house after their walk - they tracked all that bacteria and grossness into my home where I end up walking on it with my bare feet and Grant ends up coming in contact with it. It really pisses me off. lol

Okay there is my partial vent (coming off of a birthday party weekend in which we had ALL of our family fly in/drive in for the weekend).

babypuplove · April 2010

A few of you mentioned that you have dogs/cats who bring in tons of dirt from the outside, and therefore don't care if people wear shoes in your home. We have a large dog who goes outside several times a day, and we thoroughly wipe his feet every time he comes inside. I can't stand the thought of him tracking tons of dirt inside, just like I hate when people walk around with their shoes on in my house. But, like I said before, I don't ask people to remove their shoes. I just hope they take the cues from us (shoes piled up by the front door, we're all shoe-less), and follow our lead.

Koala77 · April 2010

As soon as DD started crawling we started taking shoes off and have ever since then. People that come over notice the shoes outside and that we aren't wearing shoes and they typically ask. If not, we'll ask if they would mind taking their shoes off and they seem fine with it. It keeps the floors so much cleaner!

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