Do you wear shoes inside

[AliB]

What do you think about this - my brother and his family have a strict no-outside-shoes rule in their house. That's fine with me because I prefer to go barefoot (or socks in winter).

But the anoying bit at my brother's is that they fuss soo much about it! I am happy wih a polite but firm request. But, have a large collection of indoor slippers/thongs/sandal type things for guests and they virtually INSIST that you wear a pair. Sorry, I"m not wearing someone elses shoes! But because they 'offer' multiple times i then wonder if I"m offending them by having bare feet.

[They also have a little bench to sit on to take off/on their shoes - the other day they kept repeating to DP 'sit on the bench!!' even though he was happy to pull his shoes off while standing. So the whole thing becomes SUCH a big deal with lively and repeated nagging! I suppose that's their personality types though].

But back to my point - is it unreasonable to insist that guests take off their shoes, and then also insist that they cover their feet again with your supplied footwear?

[murraysmum]

dp does this and drives me nuts mum allways had a rule slippers and house shoes in the house only thongs work boots runners ect stay outside on shoe rack

dp allways has metal fileling ect on his boots that he stomps into our carpet grrr and im allways vacuming i allways wear my house socks inside and murray wears slippers my mates no my no shoe rule but u do get some ppl who wont and im pretty sure its cause they dont vacume or dont care about the fact that stuff goes on the carpet or floor and a bub or child could injest it

[HotI]

We are generally a shoes off household. we have stupid white carpet (why would you put white carpet in a place on a dirt road?) that i get drycleaned every year but it doesn't take long for the stains to appear, even with not wearing shoes inside.

At the moment i am struggling to get my shoes on and off easily (i wear runners that lace up) due to the big bump in front and difficulty bending, so i have been a bit slack at my place. At other people s places though i still take my shoes off.

It is just so much more comfy to get the shoes off.

[murraysmum]

u can get those bonds house socks now lol take a pair with u and say ild rather wear my own lol

[sunshine_sieben]

Ali, say you've got Athlete's foot or something

To be honest, I wouldn't really care to wear supplied slippers. Although with my Psoriasis, I don't think people would want me to lol (not contagious, though). As mentioned earlier, a lot of people in Germany have those guest slippers. But they only really get worn in winter with socks. Not bare foot.

I do understand that you wouldn't want to wear shoes that other people have worn, even though I personally wouldn't really have a problem.

I think insisting on your DH to sit on the bench might only have been because they wanted him to be more comfortabel while following their rules iykwim. They sound like the type that fusses quite a bit, tbh. I think bringing house socks might be a good idea. But yes, it is a little bit weird in my book to insist that guests wear provided shoes. But then again, others might think I'm a little bit weird.

You know, I have never made a fuss with people about not wearing shoes inside. My IL's are the first people I have ever asked to do so. If they only came over once in a blue moon, I wouldn't have bothered, either. But they live just up the road, so are here often. I regard them as part of my family, so that's why I asked them.
TBH, I don't know anyone else (apart from tradesmen who came to work at my house) who doesn't take their shoes off. I guess just because they see us do it.

DH gets a bit lazy at times and it bugs me. We own a signshop and yes, bits of vinyl, sawdust and metal filings are a problem. We also have a dog (who lives outside), so stepping in remnants of dog poo or wee is quite likely.

On a different note: does anyone else of us barefooters think that carpet staples are evil? I guess our carpet has never been the plushest one. Every time you step near the doorway, you get stabbed in the foot.

[HotI]

A
On a different note: does anyone else of us barefooters think that carpet staples are evil? I guess our carpet has never been the plushest one. Every time you step near the doorway, you get stabbed in the foot.

Yep!! I think i have tapped them all down- but then they get you again-ouch!

[Rouge]

I would love to have shoes off at the door but I very rarely implement it. Even though it's how I grew up too.

However here is a question for you... what about pets? Dogs or cats?

[HotI]

We have a baby gate across where the kitchen and lounge meet, with the dogs beds on the kitchen side (lino on the floor). The dogs very rarely come on to the carpet area, although their hair still manages to migrate.

ETA- Yep, they are labs.

[sunshine_sieben]

However here is a question for you... what about pets? Dogs or cats?

I have a yellow Labrador. We have a large enclosed patio (enclosed with fly-screen, tin roof). He lives on that with access to the yard. However, he sheds like crazy, so we still get some hairs inside. He is not allowed inside. If i take him for a walk, I usually take him through the side gate, very rarely do I take him through the house.

[~clover~]

My dogs are strictly outside too.

[suse]

However here is a question for you... what about pets? Dogs or cats?

Nah, I make them take their shoes off too. (JK, I don't actually have pets)

Until I moved to Nth Queensland I had never really encountered a no-shoes inside house (lived in Melbourne the Sydney all of my life prior to that), although it was common to take shoes off when it was raining. Up here, no-one seems to wear shoes inside. I often take my shoes off inside for comfort though, and definitely if they are not clean.