To exeect people to take off their outdoor shoes before coming into my house

[deakell]

Ok, I know to some people this may seem odd and in fairness when I was a child we didn't do this because my parents never made a fuss. It wasn't until I moved to Canada, where taking off your shoes as you go through the door is the norm, that I now see this as normal.

We always take our shoes off in the cloakroom and put indoor shoes/slippers on. Outdoor shoes all over my floors and carpets really irks me and it's even worse right now with a crawling baby.

A friend came over with her two kids the other day and as they came into the cloakroom my boys took their shoes off automatically as did I, and I politely said to her two "shoes off please, we don't wear outdoors shoes in the house" and the kids, quite happily took them off. My friend however, did not and just came into the house still wearing these clunky, awfully dirty looking boot-type things. This was obviously despite having seen the rest of us take them off and leave them in the porch.

I didn't like it but didn't know what else to say, so I said nothing.

AIBU to expect people to take off outdoor shoes when in my house

Disclaimer: during dinner parties or small even cocktail-type gatherings, I don't usually enforce this

Claw based on our mutual agreement on that point alone, you're welcome any time

A lot of it's cultural, isn't it?

In the UK, it seems to be traditional to wear shoes in the house. (My mum claims that this is actually a working class / upper class divide, as if you were upper class, you could afford a separate set of indoor shoes to change into, whereas lower class people could not.)

In many other cultures, it isn't normal to wear shoes in the house, and is seen as distinctly unpleasant. Once you've lived in a 'no shoes' culture, it's quite hard to go back to thinking of shoes in the house as acceptable.

It probably doesn't actually make that much difference one way or the other, but I have to admit that I'm in the 'no shoes' camp, having lived in Russia.

Bast, oh thank you! put the kettle on and i will get my wellies on

Grendel - yup definately cultural...DH is Syrian and his family are mega hot on shoes off in the house...and some of the houses actually have separate flip flops for the bathroom - which makes sense as bathrooms are always tiled or marble floors and it can get very dusty so the dust/stray water combination isn't good. Its the same in Greece for my Greek friend.

There is also the tradition of changing out of outdoor clothes (not when visiting people obv) and putting lounging clothes on. I kind of like it

I'm English myself, but do think we kind of lag behind on the hygiene thing in houses tbh

If it's so "unhygienic" to wear shoes indoors then why aren't we all dropping like flies from shoe-related diseases?

I think it's quite rude to instruct your visitors what to wear/not wear.

First time I met my ex's parents I went to theirs for sunday lunch in a nice dress, pale tights and heels. The heels were brand new but had to come off - when I looked at my tights at the end of the afternoon they were absolutely black! Ex's mum was very surprised because 'how can the floor be dirty when we take off outdoor shoes?'.

Yuck, yuck, yuck. Walking around on other people's sloughed-off foot skin and whatever the dog's brought in - no thanks!

Before having children I would never have considered asking people to remove their shoes!! I think I trust adults to remove their shoes if necessary but I agree I would encourage children to remove theirs. Think back to before you had children - you wouldn't have considered removing your shoes (would you?! Please tell me you wouldn't)

Edinburgh, I would have - sorry.
But if you read the OP, it's because I was brought up doing this (well from age 12 onwards when we emigrated to a country that does this - although been back in UK for a while)

Always ends up in a bun fight

LoopyLoops - it depends on how full the moon is

I get the impression that people with feet of the aromatic variety, can be a bit touchy about this.

unless you have brand new white/cream carpet I think it it totally over the top if you can't entertain a few people in your house for a short period of time with their shoes on.

I wouldn't dream of making guests to my house feel so uncomfortable, to save a few specs of dust