To expect no-outdoor-shoe households to provide slippers?

[pairofrollerskates]

Just that - slides, or foot covers of some kind. Of course, if you know in advance it's different, but when you turn up for the first time at someone's house to be told "please take off outdoor shoes" at the door (which is reasonable, we all get to decide what happens in our own homes), surely something should be provided rather than expect visitors to pad about in bare feet, or socks.

No way am I wearing someone else's stinky slippers.

The relevance is that most people take shoes off at the door - like 99% of people! Its a normal thing to do not to bring the outside dirt in. My point was mentioning my friends is that it proves most people do this. You say abide by the home your in - ok so thats take shoes off as I dont know anyone who doesn’t 😀

Take your shoes off and your socks will help clean up the dog and cat hairs all over the place. Hmmph.

These threads always baffle me, no one has ever visited my house and just not taken their shoes off, with the possible exception of the odd trades person (but only when working downstairs where we have hard floors). I take slippers to other people's houses. Maybe it is a country thing.

Oh wonderful. More plastic waste.

I’ve never come across anyone who has hard floors and doesn’t allow shoes, I’d still be fine with socks though rather than communal slippers

i am not from the UK originally, the ground floor of my family home has marble floors so it is very much a slip and slide with socks on! my DH grew up in the Uk in a cold victorian house and wears socks all the time out of habit even in my family home in my home country. On our last visit, my aunt noticed he was wearing socks in the house and started chortling!

I thought it was a bit weird because I am so used to him wearing socks inside, but I do kind of see it is a bit unusual in a hot country and on marble floors. of course no one wears shoes inside in my home country. I still walk around barefoot in my home in the UK.

So where do you put your shoes when you go to bed? Why can’t shoes be left outside, in a box? And surely a couple of pairs of shoes in tbe hall arent going to kill anyone and people aren’t constantly walking past them in order to trip? Sorry it just seems an unusual reason.

99% of people in your world, darling.

I think I've been asked to remove my shoes maybe four or fives times in my life. And I've been in a lot of homes.

We live down a track that can get ver muddy and on a dog-walking route, so sometimes people call in in their wellies. I have a range of cheap croc-style soft plastic shoes in various sizes for guests at this time of year, when stone and wood floors are cool. I wipe them out with antibacterial wipes between uses but if people are fussy I give them wipes and spray and kitchen paper and they can clean their own. If people have worn them with bare feet they go in the washing machine.

We’re generally a shoes on house downstairs (tiles/wood/stone floors) but I prefer shoes off upstairs as we have cream carpets. So it doesn’t really affect guests.

My question is - what do you do for parties? We just had a party for 60 for a big birthday and everyone was all dressed up. It would have been so weird to have all stood about drinking champagne in socks/tights and even worse slippers. The thought makes me laugh. So how does socialising work?

Are the people whose homes you go into for work allowed to not have you in their homes if they don't want outdoor shoes in there?

so thats take shoes off as I dont know anyone who doesn’t 😀

And I don’t know anyone who does. So where does that leave us? Why are you so invested in what other people do in their houses that you’re never going to visit?

So your friend invites you for a coffee, its raining, muddy outside and they have a brand new carpet. You walk in their house in your shoes???

We have a 2 seater sofa in our hallway. Plenty of space to comfortably and take shoes on and off.

So where do you put your shoes when you go to bed?

On the shoe rack in my dressing room. What is this? The Spanish Inquisition? Why do you care?

I don’t think it is 99% of people. I think there seem to be plenty of shoes on houses and shoes off houses judging by MN. The vast majority of houses I go to people seem to wear shoes. Other people seem to have a different experience.

Oh hellybelly. What do you think? Concentrate really hard and see if you can come up with the answer to that scenario.

It must depend on the circles you mix in…
I can’t imagine any of my friends being so rude as to demand anyone take their shoes off. But none have cream carpets. We all have wooden/stone/tiled floors..

Imagine getting dressed up to go to a Christmas party and then dancing around in your stockings and slippers?!

Your friends could secretly be annoyed at you bringing dirt into their houses though. I never ask anyone to remove their shoes, but seeing as we ourselves are always free of shoes indoors, and the carpets are light coloured and clean and their is a rack for shoes by the front door then anyone with manners just takes them off without being asked.

Socks on a wooden/stone/tiled floor is the IDEAL dancing scenario! Far easier to do the twist, do the twist.

I think people treat parties differently, though: floors are going to get wrecked with booze and canapé crumbs, may as well add shoes to the mix and schedule a big clean once the hangover lifts.

None of my circle take off their shoes anywhere amongst that circle. That is my point, it doesn't cross our minds, we are ALL fine with shoes indoors, and I see no problem with that.

I would not go in the door of someone's house who insisted I remove my shoes. I would snort at the Mrs. Bucket vibe quite frankly and would not go in. But that's ok because I wouldn't know them well anyway! See above.

People are free to demand shoes off, and people can say no chance. I choose the latter.

I don't think most people ask adults to take their shoes off, I think most adults look for clues that you'd rather if they did.

If the hosts take shoes off, I follow suit.

I do tell dc to take their shoes off though, as otherwise they tramp mud through the house after playing in the garden.

Yikes, or ideal to have a massive fall as you slip over in your socks.

Lots of mopping after the party. Job done.

Do we all think if you go to a party in a big Manor House they ask you to remove your shoes? No. The staff clean up afterwards…

I tend to look at what the person is wearing on their feet before I offer to take mine off. If they are shoeless then I offer. I also offer if it’s wet or I know my shoes are muddy.

We’re a shoes on house (downstairs) and most of my friends are too. Notable exception is friends who lived in Hong Kong for many years. My kids’ friends take their shoes off before they go upstairs.