Removing shoes

[Couldntthinkofausername24]

Am I the arsehole for asking people to remove their shoes?

Since we bought our house in 2017 we have never allowed shoes upstairs or in the front room. In the front room we have a huge shaggy rug and the stairs and upstairs are carpeted.

Our front door opens in to the dining room which is wood floor and I had no issue with people being in their with shoes on. Fast forward to now, I have a 1 year old who picks up absolutely anything in sight, the last thing being a piece of dog shite. So now shoes are completely banned in my home and my god has this caused upset amongst folk!

We have ample space to remove and store shoes and a bench to sit down to do so.

I'm not posh or pretentious in any way but is it really such a huge deal to respect our house

Im prepared for a proper mums net roasting also

Yes. I'd also think shoe covers were an odd ask - I'd prefer to just wear my socks tbh.

Being asked to pop on a pair of someone else's socks (if wearing sandals) would be seriously weird!

I suffer from arthritis in my feet and plantar fasciitis and wear shoes all of the time so that I can wear arch supports. Even half an hour without a support can be painful, more so if my feet get cold. I hate not being forewarned that I have to take my shoes off, most of my friends are shoes on. Your house your rules but Just let people know in advance and they can bring slippers.

This - and I have to say I don’t know a single “shoes off” household.

These threads always leave me wondering where people in the UK are walking and what the streets are like.

Where I live, it’s very rare to ask anyone to remove shoes inside.
I’ve never had poo, stones, chunks of dirt/grass inside my house. Most people drive and if they are walking, the streets are tidy and we have good footpaths. If people have been hiking they might wear boots and then change into regular shoes - they aren’t traipsing the mountain through the house. If it’s been raining, then shoes are either wiped dry or removed because it’s common sense, not because they’ve been asked to remove them.

The whole of Japan, North Africa, Korea, Canada and others is 'lower class'? Or is being ignorant of other cultures 'lower class'?

Same here. And I live in a very muddy Yorkshire!

Also there’s these things called door mats, I’m wondering if people have heard of them?

Shoes firmly on here, and only one person in 20 plus years has walked mud in.

When it's really raining or we have been for a proper walk we take our shoes off otherwise they stay on.

I've got two dc and they have never been interested in the floor. Op do you have plenty of toys out and other stimulation?

In Canada they tend to take off outdoor shoes then put on shoes or slippers because it’s snowy. I don’t think that’s the same. They don’t actually remove shoes in the summer ime. I don’t think people in the UK would walk into someone’s house in boots covered with snow and stomp on into the living room across a carpet!

I can only assume there’s a group of people on mn who have yet to discover a Dyson and a mop 🤷🏻‍♀️

I got a box of the disposable ones they’ve lasted ages ! I feel better offering 2 options most people are fine to take their shoes off though luckily !

YANBU - keeping outside shoes on in the house is gross.

This is why the OP and I would be unlikely to meet. I bet she has fish knives. 😂

Thank you OP.
Last year we had the annual check and service of our gas central heating and gas fire. I asked the person responsible not to walk on the carpet wearing his shoes. No problem he said as he walked towards the fire wearing his shoes to place a dust sheet in front of the fire. Ugh!

I do take shoes off but I remember many years ago in summer I went to my ex DHs friend’s house without thinking much of my footwear. Realised once I got there and she told me to remove my shoes that I had bare feet. She then offered me a pair of her well worn slippers! It was such an awkward evening being in her house in my bare feet.

Well, yes, I would be too.

But is there not something slightly absurd about (yet more) singe-use plastic disposible tat being produced just to protect a floor covering from being walked on?

I understand it for workmen who might be traipsing in and out multiple times through dirt or messy building materials but for your average visitor? Really?

Aaargh - quote didn't work! In reponse to the post about disposable shoe covers....

What's the thing about fish knives?

They don’t actually remove shoes in the summer ime.

They do @TeenLifeMum

I think it probably did start with snow culture. But in my very extensive experience even in the southern parts without much snow, and in summer, they do remove their shoes.

Doesn't everyone have a random fish knife? Nobody knows where it came from or why - it's just there.

I thought this was universal tbh!

Or keep some cosy socks for him - surely that is a solution that avoids the dirt and gives dad warm feet

Since we bought our house in 2017 we have never allowed shoes upstairs or in the front room.
Do you allow visitors upstairs? I find that stranger than the shoe question.

That’s not what I said. 🙄 but if your home is draughty, people will get cold feet (there’s nothing worse!) and you’ll have bigger heating bills.

I thought “no shoes” was fairly standard now in the uk. Certainly so common that it wouldn’t cause massive problems.

Oh dear - this post does not reflect well on you.

Nobody wears shoes in my house either. It started because I had a baby who was crawling and picking everything up and putting it in his mouth. It's still this way because my toddler plays on the floor alot and as it's carpeted it's just cleaner. Anyone who has a problem with it is happy to not visit 🤷

I take my own shoes off but would never ask guests to do so. But we have wood floors downstairs and they are easy to clean.

My visitors use the (only) toilet, which is upstairs. It is not at all strange for homes to not have a downstairs toilet.
Visitors also include family who sleep upstairs.