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Original poster

Shoes off policy in the home

211 replies

Metrobaby · 20/08/2004 14:10

I was just wondering if anyone has this policy in their home. If so, when people come to visit do you ask them to remove their shoes too? And if you visit other people's homes, do you take off your shoes or wait to be asked?

OP posts:
Fio2 · 24/08/2004 11:59

I think it might be cultural actually. My mum and dad sold their house to a cantonese family and they brought ALL there family round to see it. I thought it quite amusing that there was about 15 pairs of shoes in the porch (which was a small porch!) whilst they looked round the house

hercules · 24/08/2004 17:27

I have been influenced by some of the comments here and for the last 3 days have said nothing about shoes when people have come into the house.
It hasnt been easy. I'm looking at a mud patch as i type.....

I did it though

Coddy- are you proud of me?

hercules · 24/08/2004 17:36

There are black f*in marks all over my lovely light coloured carpet on the stairs and upstairs angry{}

hercules · 24/08/2004 17:37
Angry
dinosaur · 24/08/2004 17:46

This reply has been withdrawn

This has been withdrawn by MNHQ at the poster's request.

Portree · 24/08/2004 18:09

Hercules, I am with you on this one. I've got tread marks on my tiled hall floor and am about to match the treads to dh's shoes no doubt. I'm too, so I think I may be making a notice for the door.

aloha · 24/08/2004 19:25

I'm stunned. I wouldn't dream of asking a visitor to take off their shoes and feel mortified if someone asks me to - it's embarassing IMO to take off your nice boots or shoes and walk about looking like a midget in a nice outfit and stockinged feet. My friends have never asked me to take my shoes off. Shoes are part of your outfit and if you go out, you make a bit of effort. Shoes are sexy and elegant and to invite people to a party or for dinner and ask them to take their shoes off seems odd to me. it would spoil their outfit to sit there in socks or tights. Can you imagine Cary Grant sitting down to dinner in his socks? Not very suave. And I hardly ever wear shoes in the house - though am currently sporting Accessorise silver flip-flops - and have notoriously filthy feet. But it's a personal comfort thing, and not at all something I'd impose on others. we have wooden floors downstairs anyway.

notthecod · 24/08/2004 19:30

go aloha

aloha · 24/08/2004 19:44

To be honest, I think my feet would do more damage to cream carpets than my shoes... what a lovely thought!

aloha · 24/08/2004 19:46

If someone asked me to do it I would, but I would be embarrassed to be perfectly honest.

aloha · 24/08/2004 19:46

If someone asked me to do it I would, but I would be embarrassed to be perfectly honest.

aloha · 24/08/2004 19:47

To be honest, I think my feet would do more damage to cream carpets than my shoes... what a lovely thought!

Pagan · 24/08/2004 19:57

All I can say is wow!!!! 184 messages on a 5 day old thread. Astonishing what is close to some folk's hearts

notthecod · 24/08/2004 19:58

aloha you have gone mad!

JJ · 24/08/2004 20:09

Ooh, Portree, you should start another thread! I'd hate people tramping the quantity of mud I'm imagining that your IL do through my house. And I've got an indoor/outdoor type house with mud in the back gard. I'll get someone on here to back me up on how, um, lackadaisical I am with that. But yours sounds extreme!

Fun thread. I think if it's the done thing in your area then it's ok. If you're just being picky, then no. Because I don't like to wear shoes, I've sometimes found myself without them (ie not sure when I took them off) in a house where that's weird. But I also have occasions when I don't want to take my shoes off because of stinky feet, but usually I know in advance to wear the "non-stinky" shoes.

aloha · 24/08/2004 21:00

I must be feeling more strongly about this than I thought! Oops. Or possibly have gone mad. This is quite a plausible hypothesis. Hmm, wanders off to eat supper and ponder...

notthecod · 24/08/2004 21:00

No check out the " first poster thread"

youa re on that

JiminyCricket · 24/08/2004 21:17

What could be more interesting that carpets My MIL gets silently cross if I don't take shoes off in her house, so I try to be good unless I have sandals on and bare feet because they keep their house sooo cold ... when they come to ours they make a point by bringing their slippers! I try to take a 'oh, to h@ll with the carpets attitude (even though they're cream) and MIL is always going on about how impractical they are. My darling sister rather undermined my position by walking in to say hi to mIL and fil one night when they were babysitting in her doc martens and walking gooey mud all through the living room just as we were about to go out...

Gingerbear · 25/08/2004 01:40

Does anyone remember the episode of the Royle Family when Dave had dog poo on his shoe and Barbara cleaned it off with a knife into the kitchen sink????

Saw it on UK Gold again recently - ROFL

The Royles obviously don't take off their shoes. Poor BabyDavid.......

bluebear · 25/08/2004 23:33

I've been asked to remove my shoes when viewing a house with an estate agent...he said the owner of the house was insistent (My shoes were not dirty - honest). I found it quite disconcerting to walk around in my socks, even though I don't tend to wear shoes in the house at home.
Didn't buy that house!

Jimjams · 26/08/2004 14:41

I love these threads- hilarious. In Japan it is very very rude not to take your shoes off. I remember once I was going out with some Japanese friends and I'd left something in my kitchen- I ran into my flat spent 2 seconds in the kitchen getting whatever it was I'd forgotton and my friends all shrieked with horror. when (now) dh turned up to visit he only brought doc martens. BY the time you've negotiated shoes off in hallway, slippers for woode3n floored rooms, different slippers for the toilet and bare feet (socks) for tatami Japan was a nightmare.

Here I would never dream of asking someone to take thier shoes off, but then I think most people's feet need protecting from my carpets which should be burned. I don't really wear shoes in my house and often don't wear any shoes outside either.

smellymelly · 26/08/2004 15:29

Bluebear - what is the problem with taking your shoes off to view a house??

Surely it means that the carpets are clean and well looked after?

Maybe it was my house you viewed! I made everyone take their shoes off here...

muddaofsuburbia · 26/08/2004 15:52

I'm not a shoes-off-in-the-house person, and so yesterday had an interesting experience.

We're selling our house and we had 2 guys come round on an accompanied viewing, while me and ds were in. The estate agent told them to take their shoes off even after I'd said it didn't matter!

They were viewing for 10 mins max, and were then really apologetic for having to put their shoes back on to see around the garden. It was all a bit awkward really.

woodstock · 30/08/2004 05:28

I have to second aloha on this. I am "vertically challenged" as dh likes to put it and so feel uncomfortable going about with bare/stockinged feet when socialising. Also, had terrible bunions when I was younger and even after surgery am not entirely comfortable showing my feet. (One toe points somewhat away from the rest) Over the years I have adjusted for this by becoming a shoe fanatic and sometimes arrange an entire outfit around the shoes! It would be terribly disappointing to then have to leave them at the door.

Shiraz · 31/08/2004 13:26

To be honest, i have always taken my shoes off when visiting other peoples houses, and when living at home with my parents when younger shoes of was the house rule! We've recently moved into a farmhouse which we are renovating, we only have flooring in the kitchen and the living room! The kitchen is old lino that needs replacing but we have fitted the living room with a natural coloured carpet! Most people who visit out of courtesy take their shoes off especially as they know it is new, however when MIL and her new boyfriend came to visit he walked in and traipsed mud all across the carpet! Luckily dp has easy access to a carpet cleaner so we cleaned it later that week, it was just soooo annoying that he'd been walking around the garden saw me take my shoes off in the back porch but just walked straight in and sat down, i really didn't know what to say! As for the rest of the house, the utility and dining room are still concrete floors as they need plastering and upstairs are oak floorboards which need sanding and varnshing so i wouldn't mind anywhere else at the moment..but grrrrr!