Taking shoes off inside your home - are you offended?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If the people who ask me to remove my shoes are Asian, I don't mind because I assume that it is cultural. If the people are not Asian and ask me to remove my shoes, I assume they are neurotic.

Really?

There are many cultures that take off shoes before entering a home, including some Middle Eastern, African, and European cultures. And I'm a white chic from New England and our family ALWAYS took our shoes off at the door.

I would guess that ALL Middle East countries (except Israel) take off shoes before entering a home.

You would guess wrong.

Then which countries in the Middle East do not remove shoes?

[Anonymous]

Not any of the prior posters but when I vist Israeli relatives, I noticed that they remove outside shoes at the door and wear only house slippers in the house. I've been many times over decades and this is true at friends' houses there, etc. I would include Israel in the no shoes in the house group.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I always automatically remove my shoes upon entry when visiting someone's home. In my own home, I'm accustomed to wearing slippers, but I can't expect my hosts to have those ready for me. If say I'm wearing sandals on a given day and will be visiting a home, usually I'll just pop a pair of socks into my purse, and slide them on when I get to my destination (if slippers aren't provided). I'd rather wear my own socks than walk around barefoot on someone else's floor, with my feet possibly picking up lint, hair, etc, that might be down there.

When we have guests, I will just put some pairs of slippers near the door, and that's sign enough (in addition to seeing us as hosts wearing them) of what the "tradition" is in our household.

This what we all do. As we have hardwood floors and expensive rugs etc we go barefoot with slippers. Regular guests are happy to do as we do and wherever possible we warn new guests about our lifestyle choices and ask them to bring their slippers with them. I am really not very comfortable with people wearing just socks our our polished floors and stairs are slippery. We obviously recipocrate when visiting our friends.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I always automatically remove my shoes upon entry when visiting someone's home. In my own home, I'm accustomed to wearing slippers, but I can't expect my hosts to have those ready for me. If say I'm wearing sandals on a given day and will be visiting a home, usually I'll just pop a pair of socks into my purse, and slide them on when I get to my destination (if slippers aren't provided). I'd rather wear my own socks than walk around barefoot on someone else's floor, with my feet possibly picking up lint, hair, etc, that might be down there.

When we have guests, I will just put some pairs of slippers near the door, and that's sign enough (in addition to seeing us as hosts wearing them) of what the "tradition" is in our household.

This what we all do. As we have hardwood floors and expensive rugs etc we go barefoot with slippers. Regular guests are happy to do as we do and wherever possible we warn new guests about our lifestyle choices and ask them to bring their slippers with them. I am really not very comfortable with people wearing just socks our our polished floors and stairs are slippery. We obviously recipocrate when visiting our friends.

I usually wear flip flops (no socks)...so either I walk in with those or I take em off and pad around your house in my bare feet lol

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
Anyway, lunatic friend, my pants fit precisely the way they were supposed to fit. I intend to wear them with heels. I have other pants that I intend to wear with flats. When I dress up, I like a heel, which is a choice and not a tailoring deficiency. When I take the heels off, they no longer fit the way they are supposed to fit.

Lunatic friend here.
Congratulations for buying the right size pants.
In the future, consider rolling your pants hem up, or telling the friend what wonderful pants you have and how you cannot take your shoes off.
Or, do not visit that friend.

Has no-one considered refusing to take off shoes? The request is taken as God's Word that THOU shalt not DISOBEY. That is why people are fighting, right?
So what is so wrong with refusing?
Or rolling up the hem of the pants?

I am totally confused, I do not visit the homes of DCUM folks. Please enlighten me

In any case, I'm sure most folks who ask people to remove their shoes are not as gross as this person was, but still. What if a person was wearing sandals? Must they walk around in their bare feet in a person's house? And I mean, who wins there, anyway? Multiple strangers walking around barefoot is not exactly clean and hygenic. I personally would prefer scuff marks over a wicked case of athlete's foot, but maybe that's just me. And of course, it's not like shoes in the house are really going to do that much damage anyway, now, are they?

Um I wear flip flops a lot in the summer and have been required to remove them at many people's houses. I had no problem walking around their home in my bare feet. My feet are clean and don't smell so I don't see the big problem.

[Anonymous]

"I had no problem walking around their home in my bare feet. My feet are clean and don't smell so I don't see the big problem. "

You're wrong. Bare feet have natural oils that are left behind on floors & rugs. When you wear flip flops, it's impossible for your feet to be clean for long.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:"I had no problem walking around their home in my bare feet. My feet are clean and don't smell so I don't see the big problem. "

You're wrong. Bare feet have natural oils that are left behind on floors & rugs. When you wear flip flops, it's impossible for your feet to be clean for long.

I figure the natural oils are still cleaner than the human and animal fecal bacteria that people track around when wearing their shoes indoors.

[Anonymous]

Another perspective...

My husband's family is in the upper class of Mexico. Everyone wears their shoes inside all the time. You don't take off your shoes in your own house or other's homes during the daytime. When I visit, I will slip my shoes off while watching TV and I will always hear a comment about it. They are not rude or confrontational about it though. They address things in a round about way in general. I will be asked if my feet are getting cold or someone will mention that my socks may get dirty because the maid hasn't cleaned the floor this week yet. It's an interesting cultural difference.

[Anonymous]

I figure the natural oils are still cleaner than the human and animal fecal bacteria that people track around when wearing their shoes indoors.

How much poop are you people stepping in on an average day?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

I figure the natural oils are still cleaner than the human and animal fecal bacteria that people track around when wearing their shoes indoors.

How much poop are you people stepping in on an average day?

This is true! I just got my floors refinished, and all the materials state that both shoes AND bare feet are bad for new wood floors.

Apparently bare feet are just as dirty as the bottom of shoes if you've been wearing sandals or flip-flops. Plus yes, the oils on the bottom of your feet make bare feet even dirtier than shoes (again, if you've been wearing flip-flops) since dirt sticks to them - and then the oil and dirt sticks to the floor. YICK. I never thought about it before.

Too funny.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

I figure the natural oils are still cleaner than the human and animal fecal bacteria that people track around when wearing their shoes indoors.

How much poop are you people stepping in on an average day?

Since we are not in Amsterdam or Paris, I'm probably not stepping in shit everyday, but other people do. They step in dog/cat urine and shit particles in grass then track it into the metro, office buildings, coffee shops. Plus if you work in an office building, I imagine you use the public restrooms. That's where you track the human urine & shit bacteria.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

I figure the natural oils are still cleaner than the human and animal fecal bacteria that people track around when wearing their shoes indoors.

How much poop are you people stepping in on an average day?

Since we are not in Amsterdam or Paris, I'm probably not stepping in shit everyday, but other people do. They step in dog/cat urine and shit particles in grass then track it into the metro, office buildings, coffee shops. Plus if you work in an office building, I imagine you use the public restrooms. That's where you track the human urine & shit bacteria.

Because the streets of DC are so clean.

For those of you shoe freaks, you're not invited to my house.

[Anonymous]

How much fecal & urine bacteria does the avearge person pick up during sex?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:"I had no problem walking around their home in my bare feet. My feet are clean and don't smell so I don't see the big problem. "

You're wrong. Bare feet have natural oils that are left behind on floors & rugs. When you wear flip flops, it's impossible for your feet to be clean for long.

I'm not wrong. You're telling me my flip flops (which have touched the filthy ground outside) are cleaner than my feet? I've walked barefoot in many people's houses and don't know of any oils that got left behind on the carpet/floor...

[Anonymous]

I do not mind taking my shoes off at someone's house but if I have never been there before then I would just appreciate advance warning. In the winter time, I often end up wearing my old socks under my boots so I would hate to go to someone's house and then walk around in my old socks.