Right up there with breastfeeding, circumcision, and politics is this hot button issue: Shoes in the house or no?
Personally, I'm a "shoes are OK" kind of person. I understand it keeps your house cleaner to not wear them, and my family generally ditches shoes indoors. But when people come to my house, I want them to be comfortable, and if that means keeping their shoes on, they can go right on ahead.
To my great surprise, JoAnn from Bensonhurst agrees with me. In this latest episode of her show, she tackles all kinds of cleaning questions from viewers, including the shoe question. Check out what she has to say in the video, after the jump.
To illustrate her point: "I'll never, ever forget the first time I met my in-laws. There I was, a nice 20-something from a nice family who just so happened to allow the wearing of shoes indoors, meeting my very promising boyfriend's parents for the first time. And upon meeting me, instead of 'It's so nice to meet you, our son has been telling us a lot about you' or even 'Hi,' the very first words my future MIL spoke to me was to bark 'SHOES OFF' when I walked through the door. Sigh."
I'm with JoAnn. You can clean when they leave -- let your guests be comfortable. If it's wet or muddy outside, or if I'd been tromping around their garden, I would certainly ask if someone preferred I ditch my shoes. To me, wearing slippers, stocking feet or going barefoot are for close family and intimate friends; padding around someone's house in your socks is like showing up in your bathrobe. Do what you want for your family, but let guests keep their feet covered! Listen to JoAnn, people:
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Do you make guests remove their shoes?
Image via CafeMom Studios
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Comments 59
I don't like wearing shoes indoors because I don't find them comfortable. It is a big fight with the husband because he works in construction and those boots track in more crap than all 4 of the dogs put together. It is not rude to ask someone to remove their shoes in YOUR home, especially if there are allergies or small children. I would think if someone insists you KEEP your shoes on knows their floors aren't clean and are embarrassed.
I tell kids to take their shoes off before they go upstairs. I wouldn't ask an adult to remove their shoes, that's weird and honestly if it's nice outside I think it's weird if they do take them off (it's different if it's muddy or raining).
If it is a rule of the house a guest should respect that. Would you smoke in someone else's house if they informed you that there was no smoking there?