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
Heck yeah - shoes off. Nevermind the sidewalks of San Francisco which have been crapped on by the homeless - and good point about the WalMart bathroom - hell, any bathroom for that matter! Just think about all the people who spit on the sidewalk and you walk through it.
Think about your baby crawling through all that crap on your floors - your family makes it dirty enough - you don't need outside stuff coming in!
And no, I shouldn't have to scrub my floors after the guests leave - I've already had to clean up before they came! Gee - what's easier - you take off your shoes or me mop?
I'm wondering if I can have people wash their hands when they come in - no idea what they've been touching. I guess that is a bit much, though.
I have to go to a LOT of people's homes for work. I don't mind if folks request shoes off for religious reasons. But I confess, I hate when folks request shoes off, and they have cats and dogs and obviously don't clean much. I'm offended that they want me to walk around on that filth in just my socks. Sometimes when I have guests who own pets, I can see the dander on their clothing and I wish I could feasibly have a "clothes off" rule (LOL!). Because I hate the idea of animal hair on my furniture. My kid spent the night at a relatives house and she came home smelling like a dog kennel; I made her strip in the laundry room. Oh, and Venae: when I have guest I offer them refreshments nearly at the door and then quickly say, "You can go wash up in there (points to half bath)." As if "OF COURSE, you want to wash up." Because I hate dirty hands, too.
floors are for walking on!! I do NOT like being barked at to take off my shoes.
I think it's classless to remove your shoes in someones house. Do you ask guest to immediately wash their hands upon entering your home too? What if they have foot fungus, or filthy socks? What if they are grossed out by walking bare foot in YOUR home. Don't you have pets that walk in and out of litter boxes, or back from deficating outside? People who say "My baby is crawling!" please realize that your baby comes in contact with millions of germs daily, and it's GOOD for them. IF someone asked me to remove my shoes before entering their house, I would either leave, or never come back. It's not welcoming, it's rude, and it's insane. The germ phobia people have is ridiculous. I'm more concerned with living, than being terrified of germs all day. Clean your floors after your guests leave! Isn't that what you would do anyway?
No, for the same reason you stated. I want my guests to be comfortable. I've been in a few "No shoes inside" houses and it did make me feel uncomfortable to be in my socks or barefeet walking around the house of someone I really don't know well. I know thats kind of weird but it did. Now, family and close friends are different. I take my shoes off to get comfortable in those cases and they often do as well. I just think it's better to give your guest a choice. I have cats that tend to shed a lot so chances are I'll have to vaccuum again soon anyways. But, if it was raining outside or one of the other examples you stated, I'd hope that my friends would think to take their shoes off. It not, in that case I would ask.
To add: I ALWAYS go with what the host wants. You want me to take my shoes off? That's perfectly fine. I might sit on my feet for a bit :) but I'll certainly take them off.