Poll: Do You Remove Shoes Entering Your House?

[jcretire77]

Removed shoes for years until flat feet and years of improper shoes and arch support did me in. Now wear 'indoor shoes' with orthotics.

 

[Major Tom]

I don't think you should request guests to remove their shoes. Their comfort should be more important than yours. Going barefoot is especially bad.

Have you ever noticed anyone removing shoes going in and out in TV shows and movies? I never see that. Most people just leave them on.

OK, then, do you lock your doors? Cuz I hardly ever see that either. Because it just takes up unnecessary time in a condensed show.

This is a major thread drift, but one thing I see a lot more of these days on TV and in movies, is, erm, well how do I put this, couples "doing it". I hesitate to use the euphemism "making love" as, depending on the show, the proceedings are often a bit more hail and hearty than that. When sex scenes come on the screen, I often groan. My best friend laughs at me, and says that it's just a realistic depiction of how people live their lives. My reply is that people go to the bathroom quite often in real life, but you rarely see that on the screen!

I realize that the act of going to the bathroom is nowhere near as good for ratings as people having a bit of how's your father (please excuse the British vernacular). Nevertheless, a big part of why I groan is that it's all so predictable. I mean, when people start, erm - you know - we all know where things are heading and how everything is going to play out! It's not exactly an original or unpredictable plot twist. I think it's all rather unnecessary.

OK, you can all go back to your original scheduled programming now!

PS - I do remove my shoes inside the house. I picked up the habit from a longtime Filipina partner, and realized that it made sense to me. (She and her family also lived in Canada, so it was probably as much a Canadian thing as a Filipino thing.) I began removing my shoes in my own place, and had a lot less trouble keeping the carpets clean. I used to wear slippers, slipper socks, socks, or just bare feet inside. A few years after retirement, I began spending a lot more time at home, and noticed pain in the arches of my feet. As a result, I began wearing Birkenstock sandals inside and, within a few months, the pain went away, presumably due to the arch support. Now I have a pair of Birks that are reserved exclusively for indoor wear.

 

[Aerides]

Have you ever noticed anyone removing shoes going in and out in TV shows and movies? I never see that. Most people just leave them on.

Unless you are talking about documentaries, I think most of us here are smart enough not to mistake what we see on tv shows as 100% representative of real life behaviors.

 

[naggz]

I'm in Canada, and I've never seen anyone wear outdoor shoes inside. Always socks, slippers, or very rarely indoor sneakers.


In Canada, with many months of snow each year, we mostly wear some sort of boot, and I can't imagine someone wearing their dirty wet boots inside the house.

 

[W2R]

I spent most of my growing up years all over the world, but more in Hawaii than anywhere else. My friends from school and neighbors and so on there in rural Oahu never wore shoes in the house. Maybe zoris (="rubbah slippas"), but usually not even those and definitely not their outside shoes. I guess that's probably due to the Asian influence in Hawaii, maybe? but anyway that's the way it was when I was growing up there.

I am a great believer in "when in Rome, do as the Romans do", so now that I live on the mainland I never ask that guests take off their shoes in my house, and I don't take off my shoes when going in their houses (unless asked, and nobody ever asks). I take mine off in my own house when I'm here at home alone, though, mostly because my feet are more comfortable when I am barefoot, and to me it just feels so formal to be wearing shoes inside my own home.

I'm pretty awful at keeping my house clean so I really don't care about the dirt. I know, I should. But I don't. World's worst housekeeper.

 

[pacergal]

I have always taken my work shoes off in the garage before going inside. About 10 years ago, I put shoe racks by garage and entry doors, so now DH takes his off (most of the time!) Our kids have always taken theirs off when entering, at their own homes too. Everyone wears slippers or sox in the house, and I have clean "gripper sox" available if someone wants them.
Actually, at most of my siblings homes, they all remove shoes too.
Much less dirt and allergens tracked in. We also have towels by the back door and wipe the dogs feet before coming in the house.
Living in the wet PNW, it helps decrease mud and dirt tracked in

 

[Midpack]

We usually switch at the drop zone, but not always. I voted “switch” though not 100%.

 

[rk911]

Neither of us have "outside" or "inside" shoes. We just have shoes. We rarely wear shoes inside the house prefering instead to go barefoot, wear socks or slippers. My slippers are designed to be worn inside or outside so I just wear them to take out the trash or recycling or to retrieve the morning newspaper. In the winter or when it rains the shoes come off at the tiled landing inside by the front door. We were both raised that way.

 

[audreyh1]

We started taking off shoes in the “house” when we lived in a motorhome as we went in and out constantly and didn’t want to track dirt into our inside living areas. We were often camping out in the boonies, hiking etc. Hiking boots shoes stayed in a bay underneath. It was also more space efficient.

I started wearing indoor shoes because I had to protect my toes from stubbing because one of them is prone to stress fracture. I have a comfortable pair of arch support flip-flops that work well. If it’s cold I wear warm slippers. DH has an indoor pair of Sperry top-sliders.

Another thing in the motorhome we had a short broom just inside the door to brush our boots off outside. We kept that practice when we bought another house.

 

[GenXguy]

I'm in Canada, and I've never seen anyone wear outdoor shoes inside. Always socks, slippers, or very rarely indoor sneakers.

In Canada, with many months of snow each year, we mostly wear some sort of boot, and I can't imagine someone wearing their dirty wet boots inside the house.

I watch a Canadian TV show (Heartland), and I never have seen anyone on the show take their shoes off when coming inside. I remember one scene when a guy even got into bed wearing his shoes.

 

[splitwdw]

Grew up on a farm and we always took off shoes/boots in the mud room before entering the house. I still take off shoes when I enter my house. I do not ask visitors to remove their shoes. If I'm at someones house and they ask (or I know their habit) I'll leave my shoes at the door.

 

[Calico]

I take my shoes off when entering my house, mostly because I'm just more comfortable not wearing shoes.

I used to go barefoot all the time in the house, but as I've gotten older my feet tend to get cold easily, and I seem to have developed a penchant for stubbing my toes, so I wear either slippers or thick socks inside.

When visiting others' houses I take note of their preference and do as they do (it's how I was raised).

I will note that two of the "small delights" of retirement for me are that I no longer have to wear "hard pants" and shoes every day! I am a woman of simple pleasures.

In fact, that became the norm beginning in March 2020 when we all left the office to WFH ever after. I tease my friends who are still working there about having to occasionally don their hard pants and real shoes for infrequent visits to the office. They are not amused.

 

[pjigar]

We alway remove shoes by the door and we make sure all visitors do the same. For us, it is a cultural thing we grew up with. Works for us. Side benefit should be less cleaning but DW still vacuums twice a day.

 

[Dtail]

Sometimes yes sometimes no.

 

[Toast]

We have hardwood floors throughout and do not wear shoes in the house. Our dog has free access. The house is basically his, and we’re thankful he lets us live with him.

 

[skipro33]

I'd wear out my shoes putting them on and off at least 40 times a day if I took em off every time I entered the house. I'm in and out so often, we leave the doors wide open most days.

 

[ksr]

I never wear shoes in the house. Not only does it keep me from tracking dirt in, but I am more comfortable in socks or slippers.

I have two pairs of outdoor clogs. One pair just outside the door, on the back deck and one pair just outside the door to the garage. When I need to go out back, into the garage, take out the trash, puck up the mail, etc., I just slip on a pair of the clogs.

 

[Teacher Terry]

I don’t wear shoes in the house but don’t expect my guests to do the same.

 

[scfr]

Yes, shoes off in the garage just before entering the house. Baby wipes just inside the door to clean dog's paws upon entering the house (also a towel in the garage if it's raining and she needs more than just the baby wipe).

 

[qwerty3656]

I don’t wear shoes in the house but don’t expect my guests to do the same.

I think this is as subtlety that may be missed in this poll. To me the more interesting poll would be in % of homes that ask guests to remove shoes. I'm 60 and have lived in a number of different locations around the country. I've only been asked to remove my shoes once in my life (and yet this poll suggest most people take their shoes off).

 

[Rianne]

No, we don't take off our shoes. We have a large 100 lb lab that goes for walks and goes in the backyard, and we have doggie play dates at our house with his friends. I've always thought bringing outside dirt or bacteria improves the immune system. If I'm walking in mud I'll switch my shoes outside the door and have another pair to wear inside.

 

[Katsmeow]

None of the poll answers were quite right. I mostly would say I switch to inside shoes. I don't leave my outside shoes at door. If I have gone out, I would typically go upstairs and take my shoes off in the closet. Then -- depending on weather -- I might go barefoot or I put on inside shoes. Occasionally I would leave my outside shoes on particularly if I might go out again.

If I am not going out then I start the day barefoot or wear my fleece lined slippers.

I have never had anyone ask me to take off shoes in their house.

 

[Sue J]

I always wore my shoes in the house. Never thought of doing it differently. Then my son married a Chinese woman and I saw that they took off their shoes at their apartment and also when they came over here.

When they bought their house one of the best things about it is that there is a large enclosed breezeway between the garage and the house. There is a large set of low shelves for everyone's shoes. This is the drop zone for entering the house and that's where you take off your shoes, coat, hat gloves, etc. They all walk around in socks or slippers.

So we started doing this at our house. The entrance from the garage goes right into the kitchen, no room for shoes there, but I do go to my office and change into crocs or slippers. It really does make a lot of sense.

I don't ask guests to take off their shoes. When the grandkids come over they take off their shoes first thing, it's automatic for them. The 2 year old also takes off his socks, just because he's really into making his own clothing decisions now.

 

[Dtail]

It can get tricky in FLA, as many folks do not wear socks under their slip on type shoes.
So one would be subject to bare feet as a guest in the house. Could get ugly.

 

[disneysteve]

The poll responses so far add up to 106.75%. I'm not sure what to make of that. Perhaps people who remove their outside shoes and switch to inside shoes voted twice.