#Microblog Monday 282: Shoes On / Shoes Off
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My friend commented last week on how new our carpets look even though we’ve had them for years. The secret is the Dyson. That thing is like a Biore strip for the floor.
But we’re also a shoes off home. We became a shoes off home after we bought a place and realized how (1) expensive and (2) pain-in-the-ass it was to replace carpet. But even if we had hardwood floors or tiling throughout the house, we would be a shoes off home.
The four of us also wash our hands when we enter the house, and it sort of feels like the same thing as taking off our shoes. It’s about not tracking the outside world through the inside world. Leaving the dirt and germs and whatever else we come in contact with by the door.
Are you a shoes off or shoes on home?
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20 comments
Shoes off, unless I come in the back door then I walk to the mat at the front to take them off. The back entry way is tiny.
Does anybody actually walk around their house in shoes?? Wouldn’t work in a climate with rain and snow, that’s for sure.
Mostly shoes off – all of us take off shoes and wash hands just as you describe. I don’t ask guests do so, though I prefer it if they’re willing.
Shoes off home for sure. It helps so much with keeping the house tidier. And I love the idea of also washing our hands as a ritual of sorts when we come in – great idea!
Definitely a shoes-off home. Ew. It’s disgusting, walking around the house in shoes knowing I have babies that will crawl around or people also walking in bare feet. I know I have a huge germaphobia complex, but it drives me nuts when visitors walk around my house with shoes on.
Shoes on/off. I’m not good about taking mine off and because I have plantar fasciitis it becomes a real pain in the foot (haha) to make sure I’ve got birkenstock’s somewhere around to put on if I take my shoes off. It’s really laziness. My kids mostly have them off but it’s not like they take them off as soon as they get in the door…
Shoes off, definitely. As Torthuil says, if you live in a climate where there’s rain & snow (as there is where I live), your floors would get pretty dirty pretty quickly…! And yes, I also usually wash my hands when we come in from being out & about. I got into the habit of doing that about 10 years ago after a big Asian flu scare. (Around the same time, I also got into the habit of wiping down all the light switches, door handles, telephones, remotes, keyboards, etc., with a Clorox or Lysol wipe at least once a week when I’m cleaning… I’ve noticed that the number of colds I’ve had has dropped significantly since I started doing that!)
Off. Even though we live in California with a mild climate and have only wood and tile floors.I do wear flip-flops or slippers though that are worn only in the house. I grew up with a shoes on house and lived in many apartments where I wore my shoes before we bought our house but I can’t imagine that now.
Shoes off, definitely!
In my last year at university, I studied with some Moroccan friends and they all took their shoes off at home. Visitors were asked to do the same and I realized it keeps the floors much cleaner, so I adopted the custom.
Besides I love to be barefoot.
Definitely shoes off. But we wear slippers once we get indoors.
Shoes off! I need a nice rack by the door for guests, but I do have a little drawer of nonskid slipper socks for people to swap into if they want. We don’t have as much carpet as shiny hardwood floors (although the Dyson is AMAZING, and I laughed when you called it a carpet Biore Strip because that is both accurate and gross), and they get scuffed up and you can see any dirt that comes in. Plus we live in a cold and snowy climate, so we like to keep all the slush to the entryway! I do like the idea of washing hands as soon as you come in, too. You guys must not get as sick as often!
I prefer shoes off. It’s hard for me to walk in anyone’s home with my shoes on. Especially carpet. If I’m just dropping something off at my parents house, I stand by the door and really hesitate before I step on the carpet. But they have their shoes on! My husband also generally keeps his shoes on in our house. So does it count if one person keeps their shoes on? I feel like whatever good I contribute with my shoes off is canceled out when people keep their shoes on. We do have hard wood floors on top of a concrete slab, so my husband complains that his feet and back hurt when he doesn’t wear shoes. My parents say their feet get cold. I wear slippers and socks. I contemplated buying a lot of extra slippers to keep near the door. I recently bought washable booties you can slip over your shoes. The question is – will people actually use them?! Especially my husband..it’s tough to get him on board with household changes I want to make. He did start helping me compost…but the shoes! Gah!
I’m a shoes-off person too. Growing up on a farm, we always took farm boots off, but shoes came off too. Then we lived in Asia, where it’s a mortal sin to walk inside with shoes on, and the habit was solidified. I don’t require guests to take shoes off though, but some do.
Just recently in Japan, I visited the parents of the husband of my Thai “sister.” They had slippers for visitors to wear inside the home, and then they had separate “go to the bathroom” slippers. I looked ridiculous in the slippers, which were so small (for me) that they only covered about half of my foot!
Back home in Ireland we wouldn’t always take our shoes off, but here in Germany everyone takes them off and now I have gotten used to this way of doing things I prefer it! I like the idea of less germs being brought into our home space. I have also gotten into the habit of washing my hands after coming home which my husband always does
DP and little Suzy take their shoes off. She does it right at the door, He does it when he sits down in the living room. They are warm blooded people. I’m always cold, so I keep my shoes on. I might change into dry shoes if they got wet. If I’m not wearing my shoes indoors I feel as if I’m sick. Plus I loooove my beautiful shoes…
Except when camping in our tent or campervan.
The other weekend we visited people who live on a farm. I did take what we call Spanish slippers (https://www.spaansesloffen.nl/spaanseslof-pantoffels/) for me to wear indoor. Because as a shoes-on person my socks have holes in them 🙂
Shoes on. I wish I could have the benefits of being a shoes-off home, but really that would stress me out making everyone do that. And doing it myself.
We’re mostly a shoe’s off house. Sometimes we leave them on if we need to dash in and grab something, but 95% of the time they are off. I always try to have everyone wash hands when we come in too. My biggest challenge is the pets. We have a dog and a cat and I feel like they bring in a lot of dirt not to mention the shedding.
We’re shoes off. When I was growing up, everyone wore their shoes. But I have to say…if you have a dog, there’s not a whole lot of point in being shoes off, as one family member generally doesn’t wear shoes, walks in all the dirtiest places, and doesn’t care about your carpet anyway. So, when we’re at my oldest sister’s house, we usually wear shoes. My second oldest sister’s dog wants his paws wiped when he comes in, so shoes off.
Of course, you could go the way of my aunt…I asked her once why the shoes by her front door had Os on them. She said, “Those are my outside shoes. I only wear my inside ones inside.”
We’re pretty militant about making people take their shoes off – the only one who ever got a pass was my husband’s grandmother. Everyone else better hope they’re wearing socks!
No. I get the cleanliness thing but it just seems a little fussy for me. I don’t think I’d feel at home at home.
p.s. come to think of it, none of us wears shoes in the house. We don’t take them off at the door though.
in America we are 100% shoes off for everyone who enters our home, i placed a very nice sign on our door so everyone knows we are shoes off. In the Dominican Republic, we are shoes on… idk why there’s a difference