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Yeah, that's not gonna work. Leaving shoes on in the "common" areas is okay, but wearing your dirty shoes in the bedroom and even worse, on the sheets is okay with people? You do realize you sleep on those sheets where you are supposed to be comfortable and clean.
Different strokes for different folks, I guess!
My post said "on top of the sheets," which you conveniently left off.
Just how dirty are your shoes? Are you trekking through your muddy back yard? My tennis shoes are normal, no crud on the bottom. I keep a folded sheet at the bottom of the bed (on TOP of my top sheets) for the dog, and I sit (on TOP of my top sheets) with my laptop sometimes. I have a WHITE bedspread that I keep OFF my bed most of the time, so it doesn't get dirty. I have TWO TOP SHEETS to cover my bottom sheet. All's good.
I have special shoes I keep by the front and back doors, for trekking through the yard. I don't wear those throughout the house (although I have on occasion, if in a hurry...but not on carpet). My regular shoes...I go into the garage, get in my car, drive to the store, walk on cement then walk in the store, then do it in reverse. My shoes don't get filthy. They last & look good for YEARS. Maybe I'm cleaner than you are?
In some areas in the south, it's considered very rural/country-folk-style to remove your shoes inside someone's house. Who wants to see your dirty feet, ugly toes, or dingy socks?
Like the Beverly Hillbilly song says:
Quote:
Well now it's time to say good bye to Jed and all his kin.
And they would like to thank you folks fer kindly droppin in.
You're all invited back next week to this locality
To have a heapin helpin of their hospitality
Hillbilly that is. Set a spell, Take your shoes off.
Finally, I do what maybe some people don't do. I have OUTSIDE each door a mat to wipe feet on, and INSIDE each door, as well. AND since my BR has carpet, I have a mat right inside the door, and another one right in front of the door to the bathroom.
Much of household floor dirt gets in at the door...without mats. Mats go a long way in keeping dirt out of the house.
This is a short collection of clips from the Dona Reed Show that show typical (lol) an upper-middle-class family in about 1960. I don't see any of them in bare feet. Actually, I don't recall seeing any TV show that depicts any family going around the house mostly in either bare feet or slippers, but I could be wrong.
Just how dirty are your shoes? Are you trekking through your muddy back yard? My tennis shoes are normal, no crud on the bottom. I keep a folded sheet at the bottom of the bed (on TOP of my top sheets) for the dog, and I sit (on TOP of my top sheets) with my laptop sometimes. I have a WHITE bedspread that I keep OFF my bed most of the time, so it doesn't get dirty. I have TWO TOP SHEETS to cover my bottom sheet. All's good.
I have special shoes I keep by the front and back doors, for trekking through the yard. I don't wear those throughout the house (although I have on occasion, if in a hurry...but not on carpet). My regular shoes...I go into the garage, get in my car, drive to the store, walk on cement then walk in the store, then do it in reverse. My shoes don't get filthy. They last & look good for YEARS. Maybe I'm cleaner than you are?
Or maybe your urban lifestyle of never doing anything outdoorsy affects your opinion on this?
Maybe your shoes are cleaner than others' feet, but that has nothing to do with personal hygiene, merely environment. Personally, mine are covered in cow manure on a daily basis. So I take them off before I go in the house. And I expect others to do the same in my house. Doesn't mean that I don't take showers.
To make generalizations about other people's "shoe-cleanliness" compared to their lifestyle is ridiculous.
I would rather have guests wear shoes in my house than go barefooted in my house.
I'm from the US, and this was never even a question. Everyone I knew and grew up with wore shoes in their home and in other peoples homes. If shoes are muddy or something, then yes, you would take them off first.
I feel the same...
The only time I was ok taking off my shoes at someone else's house was at a brand new house we were looking to buy and they had just laid the carpets. I had no argument as the floors were pristine.
If someone asks me to take off my shoes at their house (and they don't offer some sort of UNUSED disposable footwear, I'll simply politely decline and advise that I have to leave. Thankfully I have not run across such an environment yet.
Shoes on the floors and around the kitchen/living area, okay fine. Shoes in the bedroom and where you sleep - now that's ridiculous.
What's the difference? I don't sleep on the floor, and I take my shoes off before I get into bed. The bedroom is a "living area" just the same as the living room or kitchen.
Quote:
Originally Posted by PS90
I guess I just don't understand this thread. This ain't religion or politics. Why such vitriol?
You stated that you are okay with people leaving their shoes on. That's fine. So why did you have to add the snide comment at the end? Is it to justify your comment? Isn't your opinion good enough without resorting to insults?
That post struck a nerve, did it?
Quote:
Originally Posted by Tiffer E38
Do you shower in the morning every day, and shower before bed every day? If not, you do realize that you're carrying all sorts of germs and dirt to bed with you, including poo particles in your underwear... lol and your feet after you take them out of your shoes and socks are covered in sweat and bacteria. And you dump all sorts of hair/skin/sweat, and other microscopic particles all over those clean sheets anyhow. Unless you're walking on your sheets in muddy shoes, there's barely any discernable dirt difference. And then there's all of us with pets that have them on the bed with us (and we are legion).
Truth to all of that, especially the pets. My cats spend more time on my bed than I do - hopefully most of the time on the fleece blanket I place over the bedspread for their comfort and so I can easily rid the bed of accumulated cat fur - and my male cat gets under the covers with me. Come to think of it, I might as well sleep on the floor ... LOL.
Quote:
Originally Posted by bpollen
Just how dirty are your shoes? Are you trekking through your muddy back yard? My tennis shoes are normal, no crud on the bottom.
And when they do have crud on them, I remove them in my house or anyone else's.
Quote:
I have special shoes I keep by the front and back doors, for trekking through the yard. I don't wear those throughout the house
Ditto that, and the inside/outside mats. The amount of dirt, dust, leaves, pollen, grit etc. they accumulate earns them their keep.
Quote:
Originally Posted by PS90
Personally, mine are covered in cow manure on a daily basis. So I take them off before I go in the house. And I expect others to do the same in my house.
Do all your guests cover their shoes in cow manure before coming over? Is this some kind of rural rite of passage the rest of us don't know about? Or do the cattle roam all over your driveways and walkways so that your guests have no hope of avoiding cow pies? I'm genuinely curious ...
My husband and I wear house slippers in the house to limit the amount of cleaning we have to do but if we are having guests over we always wear our shoes and we expect that our company will keep their shoes on as well. I do have disposable shoe covers for tradesman as they tend to have dirty shoes.
Do all your guests cover their shoes in cow manure before coming over? Is this some kind of rural rite of passage the rest of us don't know about? Or do the cattle roam all over your driveways and walkways so that your guests have no hope of avoiding cow pies? I'm genuinely curious ...
The poster I was responding to said that he/she is cleaner than others because he/she removes his/her shoes after trekking through their backyard. My point was that some people may have a lot more stuff on their shoes than what you might pick up from a typical suburban lawn. In other words, everyone's lifestyle is different, so that's a poor reason to criticize someone's reasoning for taking shoes off.
And no, cow manure is not a "rural rite of passage", but I would guess that there are more of my houseguests that have it on their shoes - either fresh or dried - than there are those that don't.
Or maybe your urban lifestyle of never doing anything outdoorsy affects your opinion on this?
Maybe your shoes are cleaner than others' feet, but that has nothing to do with personal hygiene, merely environment. Personally, mine are covered in cow manure on a daily basis. So I take them off before I go in the house. And I expect others to do the same in my house. Doesn't mean that I don't take showers.
To make generalizations about other people's "shoe-cleanliness" compared to their lifestyle is ridiculous.
I live in a semi-rural area with over half an acre. We still have stores surrounded by cement here.
Yeah...I'm speaking about people having overly dirty shoes. Because they brought it up...about making people remove their "dirty shoes" (i.e., all shoes are dirty) before entering their spotless castle. That's just weird and insulting...and possibly reflects that the owners of the spotless castles aren't fastidious about doing the practical things to keep their house clean. That is to use MATS...that's the #1 way to keep dirt out of the house. Inside AND outside. And separate shoes for dirty projects like gardening & such.
It's true that my athletic shoes look great for years, probably because I have a number of them, and I don't wear them in the yard, where they can pick up all sorts of things.
I also have no problem with a house having some dirt. The world is a germ filled place, and any place that's lived in, esp by people who are concerned with people more than things (and who actually DO things), will have some dirt. It SHOULD have some dirt sometimes, and have a few things out of place. Otherwise, it's a museum.
In my area, it's considered super country (i.e., pretty low class) to remove your shoes in someone's house. Yuk. Feet are just downright ugly, and many people have fungus on their toes, or who knows what. It's also better for the feet to wear supportive, cushioned shoes most of the time.
Besides, it's not practical to be changing footwear all the time. I go in and out of the house frequently. Imagine if I had to trek to my BR to take off slippers and put on outside shoes every time I went out to the garage. But I'd have to carry those shoes to the door, or otherwise, I'd be walking on the floor to get to the door! I could slip on hard flooring on the way (I've slipped a couple of times wearing socks indoors). Then I'd come in from the garage, take off shoes, go to back door, put on "yard" shoes, go outside. Then come back in, take off yard shoes, go to BR to put on slippers, then to go to store later, take off slippers, go to the garage door, put on "store" shoes, go to store, take off shoes when I get inside, then go to BR to put on slippers. And so on. Ridiculous!
A few years ago we visited some people (during summer in Idaho) that had their A/C running so cold that my bare feet almost froze inside their house and I couldn't wait to get out of there (and the hostess was wearing a sweater - go figure). No way would I ever do that to guests.
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