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I think whether you wear your outside shoes inside the house may also have to do with whether you live on a cold/snowy/rainy climate or not. To bring all that snow/mud/salty water inside the house is just disgusting. We usually enter thru the garage and leave the shoes in the mud room.
We do not wear our shoes inside the house and visitors usually take them of without asking anyway.
But during the summer months I do not mind the shoes at all, specially since we do not have crawling babies anymore. The rest of the year is shoes off at all times.
About 5 years ago we instituted a "no shoes in the house" rule and when I think of all the years and houses when everyone was tracking in whoknowswhat, I shudder. Never again.
Interesting because I have a mandatory "wear shoes in the house" rule, unless it's someone I know really well. Having moved recently I've for some odd reason had almost every service person (maintenance crews, cable guy, etc) have this odd desire to take their shoes off at my door (despite nice day outside, no rain mud/etc to worry about) and seemed surprised that I insisted they keep their shoes on. I don't know their level of hygeine and so would much rather a little dirt/dust from the ground on my floor than whatever germs they may be carrying - THAT makes me shudder far more. Honestly, how can a little dirt from the bottom of their shoes (most which wears off as they're walking around anyway) be worse?
We don't have a "rule", but generally do take our shoes off when inside.
I personally don't like to wear shoes if I can avoid it, and the same is true of my family, so part of it is driven by personal comfort.
But from a floor and carpet wear/tear and to some smaller degree cleanliness factor, we do prefer that shoes are removed. After spending thousands to have the floors refinished, why accelerate their destruction?
And I respectfully disagree with the previous post. Just about no matter how poor a person's hygiene, their sweaty feet can not possibly be worse than everything they have stepped in with shoes, not the least of which are public restrooms. Statistically speaking, their shoes have to be dirtier, unless they never wear shoes. In which case, the comparison is moot
Interestingly though, I don't think I really adopted indoor shoe removal as the norm until I moved to California though. Perhaps it was the mix of cultures, especially Asian and Indian, where it was simply expected that shoes were removed. Fast forward 15 years later, and it seems much more commonplace elsewhere now for many families to have a no-shoe norm inside, even if it is just a casual practice and not a "rule" per se. I don't know why it seems more globally prevalent now though.
I have bad feet and have to wear orthotics inside my sturdy hiking boots. Once I lace up they are on my feet for the day, even if I am staying in the house doing chores. If I'm on my feet they have to have support. I also have 5 dogs who are in and out many times a day. We all track stuff in.
When I die I don't want the best thing that someone can say about me is "Her floors were so clean you could eat off them." I want them to say "She was a lousy housekeeper but a great friend. I'll miss her companionship."
I have bad feet and have to wear orthotics inside my sturdy hiking boots. Once I lace up they are on my feet for the day, even if I am staying in the house doing chores. If I'm on my feet they have to have support. I also have 5 dogs who are in and out many times a day. We all track stuff in.
When I die I don't want the best thing that someone can say about me is "Her floors were so clean you could eat off them." I want them to say "She was a lousy housekeeper but a great friend. I'll miss her companionship."
I'm certain one could fulfill both.... great housekeeper and friend
NO shoes in my house. We replaced the carpet before we moved in, and the carpet at our last house got SO dirty from all the shoes and kids eating in the family room (that's been banned as well. No eating or drinking on carpeted surfaces). It didn't more than a couple days for everyone to adapt, even my 3 and 6 year olds.
We've always had the "No Shoes" rule, and we live in the desert where there is no chance of bringing in snow or mud, or even rain. the most we have to contend with would be dust on the garage floor.
We have several exterior doors, and by every door we have slippers to wear inside, and slippers to put on if we go to the garage, or outside...
We do not ask guests to remove their shoes..! Some do, some don't, we want them to be comfortable, not think they have to remove their shoes.
When workers are here, we wouldn't think of asking them to remove their shoes. We bite the bullet and clean like Hell when they leave..
To us, after so long removing our shoes when we get home, it's like wearing a seatbelt, you don't even realize you're doing it...
If we never took our shoes off, would it make any difference in cleanliness, or longevity of the flooring..? It would be such a minute amount it would never be measurable, we there are just the two of us, and we enjoy being neat freaks...
I usually wear clean flip-flops or socks in the house, but sometimes shoes. But I never wear shoes in the bedrooms....cream carpets. I just kick off my shoes at the bedroom doorway. I'd never, ever put my shoes on the furniture!!.......that's just piggish!
That's a good point about workers though, we don't demand that guests or workers remove their shoes, although many try when they see the basket of kids shoes by the door.
In fact we often tell workers it is OK as it just isn't reasonable to expect them to be very productive taking their shoes on, and off, and on, and off every trip out to the truck. But we do ask they check that there are no nails, screws, or gravel stuck in the tread.
That all being said, we've found that the best firms often make "booties" available to their workers when they know they'll be working in a finished house versus unfinished construction site.
We don't make our guests remove their shoes either, but again, most people we have over seem to either prefer to do the same or are observant enough and opt to remove their shoes too. We don't impose, but we do appreciate it if they elect to do so.
I should add that we don't tell guests (unless asked) or servicefolk. However, my kids have had the rule drilled into their heads so often that they often tell guests, "Don't wear your shoes on the carpet!"
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Not mutually exclusive
