Outdoor shoes inside

Most people we know automatically remove their shoes when they visit. The exceptions are two rather well padded females and I think they find it difficult to bend over their tummies to get their shoes on and off.

It was never a 'thing! in my family, so I never ask anyone to take their shoes off, though people do if they're at all wet or muddy.
But then I'd never want the sort of very pale carpets that you have to be constantly anxious about. Our house is for people to feel comfortable in, it's not a shrine to immaculate decor and zealous hygiene.

Taking shoes off is a new thing. Never thought of in my parent’s generation. I wouldn’t dream of asking a guest to remove their shoes, but actually most do anyway. I am aware of this new trend so I always ask when entering somebody’s home ‘should I take my shoes off?’ And am happy to comply either way - but I do tend to think ahead these days and wear shoes that are easy to slip off, and wear socks. I wouldn’t fancy people’s bare feet on my sitting room carpet personally.

I never ask visitors to take their shoes off ( no cream carpets in public areas to worry about.) Some automatically take them off, some don’t.If I have guests staying for several days I find they bring slippers with them anyway.
A neighbour popping in for a cup of tea is a different matter, and they keep shoes on.
Unless guests are caked in mud ( unlikely unless you live on a farm) they are surely wearing clean shoes/boots anyway.

@Urmstongran I fostered three abandoned donkeys last year.
A net of donated carrots, an unsecured paddock and an open back door. Need I say more?
Fortunately no carpets ?

I volunteer with donkeys now. I'm not daft ?

Cream carpets!

Now see, I always go bare foot. No problem. I spend most of my life in bare feet.
BUT I would gate to be offered slippers. Who has worn them before me? Are they clean? Did the last wearer have a verucca?
Yuck.
No to slippers.
Yes to choice.

Perhaps slipper socks that can be washed?

A donkey in the house? That deserves an explanation! I’m curious now.
?

I offer to take shoes off as soon as I get into someone's porch/hall, regardless of the colour/condition of their carpet.

I think it's incredibly rude of them not to take their shoes off when asked - do you keep a supply of slippers for guests to use? I know some people don't like walking around in socks/stockinged feet

I hate having to take my shoes off because I wear orthotics and find it difficult to walk even short distances inside without them and also it is very difficult for me to put shoes on and off. It's not just a matter of sipping them on and off.

I also have cream carpet but am not phased by people leaving their shoes on. they are well wiped before coming inside.

I’m very funny about feet...I’m ok if people have socks on but walking where people have bare feet really freak me out!
If I go swimming I have to wear flip flops from the changing room out to the pool and leave them by the side.
It’s just the thought of lots of bare feet walking in the same place...I hate it.
I never ask anyone to take there shoes off...that’s why I have laminate flooring.

I honestly don't care one way or another.
Through sheer preference, the first thing I do in any house is take my shoes off, not through any obligation, but because I hate wearing shoes!
However, in my house with dogs, cats and, In one memorable occasion, a donkey wandering around the house, it seems pretty pointless to ask people to take their shoes off?

Is this a newish thing? I don't remember anyone in my parents home ever removing footwear ?

Diabetics are not supposed to take their shoes off!

I dont mind too much if people dont, although being a household that doesnt wear shoes indoor, seeing our shoes in the hall usually prompts visitors to do so also.

I think it’s a question of context. If people were coming for a party ( not likely in our house) or for dinner , I would not expect them to take off their shoes, but if they were staying here and I knew them well , I would prefer them not to wear outside shoes indoors - especially in the bathroom and bedroom . ( Think filthy pavements etc).

We all had slippers lined up beside the doormat. I had some very sweet tartan zip-ups totally cute BradfordLass

But in the early 60’s, although we as a family all put our slippers on when staying in (as opposed to my little sister and I running in to the kitchen to get a big cupful of ‘corporation pop’ from the tap and running back out again to play) all visitors kept their shoes on.

Times were indeed different back then.

Linoleum around the edges of a room, totally in our playroom, then came patterned carpets that didn’t ‘show the dirt’.
?

We survived! I wonder if all this sterile environment nowadays has helped enable so many childhood allergies?

We never wear outdoor shoes indoors in my family. My lodger has gout and arthritis, though, so finds changing shoes quite painful. I've given up nagging and just bought the toolstation disposable overshoes for about £3!

I’m used to visiting family in Scandinavia and Germany who take off outdoor shoes, and as children we changed into indoor shoes. We live on a farm, and never wear outdoor shoes or boots inside, and although we never ask, we find most people do the same. We don’t have carpets, we have sanded floors. Streets, and also farmyards can be filthy,and I don’t like the thought of dirty shoes, we often have family babies visiting who crawl!

Just had another thought.

Is it any different from a smoker lighting up in your home when you've asked them not to?

In many parts of the world it is considered completely unacceptable to keep outdoor shoes on indoors - places that may regard as ''backward'' by some. It is thought shockingly disrespectful to tramp outdoor dirt inside living areas.

It's fairly common here, I'd say over 98% of the time for everyone to remove shoes at the door when visiting.
They don't even need to be asked, it's regarded as good manners and in some families, culturally important.

Only one person is exempt at my house, a lady for whom bending and taking off shoes (and replacing them) would be very difficult due to her disability.

Even workmen remove footwear - and expect to do so.

When you think of the assorted detritus one sees on the street (and even if poo is removed, it leaves a residue) it is unconscionable that anyone would flout good manners and their host's hospitality, by refusing to remove footwear.

And even more essential if you ever have small children playing on the carpet.

It's not a strictly NZ thing either. In Bradford, when I was growing up, my Dad always removed his footwear at the door.
We all had slippers lined up beside the doormat. I had some very sweet tartan zip-ups

We had visitors last week and one of them insisted on removing his shoes even though I said it was unnecessary as we have hard floors. Unfortunately we also have an older JR with bladder problems, we had to give our friend a new pair of socks !!!
I understand people not wanting dirt trampled into their carpets but think they should provide shoe covers.

It does feel as if carpets are more important than people. It takes several minutes for DH to get his shoes on and off and he needs a chair to sit on so we tend not to visit where the carpets come first.

On the one hand I would not expect visitors to take their shoes off, and on the other I would respect the rules of a house I am visiting.
DH has difficulty getting shoes on and off. He needs to use a shoe horn. Also he’s diabetic and has been advised to always wear shoes, as feet can easily be damaged and cause problems, so he is very reluctant to take his shoes off.
My children have houses where it is expected, so I make sure he has slippers with him, or my daughter can supply overshoes if required.
It should be possible to reach a compromise,

I would take my shoes off if asked, but I still think it's rude to ask people to do it.

Never bothers me, I wear house shoes for comfort and because whenever I sit down I tend to slip my feet out of my shoes (used to do this at work, which sometimes caused problems). But I also sometimes wander up the garden in them or take the bins out in them.

As far as other people go, in my house I am not bothered they can do what they choose and if visiting others I follow their rules.