As we entered their apartment, my husband stepped onto a little rug to the side of the door, took off his shoes and left them there with a bunch of other pairs. While it was a pain to undo all the hooks over and over and over again during my weekend visit, I followed suit every time we walked through the apartment door.
They were only the second family I had met that never wore shoes in thier home. The other family was of an old classmate whose father was a military man. I'm guessing their worldly travels led them to this tradition that is so very uncommon in America.
The 'no shoes in the house' was just a way of life to my Albanian born and raised husband and his family. In fact, it shocked them when they came to the States and saw that it wasn't a common practice here.
All that to say, we don't wear shoes in our house. And I, being American to the core, find it kind of awkward asking others to take off their shoes when they visit.
But it's a big deal to my husband. And now, being a mama of children who live on the floor, it's kind of a big deal to me, too.
Some visitors get it and, so very kindly, take their shoes off each time they come over. Others just kinda don't get it. And that, well, it kinda drives my husband up the wall.
So today I, along with my amazing picnik skills, made this.
What is your house's shoe rule?
12 comments:
I love this sign. I do not like shoes being worn in the house, but my husband ALWAYS does this. I've given up the battle, but that means he has to clean the floors.
I spent some of my childhood in Hawaii, and the first time I entered a friend's house when I got back to the mainland, I was weirded out by the fact my shoes were still on, I couldn't feel the carpet under my feet. Taking shoes off at the door is an absolute in Hawaii- I have happy memories of parties with piles of flip-flops you had to sift through as you left, looking for your own.
I've definitely kept the tradition to take my shoes off in others' houses- it's a reflex. I don't ASK visitors to do it in my house, but the pile of shoes by the door is a subtle hint.
I love that sign! No shoes! Can't stand the idea of all the junk from outside being carried across my hardwood floors, onto my carpet...
Even before the kids came along, I was a strict no-shoes kind of girl.
Growing up? No shoes! Partially because carpet was expensive, and in a family of 7, you make those big-ticket purchases last as long as possible by being respectful of them. It's the same reason we never had food or drinks in the car, and weren't allowed to do artistic type things anywhere but on the drop cloth on the concrete floor of the basement!
The one family in the States I knew who didn't wear shoes in the house seemed so strange to me. I just figured it was because they had white carpet and were rich. But then I moved to Canada and discovered that nobody wears shoes in the house here. In fact, people actually bring their slippers when they visit. After five years, I've grown to appreciate it, especially after seeing all the slugs and mud and pine needles that collect on my entrance rug just outside our front door. The only thing I would like to do would be to buy a nice pair of shoes to designate as "inside" shoes, so I am not always schlepping around in slippers that don't have any support.
The main downside of this shoe rule is simply the fact that all my cute shoes and high zip up boots no longer are practical. They either are too awkward to take off when I'm standing on one foot inside someone's entranceway, or they require thin socks or bare feet. So now I live in easily kicked off clogs and thick socks.
You can just tell your friends that you have suddenly become Canadian if they question the odd rule. ;)
Albanians have more sense than a lot of westerners.
I take my shoes off at your house!
And I love you for it, Mimi!
Hi there,
I have a question about your site, would you mind emailing me back @ kthomas@primroseschools.com?
Thanks,
Kathleen
I love your sign. But. . .sigh. . .I don't know. I always ask if I should take off my shoes. But, if they breezily wave and say "oh no!", I don't.
If they hesitate and say "yes", i do.
BUT. . I hate having cold feet. So while I usually remember to bring slippers to my sister's house, I don't have them with me all the time which sometimes makes me bum out a bit to be padding around cold time in thin socks. Or---gah--barefoot in someone's house in the summer. And my husband HATES having to walk around in socks in someone else's house.
So, yeah, please supply little easy-to-wash slipper socks so they have an option. For us cold-footed people, it'd be a nice gesture.
I am originally from Kansas and we never took our shoes off to enter the house (unless obviously they were nasty or something)and we kept our own shoes in our own bedrooms. When I moved to Minnesota, I was really surprised that the minute I walked into someone's house there was this huge pile of shoes by the door lol. I got the idea really quickly that I needed to remove my shoes, but I still struggle with it at home.
I don't mind removing my shoes, but I probably wouldn't ask people to at my home. I don't have babies either, though and that is understandable when there are crawlers involved.
I LOVE it!! I may have to borrow/steal it to hang in my back room.
The shoe issue never bothered me until moving to the country. I've refered to Husband as The Shoe Nazi in the past because of his paranoia over shoes being worn in the house. But now that there are many, many nasty things to be tracked in to my house from the driveway & yard, I'm 100% for shoe removal upon entering a home.
I read somewhere that 75% of the dirt in your house comes in on your shoes. In our case, that can also include massive amounts of....well....poop.
My sign says "This is an American home, run Japanese style. Please take off your shoes and stay a while.
I do have bathroom slippers (I adopted this custom from my Japanese OB doctor)...
Having 4 kids taking off our shoes at the door is a MUST!
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