Our hostess invited us inside with a smile and said, “Please take off your shoes and leave them at the door. We don’t wear shoes inside.”
“Crap!” I thought while glaring at my husband. “Why didn’t somebody tell me this so I didn’t wear my ‘Sunday socks’ — the holey ones?” He had been to this house before and must have known the rules, but it slipped his mind.
Cinderella would have a ball.
I’m fully aware that one must always take off one’s shoes when entering the home of a Japanese person. To not do so is the ultimate in disrespect. If I were going to a Japanese person’s home, I’d make darn sure to wear cute socks and have a pedicure first, just in case. But, these folks were not Japanese.
Probably our hostess knew the same thing I do: that taking off your outdoor shoes at the door keeps an amazing amount of dirt off of the carpet (thus reducing the time and money you spend cleaning carpets) and it reduces the amount of allergens that you bring inside. Taking off your shoes makes sense for your pocketbook and your health.
There is a catch though. If you go around on the carpet barefoot, the oils on the soles of your feet mix with dirt and dust and can stain the carpet. So, if you implement the “no shoes rule” at your house, you should probably have an assortment of non-holey socks or slippers available for your guests.
We take off our shoes at the door, too. However, I have never asked a guest to remove shoes. Sometimes they do, because they see the pile in the entryway. Those shoes stay there for days and days because I am a lazy wench. But, the piled up shoes isn’t so good either!
According to the Chinese concept of feng shui, “There should be no shoes or slippers lying around outside the main door of your house. Remove it [sic] if you can. Allow that space at the main door to be free and clear. The chi (energy) rides with the wind and will collect all the smell of those shoes and slippers into your house causing sickness.”
If that chi gets a whiff of my shoes it’ll definitely cause something. What’s that look on your face? The cats love the funky smell of my shoes!
All this brings to mind something that a Japanese exchange student asked me many years ago: “Shelly, why do Americans wear shoes inside and go barefoot outside?” It was one of the few times I ever found myself speechless.
So, do y’all use the no shoes rule at your house? If so, what accommodations do you make for your guests?
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{ 14 comments }
I saw this tradition when I was in Hawaii. Every one took their shoes off when they entered a house. Even the man from the electric company.
This is one of those areas where my sweetie pie and I are total opposites.
He wears his boots in and out of the house. The second he takes his boots off he puts on his slippers.
I go barefoot all of the time. I must have lived on a tropical island in a past life. Yes, this is a problem when you live in the Mts of Utah.
So sense we are different…the guests get to do what they want.
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I’m with you. I’d be barefoot all the time except for this plantar fasciitis (and having to support the arch of my foot). I’m kinda like my Momma. She always said, “10 years from now, what are you gonna remember? That the house was clean or that you had a good time?”
Yep I wear shoes, otherwise I wouldn’t be able to walk, guess the host could drag me around in a chair or send me home. Doubt they’d like a wheelchair rolling around in their house either!
I imagine most folks would make exceptions, janeywan. They’d probably rather do that than provide wheelchairs.
When the Grandkids come in to our house, they immediately kick off their shoes. They also press the toe of one onto the back of another and never untie them to get them off. But off they come, every time.
It’s not a rule, but they do it. I don’t. I wear mine in unless i know they are laden with anything wet, muddy or other debris. I always wipe them on the mat that we have at the doorway, inside and outside, (outside is in the garage).
When I go to someone else’s place. I remove my shoes. I hate to, because putting them back on is a chore for me. I have balance issues when I bend over as well as breathing issues, (heart stuff, the position, I’m fat but not that fat!).
At times, the host or hostess will say, “Don’t worry about your shoes”. And if I am convinced they won’t leave prints or debris, I’ll leave them on and say, “Thank you”
That’s my shoe etiquette. Thanks for askin’
Peace.
PS I don’t go barefoot, in or out. Gotta have something on.
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Is it a rule for the kids at home, and they just bring that etiquette with them? Or are they just polite, good kids (as if I think you would give an unbiased answer)
? I hear you about the balance and putting on shoes. I have a chair at our front door for folks who are changing shoes … well, really it wound up there because I had no other place to put it and then it just seemed to fit.
I was always a barefoot kinda person, and possibly will be again. Until I get this lump on my foot to diminish, I’ll support the arches and wear shoes.
I’m a “shoes off” person for myself, but I don’t have any sort of rule at the house because my husband is a “shoes on” person. I also gave up years ago on fancy women’s shoes. No high heels, no pointed toes. I have three nice pairs of flat pumps (black, navy, off white) for fancy wear, and the rest of the time I’m shod in clodhoppers. My feet are pretty happy. My spouse gets a new pair of slippers every year for Christmas, but a few years back when I had to go to the hospital, they had to buy me a pair.
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My kinda gal. I have some fancy shoes, but haven’t put them on in many years. High heels have never been my style. I go for “sensible” shoes. But, I do like slippers, especially in winter. Did you run around barefoot as a kid? I did, and remember that my feet were as tough as leather.
No rules around my house other than “Don’t make fun of the hostess without shoes”. Have I mentioned I HATE SHOES. I’ve been losing them since I learned to walk. Barefoot is the way I arrived and barefoot is how I will leave. In between barefoot as often as humanly possible
Currently I possess three pair, (1) low heels if I must and it better be a darn good reason (2) Tennies for everything that must be done outdoors until the temperature climbs and (3) sandals for everything outdoors once it’s warm enough if I absolutely can’t go barefoot.
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Sounds like you are pretty sensible. I wouldn’t have anything but the work shoes if I could go barefoot again. Until this foot thingie straightens out, I’m wearing shoes all the time and hate it!
Yes, it is a dilemma. Clean vs fun. Is there really any contest? I go barefoot in my home, encouraging it, but have never been able to bring myself to ask guests to de-shoe. It just seems . . . invasive. I remember how I felt when a friend asked me to remove my shoes before entering her carpeted domain. Your remark about feng shui reminded me of a comic’s quip (maybe you’ve heard it): Feng shi is Chinese for ‘Put your husband’s stuff in the garage.’
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Bwahaha! I don’t know if my husband saw this remark, but you can bet I’ll be using it on him! Thanks for the ammo.
Industrial research has not proven that oils from feet can damage carpets. The evidence remains to be seen. The finest carpets in the world are from the middle east, where people go barefoot on carpets.
Thanks for bringing up the subject of removing shoes in homes. I have an whole blog on this subject: Shoes Off at the Door, Please You might want to take a look.
.-= Matthew C´s last blog ..Crazy Sexy Life: Do You Go Shoeless? =-.
Well, thanks, Matthew … I don’t know if any research has been done. I just took the word of cleaning gurus. And, I figured that if you mix oil and dirt, you have a stain. Of course, if you have a patterned carpet, it would hide them well.
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