Leave Your Shoes at the Door, Please
The yucky, wet weather we’ve been having in Berlin makes me oh-so-thankful that we have a simple policy at our house: take your shoes off. I can’t imagine how dirty and now – muddy! – our floors would be if we didn’t take our shoes off at the entryway.
My favorite habits are the kind that make life simpler.
We have things pretty easy around here. Everyone takes off her shoes at the door in Germany. Very few people do in the United States, so it can be kind of awkward to ask people to take off their shoes. That’s why I was so glad to hear from Michelle. She lives in the US and also wanted to find a way to ask people to take off their shoes.
I think this sign in her doorway is too cute:
Thanks, Michelle!
What’s your take as the weather turns colder and wetter? Shoes in the house? No shoes? Maybe some comfy indoor shoes?
November 13th, 2009 at 4:42 am
oh we are so German – we both have Birkenstock sandals for our warm-weather haus schuhe and I have a wool clog version for when it’s cold. I think hubby’s getting his own wool clog version for Christmas this year. =)
November 13th, 2009 at 5:58 am
we have wall words above our door in the mudroom just before people enter the house- it says “please bare your soles.” :)
November 13th, 2009 at 6:49 am
Super cute!
I grew up taking my shoes off at the door, but can’t get my boyfriend to adapt! I even bought a stool to put at the door so it would be easier. Argh! At least I have wood floors, so I can clean up after him. If I had wall-to-wall carpet in the main living area, I’d be steaming it all the time! :)
November 13th, 2009 at 7:37 am
I have friends from Hawaii (where it’s also customary to take off shoes) who live in Seattle now, and they have a big basket next to the door… during the summer it’s filled with all sizes of flip-flops and in the winter it’s filled with all kinds and sizes of slippers! So it’s a shoe-exchange, LoL! :)
November 13th, 2009 at 8:57 am
Actually, I don’t know many people who don’t automatically remove their shoes in someone else’s house. Except for my parents’ house where it’s better just to wear shoes after little boys and big boys alike have been trekking in and out from the barn. :p
November 13th, 2009 at 10:45 am
Hi katie ,We take our shoes off and put slippers on as soon as we get home. Its something I did growing up and my own family does now. All our guests remove their shoes without being asked. I dont know anyone who wears shoes in the house.
November 13th, 2009 at 11:29 am
I always take my shoes off when I enter. I was not brought up this way, but started this practice once I had kids of my own and saw how dirty the floors got if they didn’t remove their shoes. However, sometimes it’s hard for little boys to remember to take off their shoes if they are in an excited hurry and run inside to get a toy to bring outside with them. It’s also hard if they can’t tie their shoes yet. Velcro shoes help here. I love my slippers. Never thought about having a stash for guests, though.
November 13th, 2009 at 11:32 am
We’re a shoes-off family, by habit. My husband brought it to us from his Swedish family. But we’re not real strict with it – it’s not like our floor is clean anyway. But I do love the excuse to wear cute socks, since they’ll be seen when I’m shoeless. :)
November 13th, 2009 at 1:26 pm
We were not a shoes-off family, probably because we both grew up in So Cal where we wore flip flops if our moms made us put on our “shoes”…ie., we were barefoot all the time! Now that we live in the PNW, we have gradually changed over, but still it is not a hard and fast habit for Superman and me.
November 13th, 2009 at 5:01 pm
We never take off our shoes when coming in the house because we live in sunny California and we have tile floors almost everywhere so dirt just doesn’t matter. But I do have mats at all the doors and if it’s really wet I put another mat inside the kitchen door. And if we have been doing something really dirty or muddy, we generally take our shoes off before we even come inside. I have noticed that when we finally sit down in our comfy chairs after dinner we take our shoes off and so in the morning there’s always several shoes scattered around the library. Taking one’s shoes off does seem like a nice habit to get into, but it’s probably too late to change my family.
November 13th, 2009 at 7:59 pm
We live in Canada and everyone takes their shoes off in the house. Here, nobody would wear shoes in someone else’s house either, maybe it has something to do with the fact that it’s wet, mucky or snowy 9 months of the year :-)
November 14th, 2009 at 12:24 am
Hmmm….I have always lived in the PNW and did not grow up with shoes off at my house or at my friends’ houses. For my house I usually insist family members take their shoes off. Partly b/c of the muck, snow, etc… that gets tracked in. The main reason is that I HATE trying to find shoes in the crazy morning rush!
November 15th, 2009 at 8:58 am
I would never, ever ask someone to take off their shoes in my house, because I am very uncomfortable when someone asks me to take off shoes in their house. I hate, hate, hate going barefoot — it has nothing to do with disliking my feet (I wear sandals all summer), I just absolutely detest the feeling of being barefoot. There is nothing worse for me than showing up at a friend’s house in heels, not realizing that they are barefoot people, and having to take off my shoes without having a pair of socks to put on. I always leave hours earlier than I normally would have because I am so uncomfortable the whole time. We have wall-to-wall cream carpeting in our condo (not our choice, but we knew we would be here less than 5 years, so not worth replacing), and my husband and I have decided we would much rather just spring to rent a steam cleaner every 6 months to clean the carpets than make anyone feel uncomfortable in our home.
November 16th, 2009 at 1:12 am
A very sensible policy and a great poem.
I have an whole blog about removing shoes in homes: Shoes Off at the Door, Please You might like to take a look.
November 16th, 2009 at 5:18 am
It was really weird to us when we moved to here to Alaska that people took their shoes off when they came over…and what in the world was this “mudroom” for?!! Where we grew up (So Cal) it was almost rude to remove your shoes unless you were SUPER good friends! Here they do it year round and we have gotten quite used to it (been here 12 years)! So much so I will tackle you before you reach the carpet if you don’t!
November 18th, 2009 at 6:39 am
That is a good question and I have never really thought of it. My folks have an entrance area (or mudroom) before you actually enter the house so everyone always takes their shoes off there. My husband’s family is the same.
At our place in the summer, people take their shoes off outside the door and then enter. In the winter, it gets too cold here. If people took their shoes off outside in the winter, the shoes/boots would probably freeze and that would be hard to get on. So people enter the house and then take them off. Our entryway is all tiled and come winter, I put down a huge charcoal mat (the kind that doesn’t let water seep through) for people to put their shoes on.
November 20th, 2009 at 2:18 pm
Hmmmm…this is really interesting. I guess I agree with Julie, I would never, ever ask someone to take off their shoes in my house and we live in rainy Scotland. Honestly, it has never crossed my mind to ask someone to take off their shoes.
November 21st, 2009 at 11:47 am
Katie,
I love this little poem! How ridiculously cute!!!! I really need to institute a shoes-off program in my house, though getting the hubs to adapt….mmmm….little more difficult ;-). I may be putting this poem on my front door, however. It’s just too cute!
Lindsay
May 12th, 2010 at 1:09 pm
What a great little poem. I grew up in a household that did not permit shoes to be worn in the home and I now live that way, upteen years later. I am perfectly fine with it. I have heard, on other posts (not here), that homeowners would never expect, nor ask for their guests to remove their shoes because it would make them uncomfortable. Well I see it as just the opposite. Leave the outdoors, outdoors. I dont want crap, from the bottom of ppls shoes (and by crap,I could literally mean this), being tracked through the home that I care so well for. Um, not too mention that I want my guests to feel comfortable and relaxed in my home, knowing that that can put there feet up on my couch and get cozy. Once again, Great sign!
July 17th, 2010 at 8:09 am
Here’s my poem…
Welcome all, to our home.
What’s that phrase? “When in Rome…”
To everyone we love to greet,
Please notice what is on our feet.
No outdoor shoes go upstairs,
Or onto to carpet anywhere.
Well that is what we try do,
And that is what we ask of you
So please remember while you’re here,
Don’t walk in mud with your footgear,
And please be neat, our cat is blind,
Things in his way – well, that’s not kind!
And if you don’t do what we ask,
Well YOU can do the household tasks!
Respect our home, that’s what we say,
And you will have a happy stay!
Thanks for the inspiration!