taking shoes off

As others have said, taking shoes off at the door seems to be the norm now. My Canadian family always have done, probably due to the hypothetical snow on their boots? When DS was living in Thailand we even had to take shoes off at the entrance to shops, it was considered polite to do so.
I would never ask anyone to take their shoes off, but am pleased when they do. Similarly I always take mine off when visiting and have some unglamorous sock slippers to wear instead if it is a long visit. I get cold feet too!

I've been chuckling about the image of farms on this thread. Obviously if you've been working in a muddy area wearing the appropriate footwear you change into slippers or whatever when you go indoors. Surprisingly enough we have paths and concreted areas that are clean just like anywhere else. If somebody parks their car and walks to our door their shoes won't be any more dirty than if we lived in the middle of a town.

We never ask people to remove their shoes but then we don't have any carpets.

Never- it is very rude.
I assume that if they have been walking in muddy lanes they would take them off, but it is silly if they have dressed up for a dinner party.
I have one friend who expects you to remove them. I don't mind but woukd refuse to wear someone else's slippers- that is dire!

Well I only have Family here, and they take off their shoes, I don't invite anyone else, can't abide People in my home. If a workman has to come n, some take off their shoes without being asked, obviously they may have to leave them on for safety reasons, but they should have disposable overshoe things with them if they are going into People's homes.

We've always taken off our shoes, in my case because they often hurt! Our family have a definite no shoes in the house rule so the grandchildren do it automatically. If visitors offer I usually say not to, but often they will anyway. When visiting others I always offer, then go with their wishes, it's their home so I fit in. Staying with others I always take slippers, more comfortable for me than bare feet or slidy tights on hard floors.

We have a slipper and shoe rack in the hall. We change when we come into the house, and guests are welcome to help themselves to a pair of slippers if they would like to.

I think a no shoes rule in the house is sensible.unless your guests walked there on their hands. Why trek anything dirty into a home space?

It is just respect for someone else's space.

I would totally trust my friends and if they had dirty shoes they would automatically take them off but maybe my house isn't as white as some here, I purposely bought hardwearing (not dirt showing ) carpets because I had teenagers and their friends, a dog and two cats when I had the house carpeted so went for practicality over light colours

I live in Sweden, and its a rule here, take shoes off as soon as entering, took a bit of getting used to, but its practical, especially when its Winter and snowing.However I always laugh to myself when going to anyones house and people are dressed nicely but with no shoes on, feels a bit odd, I usually take other shoes with me to change, as I hate going round in stocking feet. Nobody can look "elegant" in stocking feet!

I thought it was appalling when we were asked ar a party to take off our shoes! I exposed bunions and my Dh had a hole in his sock! Why buy cream carpets that no-one can walk on? My DGC do take off shoes as theyve been taught to but DH hates the pile of shoes by the front door and I dont like to see people in slippers except in private - I think it's sloppy and bad for the feet.
The exceptions are if its snowy/muddy or if we come in from Gardening! But normally a wipe on the doormat is sufficient.

When I was a child we always wore house shoes or perhaps slippers. We had to keep house shoes at school. There was always a lot of dog mess etc on the pavements in those days. I am 91 times have changed.

When I was a child we always wore house shoes or perhaps slippers. We had to keep house shoes at school. There was always a lot of dog mess etc on the pavements in those days. I am 91 times have changed.

When I was a child we always wore house shoes or perhaps slippers. We had to keep house shoes at school. There was always a lot of dog mess etc on the pavements in those days. I am 91 times have changed.

When I was a child we always wore house shoes or perhaps slippers. We had to keep house shoes at school. There was always a lot of dog mess etc on the pavements in those days. I am 91 times have changed.

When I was a child we always wore house shoes or perhaps slippers. We had to keep house shoes at school. There was always a lot of dog mess etc on the pavements in those days. I am 91 times have changed.

When I was a child we always wore house shoes or perhaps slippers. We had to keep house shoes at school. There was always a lot of dog mess etc on the pavements in those days. I am 91 times have changed.

When I was a child we always wore house shoes or perhaps slippers. We had to keep house shoes at school. There was always a lot of dog mess etc on the pavements in those days. I am 91 times have changed.

We have a wooden floor ...problem solved no taking shoes off. If they bring mud in etc a quick wipe sorts it. Simples ?

I always thought it was a bit off until I got rid of my carpet and replaced it with wooden floor, when you can actually see what you are cleaning up on a daily basis it is quite an eye opener, also don't like the thought of what is being stepped in / on out in the street...dog poo...peoples spit...fox poo to name just a few.

Don't know what happened sorry about the repeats.

I've always removed my shoes when coming inside and expect others to do the same. I've never had to ask though, people see me without shoes and take theirs off. I always offe (washable) slippers and have quite a collection.
I do have pale carpets but that's not the reason I do it, I just think bringing outside dirt into the house is not very nice.

All our grown up kids and their children take off their shoes routinely when they come to our house, though the state of our carpet really doesn't justify it!
We never trained our kids to do this, but perhaps in those days fitted carpets were less common.
The only problem with a large gathering is the huge pile of shoes in a tiny hall.

Have recently been changing my shoes for cosy warm slippers (I suffer from cold feet and do now not visit friends who have pale carpets!) and am amazed at the amount of dirt from outside my friends (I never ask them to change shoes) bring in on their shoes. Easily swept away though - no problem.

I'd never ask anyone to remove their shoes. It's the height of rudeness, as it implies that your carpet/flooring is more important than your guest's comfort. I've always worked on the principle that I live in a home - not a house - and no-one should feel uncomfortable at home.
Sadly, my DIL (who I generally get on with extremely well) has a strict no-shoes policy (& refuses to let my DD take her beloved dog when she visits, in case his claws scratch their polished wooden floor- but that's another thread...) so I always take my slippers there - but it silently annoys me every time.

I lived in Canada for quite a while and it was the norm there, so I automatically do it here - though people often tell me not to bother. As I am always barefoot in my own house people ask if I would like them to take off their shoes and I say no - unless they are going upstairs, as I have cream stair carpet (chosen by previous owners.

However, when my grandchildren were tiny my DIL always insisted on shoes being removed and I realised how important that was when all sorts would otherwise be walked in from the streets to where the little ones were crawling about close to the floor. That made quite an impression on me in terms of child care.