Shoes off, no slippers. I’m always in socks inside.

Mr. SK cannot abide anyone inside our house with outdoor shoes on. I actually think his preference has magnified/intensified since we came to the US, it's sort of like a way to preserve this Japanese cultural custom (sensibility) despite having to follow US customs in most other areas. If that makes sense.

At the same time, we both dislike the idea of making people walk around our house in their socks, and we wouldn't want someone to be uncomfortable or surprised.

When we lived in Japan, we had a slipper rack by the front door with slippers for guests. People in Japan tend not to go sockless, so if you go to someone's house, you take off your shoes and still have socks on, and then you use the slippers they offer. Guest slippers, or the various options for them, are much nicer in Japan.

When we moved into this house, we bought probably 10 pairs (maybe more) of slippers to have to offer for guests. Whenever we invite people over, I always tell them in advance (at the time of the invite) that we ask guests not to wear outdoor shoes indoors, and I let them know that we have slippers or they can bring their own if they prefer.

We also have those shoe covers that you can get at Lowes etc., so when we have workers in the house, I give them those if they don't have their own. I also offer them to my piano tuner, but he always takes off his shoes at the door.

One thing that is always awkward is that people don't know where to take their shoes off, and even when I explain, they seem not to "get" it.

We have a fairly large mat on the inside of the front door. The idea is, you come into the house, so you're standing on that mat in your outdoor shoes (that's what we do as well) then the front door can be closed. Then you take your shoes off and step into the living room/onto the floor. But people see the mat (and treat it like a rug?) and they tend to take their shoes off while they are still outside, and then they step onto the mat in their stocking feet. Which I feel bad about because that mat is basically the same as "outside/the ground."

I always say that they can step in/onto the rug, or I'll give very specific guidance, but most people still act as if they are not supposed to be on that mat with their outdoor shoes on.

In a Japanese house, once you go across the threshold, the distinction between "out and in" is made visually. Traditionally there would be an actual step up, now that more houses are built to be accessible, the distinction is made by changing the flooring material. Generally, just inside the door will be stone/tile and the "inside" flooring is hardwood. There's often a built in shoe box there, and there's generally always enough room to step in and close the door (often the door is sliding). So there are all kinds of visual cues for where outdoor shoes are ok and where they're not.

Sorry that got sort of long... I meant to add:

Like Jodi, I have also had problems with plantar fasciitis and I don't do well if I'm walking around on a hard floor without shoes on. I also don't do well in generic slippers that don't have much of a sole. So when I go to other people's houses, I tend to take my own indoor shoes. And the shoes I wear indoors at home are regular women's slip-on sandals (Clarks, with a good soft rubber sole). So not the kind of footwear you would call slippers.

So given that I can't really comfortable spend time stomping around in the kind of slippers we have to offer guests, I always want to make sure guests know in case they have foot problems etc.

It makes things very complicated.

quote:

Originally posted by jon-nyc:
Shoes off, no slippers. I’m always in socks inside.

Same here.

Mr wtg needs the support of a real shoe, so he has a pair of slip on shoes that he only wears in the house. Easy to kick on/off when he switches from/to his street shoes.

I've tuned for a few clients that offer slippers... but never big enough for my size 13 or 14!

Shoes off.

My doc says people over 40 should always wear shoes in the house. The fat pads of the feet get thinner with age and no longer provide enough protection on hard surfaces. I have severe neuropathy when I ignore this advice, so I will not be taking off my shoes a your house--it's too painful.

We have a mudroom at our place and there I remove my muck boots and put on my indoor shoes. I have nice clean "going to town" shoes for visiting.

Nope

quote:

My doc says people over 40 should always wear shoes in the house. The fat pads of the feet get thinner with age and no longer provide enough protection on hard surfaces. I have severe neuropathy when I ignore this advice, so I will not be taking off my shoes a your house--it's too painful.

This is why I tell people in advance and let them know they can bring their own shoes.

Indoor shoes can be regular shoes. They just need to have clean soles.

That’s what I do when I visit my mom, I take clean soled regular shoes and change into them.

Nyet. Sockfeet.

Nina and I are soulmates shoes-in-the-house-wise.