• @paddirn@lemmy.world
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    3 months ago

    Growing up, we never thought twice about it, we just wore our shoes inside (or didn’t) and it was whatever, nobody ever said anything. I grew up in northeast US and the only time we really wouldn’t wear shoes in the house would be when it snowed or if we had mud on our shoes, otherwise it helped keep your feet warm. It wasn’t until I met my wife that she was like, “What the fuck?” She grew up in Kenya where it was mandatory to not wear shoes. It’s so dusty out there most of the time that the house would be a mess if you did wear your shoes inside, so it was just an automatic thing to take them off.

    • Jay
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      63 months ago

      Slippers are great. I used to have an awesome pair of gorilla slippers… until my dog shredded one.

      Sadly I can’t find replacements that fit my feet now.

  • @De_Narm@lemmy.world
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    393 months ago

    I’ve only ever seen this done by Americans. They also have really car centric cities. I guess it kinda makes sense to just keep your normal shoes on to warm your feet if they can’t get dirty since you mostly only walk indoors.

    • @MacedWindow@lemmy.world
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      173 months ago

      I’m American and I know people from multiple states and I’ve never heard of anyone doing this. Always surprises me to see it assigned to us online. I’m sure it must happen in some region of the country but I don’t know where.

      • Fleppensteyn
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        223 months ago

        It’s a reoccurring internet discussion you can google. The rest of the world thinks Americans wear shoes inside, even on their beds, because that’s what we see in US movies/series, and Americans always deny they’d ever do such a thing.

        • Rhynoplaz
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          83 months ago

          That’s a good point. I hadn’t thought about actors almost always wearing shoes on set. I guess it would look like everyone does that in their home.

          • @AA5B@lemmy.world
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            33 months ago

            You just think it was a cat because your brain can’t handle the truth. There’s a reason we use bursery rhymes to teach kids not to let their arms and legs hang over the side of the bed. You are so lucky you still have feet

        • I hate that shit. When someone wears shoes in bed it’s all I can focus on and it ruins the scene. As a fat American slob, I’d never wear shoes to bed. The only time I wear shoes inside is if I have to run inside quickly for something on the 1st floor or in the basement.

      • @De_Narm@lemmy.world
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        53 months ago

        Not American myself. However, I’ve seen people from Pennsylvania do this.

        Otherwise, for some reason it happens a lot in movies.

    • e_mc2
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      13 months ago

      I’m not American and I always wear shoes in the house. Why the fuck not?

      • @De_Narm@lemmy.world
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        33 months ago

        So… do you clean them every time you get home? Or is there just not much rain, snow or even just dirt in your area anyways?

        • e_mc2
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          13 months ago

          We do have a lot of rain, specially in this time of year, but we have something here that is called a schoonloopmat which cleans/dries your shoes quite good. That together with hard wooden floors throughout the house makes I never take off my shoes at home.

        • @AstralPath@lemmy.ca
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          73 months ago

          Slippers never go outside. If they do its for but a few seconds to avoid picking up a ton of dirt.

          What people seem to miss when thinking about how dirty their shoes are are the chemical residues from vehicles. Exhaust pipes drip contaminated water, oil drips from cars, brake dust accumulates in those wet and oily spots on the road, etc… Every time you cross the street or walk in dense public areas your shoes pick that stuff up. If you walk around your house with those same shoes, you invite toxic residues into your living space. The effect might be negligible but the thought makes me wanna gag.

  • @Prandom_returns@lemm.ee
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    213 months ago

    This is most common in the US. At any point, a policeman might barge into your house, shoot yout dog and start looking for something else to shoot. If you’re wearing shoes already, you’ve got a head start and a chance to live.

  • ℕ𝕖𝕞𝕠
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    213 months ago

    As other have said, they’re usually not the same shoes I wear outside.

    But generally, for the same reason I wear them outside: to protect my feet. Especially if I’m going in and out a lot, like when doing yardwork or grilling.

    Every time this question comes up, I can’t tell if it’s that homes outside the US are much cleaner or streets are much dirtier.

      • marsokod
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        63 months ago

        I wear slippers inside mostly to protect agains cold floor, coffee tables, and most important of all, Lego bricks on the loose.

        Also another reason to wear shoes inside is when you are constantly going inside and outside. Which means then your floor is dirty… which means you want to protect your feet from the dirt. That’s a vicious cycle but can be one of the reasons.

        • @AA5B@lemmy.world
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          3 months ago

          This is what Crocs were invented for. Just slip your feet into “outdoor slippers” on your way out, and kick them off on your way back in. You don’t even have to search for matching socks, and it still works in the rain

      • ℕ𝕖𝕞𝕠
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        43 months ago

        Loose nails in the floorboards, kids’ toys, yes table legs, things dropping on them from height, cold floors, cold air, pouncing cats, slipping in puddles, hot oil spatter in the kitchen… life in a 140-year-old house with three kids and five cats, basically.

        • @SgtAStrawberry@lemmy.world
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          43 months ago

          Intresting, we have around the same aged house, four cats, a dog but no kids and have never really felt the need for shoes indoors.

      • @Nighed@sffa.community
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        33 months ago

        My coffee table broke my toe last year, vicious thing!

        I had taken some shoes off 5 mins earlier as well 😞

    • @corsicanguppy@lemmy.ca
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      43 months ago

      Slip-on shoes at the door seem to be an alien concept.

      Did you not have mothers who’d throw things at your head if you wore your shoes in the house? Were you not better than ‘shoes in the house’ people?

      • ℕ𝕖𝕞𝕠
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        63 months ago

        I explicitly said the shoes I wear inside are different then the ones I wear outside. Don’t insult my mother.

  • @ExLisper@linux.community
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    193 months ago

    It’s a cultural thing. In Poland because of the climate, central heating and probably some other habits everyone has a carpet so you take your shoes off because carpets are hard to clean. In Spain because of the climate you don’t have carpets because stone floors help cool the apartment down. Bare stone floors are easy to clean and are cold during winter so you keep your shoes on.

    • MeanEYE
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      43 months ago

      Even in more tropical countries it’s healthier to take off your shoes so place in which you sleep and eat is not filled with dust and dirt. I’d say it’s mostly cultural heritage and a bad one at that. I’ve been into many more tropical countries than Spain where people take their shoes off all the same and their winters don’t drop below 18°C.

      • @renvi@lemmy.zip
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        13 months ago

        Why is it bad to culturally take your shoes off? I am from Hawaii and we always take our shoes off. I think it’s cleaner and a good cultural practice here.

        • MeanEYE
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          03 months ago

          Cultural not to take your shoes off and is bad. Taking them off is clearly better.

  • @WoahWoah@lemmy.world
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    3 months ago

    When I lived in the Midwest, indoor carpeting was everywhere, and everyone took their shoes off at the door. Probably due to snow and muck and whatever else.

    Moved to the east coast and people thought it was weird that I would try to take my shoes off at their door. Most people had hardwood.

    I still live on the east coast, and basically I just do what people ask. It generally seems like places that have carpeting ask for shoes off, those that don’t, don’t.

    That’s when you’re going to someone else’s home. In my own home, I have indoor shoes and outdoor shoes. The indoor shoes are basically slip on types. I wear them everywhere inside until I’m going to bed, then they go by the bed.

    I have children and I got tired of stepping on shit and walking with a limp because I stepped on a metal truck the size of a dime or whatever.

    • edric
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      33 months ago

      There are slippers like Oofos that you can wear at home instead of using shoes.

        • edric
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          23 months ago

          That’s fair. I’ve never bought from them for full price, as I find them quite expensive as well. I always wait for sales or discount codes. Having said that, they are amazing. They are the plushiest/softest footwear I’ve experienced so far, even better than the popular Boost, React, and ZoomX foams. They have a very pronounced arch, so if you need arch support, you’ll definitely get it.

      • @JaymesRS@literature.cafe
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        03 months ago

        No one near me sells oofos, I can go to 3 stores nearby and buy a pair of Hokas that I can also wear at the Gym instead of needing a separate pair of Gym shoes.

  • Alien Nathan Edward
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    183 months ago

    I like to cook, and I like big cooks. My favorite thing to do on a Sunday is wake up and immediately start dinner. Fresh bread, slow roasted meats, things that take time in the kitchen. It’s not weird for me to spend hours in there, and a kitchen needs a hard floor because carpet will just absorb spills and become disgusting really quickly. My old ass gets really sore after 5 hours standing barefoot on hard tile, so I have some house shoes that never go outside and help me stay comfortable.

    • @NewNewAccount@lemmy.world
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      93 months ago

      Wrong why, though? Is the ground outside really THAT dirty? Even if it is, can you guarantee that the floor in your house isn’t effectively as dirty?

      Living in Southern California, where we don’t get much inclement weather, tracking in muddy or otherwise physically dirty shoes in the house isn’t really a concern 95% of the time.

      • @Honytawk@lemmy.zip
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        13 months ago

        The ground outside is literally made of dirt. It is as dirty as it gets.

        The only way your shoes don’t get dirty is if you never actually walk on dirt. Which, sounding like you are American, is probably true since everything is concreted over to make space for your cars.

        And even then, you never encounter dog shit, right?

      • @wise_pancake@lemmy.ca
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        03 months ago

        Living in Canada the outdoor shoes are unthinkable! So much mud and snow.

        But even in good weather there’s dog pee and gum and all sorts of junk on the bottom of your shoes.

    • @stackPeek@lemmy.world
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      13 months ago

      Ah, this reminds me of uwabaki (上履き) back when I went to elementary school in Japan. Outside shoes and inside shoes which are called Uwabaki are different. The only time I use Uwabaki outside is in an emergency situation. I remember doing this in 2011 Earthquake

      • @wise_pancake@lemmy.ca
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        13 months ago

        Those are similar to what I wear indoors: typically slip on shoes with a soft sole.

        For some reason I don’t feel productive if I’m not wearing shoes.

  • @jqubed@lemmy.world
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    183 months ago

    My dog refuses to wear shoes outside so she’s already tracking dirt (visible or not) in several times a day. I’m always wearing either my outdoor shoes or slippers to keep from exposing my feet. If we did not have a dog than it would make sense to remove shoes as soon as we come inside.

    • Drusas
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      73 months ago

      Same. I required people to take shoes off in my house until I got dogs. They track dirt, pine needles, fur all over the place. I still mostly go around in my socks, but I don’t expect anybody else to.