<p>In college, I had a girlfriend whose mother insisted everyone talk off his/ her shoes upon entering the house. I thought is was so strange, but she had lovely carpet. If the kids have been running in the woods, they take off their shoes;otherwise, I do not care.</p>
<p>On the karaoke machine…I think I would have said something like this: “Oh, I thought you were using our machine. Where did you rent one?”</p>
<p>I hosted 10 3-5 year old boys in our months old house for son’s 4th birthday. The chocolate cake and frosting came out of the dining room carpet just fine (10 boys fit around that table).</p>
<p>Shoes- both H in India and I in Wisconsin grew up not wearing shoes in the house. Slippers in cold weather for warmth. The area we raised our son in was a shoes off one. You could tell how many boys were there and whether they came in through the garage with son or rang the doorbell later by where shoes were. I once got nosy and checked shoe sizes when the kids were 7- the tallest had the biggest feet. A friend has severe arthritis, she kept her shoes on and once apologized, I tolsd it was fine. Most others would take them off. We were never formal enough to have dress up parties, our friends and family took off their shoes (but not my father as I recall, and he would wear slippers all of the time when I was growing up too). Good to not have hospital germs at home (or at least fewer). It was funny though to have our realtor leave a basket of booties for showings- by then the carpet was so old and we were not concerned.</p>
<p>I live in New England where we have lots of muddy, salty roads for 6 months/year. That said, I have never known adults to take off their shoes or be asked to take them off unless they are truly soaked or muddy. If it’s snowy out, adults coming to your house might bring a pair of shoes to wear after they take off their boots, or just go sock-foot if it’s a super-casual affair or meeting, but that’s it.</p>
<p>It’s very common for kids to take off their shoes when entering the house, though - most kids just do it automatically.</p>
<p>Frankly, there’s a reason I have beige carpet: it’s already dirt colored. I would never buy a white carpet. If I can’t LIVE in my house, eat in my house, and have friends walk around in my house, there is something wrong.</p>
<p>I too live in often muddy New England. We never take our shoes off and never ask anyone to do so. I actually don’t like it when people do. With kids friends who were used to doing so at their own homes, it was masses of enormous smelly shoes percolating by the back door - not big enough to call it a mudroom.
Wipe your feet and get on with it!</p>
<p>This is very common in a number of Asian cultures, and some Asian-American families retain the custom. It’s particularly taboo to wear your shoes in someone’s home in Japan. The feelings on the subject are akin to what the average American would feel if someone wore shoes into your bed.</p>
<p>We’ve never taken shoes off at the door but we had neighbors who did. Once an Avon lady (who lived in our neighborhood and was an aquaintance) came to their house,took her shoes off at the door as per request, then slipped and fell on the floor, injuring her back. She sued our neighbors.</p>
<p>Regarding shoes and New England, I come from CT, where no visitors ever removed their shoes indoors. I never noticed anyone doing in in Massachusetts, either. I now live in Maine, where it is common. </p>
<p>Of course, they don’t have Mud Season in CT or the Boston area, either. :)</p>
<p>Consolation, I live in the Boston area and beg to differ on mud season. 
We have it here too, even with paved roads.</p>
<p>After my mother’s funeral, we had people over to the house. On their own, people took off their shoes. I don’t remember people doing this when my folks were alive. Anyhow, at the end of the evening, one woman found out that someone had taken her shoes by mistake. It was a funny way to end a sober evening.</p>
<p>Well, we didn’t have one last year in CT due an unprecedented lack of snow but other years…mud galore!</p>
<p>We found that many of our kids’ guests automatically took off their shoes and left them by the door, even though we don’t ask people to do so. Outrageous!</p>
<p>I don’t like to wear shoes in my house. But I always put them on when people are coming over.</p>
<p>If I showed up as a guest in someone’s home with mud all over my shoes, I think it would be instinct to take them off. And if someone showed up at my house with mud all over their shoes, I would be grateful if they took them off. Otherwise, it just would not occur to me to do so or to expect it from others.</p>
<p>Most people I visit don’t wear shoes in their house. But it’s pretty easy to figure out. If you show up and the host isn’t wearing shoes, I start taking mine off. It’s pretty automatic for me now. We don’t wear shoes in our house, though our carpet hides dirt really well. But when my husband is working on the yard and going in and out, I can see how quickly the dirt adds up. Then again, since my dogs occasionally enjoy wiping their butts on our nice, soft carpet (it must feel so good), it seems rather futile. We aren’t going to cause a fuss about someone who wears shoes or even mention it. But it’s nice when people do remove their shoes.</p>
<p>New definition of chutzpah: asking the people who loaned you the karaoke machine to pay $10 per person towards the karaoke machine.</p>
<p>Not only is this very bizarre, but what about the guests who have no intention of using the machine. there may be a few gutsy guests that want to get up and belt out a song, but those of us are singing-challenged would not only never consider doing karaoke, but would think it odd that we have to pay for it.</p>
<p>It’s just bizarre to charge guests for YOUR decision of entertainment.</p>
<p>Not in a million years would I want anyone to remove their shoes in my house, and I’d consider it the height or rudeness for someone to ask me to do that in their house. (When he was little, one of S’s friends had a mom who demanded shoe removal–it was just one of a number of weird behaviors that befuddled everyone.) I don’t want to look at anyone’s corns, bunions or icky toenails, thanks, and since most people make some level of effort to match their footwear style, color and heel height to their clothing, they should be allowed to present themselves in their outfits in their entirety. Finally–it’s the floor, folks, no one’s eating off of it, and unless you have a wee crawler (who we now know should be exposed to germs to avoid developing asthma and allergies), no one is even touching it. I have a sturdy mat outside the door for scraping any crud off shoes, and one just inside the door for a final quick wipe. That’s good enough. Floors can be washed and vacuumed. They even sell appliances and products just for that purpose!</p>
<p>“It’s just bizarre to charge guests for YOUR decision of entertainment.”</p>
<p>Not only that, but they borrowed the machine and then asked for $10 per family member from all guests including FAMILY THEY BORROWED THE MACHINE FROM. This is beyond nerve!!!</p>
<p>Re: removal of shoes-We also have also just always resorted to hoping that people use common sense when they enter our home. Use the mats or take your shoes off it’s beyond that . I grew up in Pittsburgh so know snow but don’t remember having to take off shoes to get into anyone’s house. It’s nice if you offer to take off your shoes if your shoes are snowy or muddy but I think most people I have known play that by ear. The first I heard of it (you must take your shoes off to enter my home) was actually from my older son , whose friend’s mother insisted on it. This was in Virginia, even when no snow,mud was involved. So, it really seems as much as anything that this is family/habits/cultural/ tolerance for cleanliness related issues as much as anything.
I did tell my kids’ friends on occasion to please wipe their feet before coming in but don’t recall ever asking an adult to do so.</p>
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<p>We like dirt outside, not inside. I don’t know how one could consider that rude… but I guess to each his/her own.</p>
<p>Maybe it’s the snow around here, but it seems to be the norm in Michigan, that’s for sure.</p>
<p>I would pay $10 per person not to have to do karaoke. :)</p>
<p>woody, trust me, as a CT native myself, it is different here. CT has mud in the spring, Maine has a Mud Season. Lafalum, I lived in the Boston area for 6 years, and no one ever mentioned “Mud Season” on the same plane as Spring or Fall. 
Maybe it was because I was either in college or in the city.</p>