Shoes on the coffee table

Ash.J.Williams

Ash.J.Williams wrote: »

Ok let’s be like Thailand:)

I wish!!
Flip flops and bare feet all year long......

jester77

ShatterAlan wrote: »

So do the German tradesmen walk around the house in their socks stepping on wood splinters, shards of cut copper piping, maybe nails/screws/rivets on the floor?

He or she just put on shoe covers. I've never had anyone that was doing work in my house not have them on, and I never had to ask either.

iamwhoiam

ShatterAlan wrote: »

So do the German tradesmen walk around the house in their socks stepping on wood splinters, shards of cut copper piping, maybe nails/screws/rivets on the floor?


.

Any tradesman I ever had in Germany wore shoe covers or put a sheet on the floor if the house was lived in .

EmmetSpiceland

bubblypop wrote: »

I wish!!
Flip flops and bare feet all year long......

Flip flops become an instant regret once you set foot in a public toilet.

ShatterAlan

iamwhoiam wrote: »

Any tradesman I ever had in Germany wore shoe covers or put a sheet on the floor if the house was lived in .

Yeah, exactly. My tradesman put down protective cardboard on the floor (my floors are slate) because he was rolling a hand truck in and out and he also moved a lot of large plant pots out from the patio to the front door. He also put a mat at the edge of the cardboard that he wiped his feet on before walking into an uncovered part of the house which I thought was a very polite gesture. But he didn't have shoe covers. When he was done he cleaned up after himself.



The plumber I had came all the way through my house into the kitchen to repair the boiler and snake the drain. No shoe covers.


Jesus, some of these people think the world outside their fcuking house is a megacosm of filth, faeces and disease and that their gaff is as sterile as Mr. White's meth lab.

Ardillaun

A Lamb Named Miltiades! wrote: »

I'm just surprised that so many Irish people have their shoes taken off at the front door. Thought that was more of one of those weird social-climbing Brit habits, whose 'class impersonations' John Betjemen used to take the piss out of.

It's a joke about people trying to put on airs. Just relax, or you'll look foolish. Leave your shoes on. The carpet can be cleaned.

I think it’s more about people trying to keep the floor clean. If I started to waltz about the place with my boots on, the woman of the house would be on to me immediately. We have hardwood floors and the evidence is obvious - you can even tell the offending footwear involved. I really don’t have any say in the matter. Of course, with carpets it’s the same except the dirt can linger undetected much longer. Why bring it in when you don’t have to?

Tell me how

Some people could maybe think about their floor choice when they spend so much time looking after it and fretting about it incase something happens.
Like having your favourite car which you never drive because your too worried in case something happens to it.
I know it's personal choice but is it really worth stressing over to this degree? I know some people will say it is, but I'm not sure most do.

Ash.J.Williams

bubblypop wrote: »

These are the countries I have personally been in where shoes were taken off at the door, it is just normal

The Netherlands
Finland
Bulgaria
Kosovo
Sweden
Thailand
Serbia
Albania
Estonia
Montenegro
North Macedonia

I live in much more amazing country called Ireland and we don’t

Purple is a Fruit

Ardillaun wrote: »

I think it’s more about people trying to keep the floor clean.

This has been covered though. Nobody would think it unreasonable to request removal of mucky or dusty shoes. Most shoes worn outside and wiped on the mat have no visible dirt on them though... and to address the invisible dirt, the floor is swept and washed.

Purple is a Fruit

jakiah wrote: »

None of them are making vistors wear gloves.

To be fair, people can wash their hands and use hand sanitiser and obviously this is at its most prevalent now, but yeah, we don't touch the floor so I just don't understand the view that there is an immediate hygiene danger (apart from when there's a baby crawling on it to be fair - although no friends with babies have ever asked me to remove my shoes).

Like many customs, people do them without really thinking why.

Yep.

Tell me how

Tell me how wrote: »

Some people could maybe think about their floor choice when they spend so much time looking after it and fretting about it incase something happens.
Like having your favourite car which you never drive because your too worried in case something happens to it.
I know it's personal choice but is it really worth stressing over to this degree? I know some people will say it is, but I'm not sure most do.

I agree with you. But it crosses my mind that things we think are silly, even foolish, matter a lot to others. We all obsess over things that people would find ridiculous. I won't bore you with my latest craze (it's toilets, though).

I guess some people like their pristine floors. Yeah it's weird, but we are all a bit odd. Our oddities make this place somewhat interesting.

cantdecide

OP here:

If I were being incredibly passive aggressive, I would put my boots on the table too... like, take my boots off, plonk them on top of the coffee table in front of him and announce 'right, I'm off to bed'. It would be no different in my mind!

Plot twist - I actually have two housemates and they BOTH put work boots up on the coffee table. The first guy started doing this again after agreeing to not do it only after the new guy moved in. The first guy even mentioned it to me after the first time he saw the new guy do it but asked me to not make a big deal about it. This became licence for the first guy to forget he agreed not to do it and our house became grubbytown again.

Regarding footwear in the house; if it were down to me, I'd always vocalise a preference to remove footwear among housemates but at the same time, if I'm in and out to the shed working on whatever project is on the go, I'm not going putting toe-capped boots off and on twenty times as I go make tea or grab that thing I put down just a minute ago. The house has all timber floors and is regularly cleaned.

Guests should do whatever they want in this regard. Most tend to ask if they should remove them and they're always told do whatever they're comfortable with. Some remove them out of habit and more won't, IME.

bmc58

EmmetSpiceland wrote: »

Flip flops become an instant regret once you set foot in a public toilet.

Who in their right mind now days would venture into a public toilet?

Tell me how

bmc58 wrote: »

Who in their right mind now days would venture into a public toilet?

Aside from the fact that they don't exist going be comments in relation to them around Ireland over the last few months, where do you think people should go to relive themselves if out in public?

Leg End Reject

bmc58 wrote: »

Who in their right mind now days would venture into a public toilet?

If you're in a shopping centre, or a pub or restaurant (when they're open) do you go home to go to the loo?

Casual afternoon in a beer garden in your flip flops and you've to gallop home trying not to break your neck?

iamwhoiam

bmc58 wrote: »

Who in their right mind now days would venture into a public toilet?

Well I had to drive from Dublin to Galway for a funeral . I didnt have a lot of choice except to use a public toilet . I will admit it was spotless though

Purple is a Fruit

People who have to defecate/urinate when they are not in private residences.

A Lamb Named Miltiades!

A Lamb Named Miltiades! wrote: »

I agree with you. But it crosses my mind that things we think are silly, even foolish, matter a lot to others. We all obsess over things that people would find ridiculous. I won't bore you with my latest craze (it's toilets, though).

I guess some people like their pristine floors. Yeah it's weird, but we are all a bit odd. Our oddities make this place somewhat interesting.

Carpet in most cases. I guess.

My country aunt used to leave the seat plastic on her new car after she bought it. To stop the Childers messing it up. For a year in one case.

I mean, yeh, the back seats weren’t dirty except for the rancid smell of plastic. But the nice ergonomically designed seats were useless because you sat on crap, squeaky, bum seeking plastic. I was a kid at the time so that’s where I sat.

Part of it was, before the more easily understood license plates we have now, to advertise the car was new. So I think.

1874

cantdecide wrote: »

OP here:

If I were being incredibly passive aggressive, I would put my boots on the table too... like, take my boots off, plonk them on top of the coffee table in front of him and announce 'right, I'm off to bed'. It would be no different in my mind!

Plot twist - I actually have two housemates and they BOTH put work boots up on the coffee table. The first guy started doing this again after agreeing to not do it only after the new guy moved in. The first guy even mentioned it to me after the first time he saw the new guy do it but asked me to not make a big deal about it. This became licence for the first guy to forget he agreed not to do it and our house became grubbytown again.

Regarding footwear in the house; if it were down to me, I'd always vocalise a preference to remove footwear among housemates but at the same time, if I'm in and out to the shed working on whatever project is on the go, I'm not going putting toe-capped boots off and on twenty times as I go make tea or grab that thing I put down just a minute ago. The house has all timber floors and is regularly cleaned.

Guests should do whatever they want in this regard. Most tend to ask if they should remove them and they're always told do whatever they're comfortable with. Some remove them out of habit and more won't, IME.

Look this is unhygienic, inconsiderate and ignorant, its a world apart from what the thread descended into, which seemed to be an indignant argument from both sides as to the rights, wrongs and level of crazy of what individuals decide to do in their own homes regarding wearing or not wearing footwear used outdoors inside the home.
Putting feet up on furniture like that is ignorant and unhygienic, unless you have some priority here as the owner or head tenant and the others are just letting rooms off you, in which case Id tell them to clear off and give no reason at all.
Otherwise, Id say you arent going to make any progress in it, plus anyone immature enough to pursue something if they think or know someone doesn't like it or if they were asked not to, isn't worth wasting time on.

Leg End Reject wrote: »

If you're in a shopping centre, or a pub or restaurant (when they're open) do you go home to go to the loo?

Casual afternoon in a beer garden in your flip flops and you've to gallop home trying not to break your neck?

No, of course you use the communal facilities, then go home and put the feet up on the coffee table, thats essentially what you could be walking in, so if anyone who decides to wear footwear at home or allows their visitors to do so, well thats their choice, but for anyone who railed against people who choose not to? would they allow a guest to put their feet up on the furniture? I'd be surprised if they did, that was what the OP was mainly about, not what it descended into.

bmc58

, Kildare St

bmc58 wrote: »

Who in their right mind now days would venture into a public toilet?

What a sweeping generalisation!

You have the low-range: the public toilets at Killiney beach, other beaches; the CIE facilities at Busaras and Heuston Station. Cold, steel seats; cubicles with offers of illicit substances and male prostitution. Avoid.

The mid-range: Jervis (it's pretty clean!), Marks and Spencer, Stephen's Green et. c.

The higher range: Brown Thomas, the National Gallery

The Super Deluxe: The National Library (must pre-book), which even has a 'recovery' armchair.
The National Museum, a hidden delight.

Don't generalise! Please. They are not all the same.

Ash.J.Williams

Ash.J.Williams wrote: »

I live in much more amazing country called Ireland and we don’t

I live there and I do.

Ash.J.Williams

A Lamb Named Miltiades! wrote: »

, Kildare St
What a sweeping generalisation!

You have the low-range: the public toilets at Killiney beach, other beaches; the CIE facilities at Busaras and Heuston Station. Cold, steel seats; cubicles with offers of illicit substances and male prostitution. Avoid.

The mid-range: Jervis (it's pretty clean!), Marks and Spencer, Stephen's Green et. c.

The higher range: Brown Thomas, the National Gallery

The Super Deluxe: The National Library (must pre-book), which even has a 'recovery' armchair.
The National Museum, a hidden delight.

Don't generalise! Please. They are not all the same.

How the hell are people supposed to romance without public toilets?

BeerWolf

So many people here saying to take off their shoes... quite a contrast to a similar thread I made almost a decade ago;

https://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?p=86334373

Ardillaun

Purple is a Fruit wrote: »

This has been covered though. Nobody would think it unreasonable to request removal of mucky or dusty shoes. Most shoes worn outside and wiped on the mat have no visible dirt on them though... and to address the invisible dirt, the floor is swept and washed.

Actually, most shoes have some visible dirt on them. On hardwood floors that is fairly obvious.

It’s a curious debate we are having here. I wouldn’t have expected anybody to argue for having shoes on in the house. Takes all sorts, I suppose.

Dtp1979

BeerWolf wrote: »

So many people here saying to take off their shoes... quite a contrast to a similar thread I made almost a decade ago;

https://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?p=86334373

And your poll clearly showed non shoe wearers were in the minority. I wonder is it too late to set up a poll at this stage?

The Cool

Greentopia wrote: »

Why on earth do some people here think no outdoor shoes indoors means you have to walk around barefoot? socks. Indoor shoes or moccasins. Slippers. I never wear indoor shoes in someone else's home and never have had to go bare foot. I either bring my own indoor shoes with me, just have socks on or have a pair of nylon sock liners I wear with the indoor shoes my friend gives me to wear if it's a friend I visit.

It's really not that complicated.

But for me to come to your house and NOT be barefoot or in socks, you're presuming that either (a) I am prepared and bring alternative footwear or socks, or (b) wear a pair of slippers you've given me, which, no thank you.

Those scenarios might be fine for a close friend or family member, who know you well enough to know to bring slippers, or are comfortable with wearing footwear you've provided, but (pre-covid at least) not everyone who calls to your home is so acquainted with you? And yes it's your home your rules, but I'd still feel cheeky asking people to take off their shoes.
And not just those people who are less acquainted with you. My own parents would laugh me out of it!

Claw Hammer

It is not so long ago that most people in Ireland had no shes to wear, inside or outside.
Not long before that, they had no table to put their feet on, whether they had shoes or not.
We are not like other countries who did not endure centuries of oppression.

JustAThought

At the risk of derailing or sounding like a Ronsil ad,

when I stay in rentals (back in the day) or hotels with shiny tiled floors (mostly US or Asia) when/if I wear socks I ALWAYS slip & go on my ear.

We’ve heard a lot from the wood and carpet brigade. what about the tile people?

I certainly don’t like the cold tile underneath in Ireland vibe & certainly would not be happy taking off my shoes and/or socks to go kamikasi on tiles.

Thoughts?

(feet or shoes on table still a no.)

Greyfox

Ardillaun wrote: »

It’s a curious debate we are having here. I wouldn’t have expected anybody to argue for having shoes on in the house. Takes all sorts, I suppose.

Well in Ireland only a small minority take off their shoes so i dont know why people are surprised that so many think taking shoes off indoors is silly.

mohawk

JustAThought wrote: »

At the risk of derailing or sounding like a Ronsil ad,

when I stay in rentals (back in the day) or hotels with shiny tiled floors (mostly US or Asia) when/if I wear socks I ALWAYS slip & go on my ear.

We’ve heard a lot from the wood and carpet brigade. what about the tile people?

I certainly don’t like the cold tile underneath in Ireland vibe & certainly would not be happy taking off my shoes and/or socks to go kamikasi on tiles.

Thoughts?

(feet or shoes on table still a no.)

I am generally a clumsy person. Majority of downstairs plus the bathrooms are tiles here. I prefer wearing socks then going barefoot and usually don’t find the tiles any more slippery then the wooden floors upstairs. Big exception is if either myself or the other half go a bit mad with floor cleaner and we are left with an ice rink. Now maybe some tiles are more slippery then others but I have no issues and my son loves taking his shoes off too. (Comfort thing for us. Guests leave their shoes on)

jester77

JustAThought wrote: »

At the risk of derailing or sounding like a Ronsil ad,

when I stay in rentals (back in the day) or hotels with shiny tiled floors (mostly US or Asia) when/if I wear socks I ALWAYS slip & go on my ear.

We’ve heard a lot from the wood and carpet brigade. what about the tile people?

I certainly don’t like the cold tile underneath in Ireland vibe & certainly would not be happy taking off my shoes and/or socks to go kamikasi on tiles.

Thoughts?

(feet or shoes on table still a no.)

I suppose it depends on the tiles, we have tiles in the hallway and bathrooms, but they are not slippy at all. They have a slightly gritty texture to them. Plus the underfloor heating gives them a nice warm feeling.

ShatterAlan

JustAThought wrote: »

At the risk of derailing or sounding like a Ronsil ad,

when I stay in rentals (back in the day) or hotels with shiny tiled floors (mostly US or Asia) when/if I wear socks I ALWAYS slip & go on my ear.

We’ve heard a lot from the wood and carpet brigade. what about the tile people?

I certainly don’t like the cold tile underneath in Ireland vibe & certainly would not be happy taking off my shoes and/or socks to go kamikasi on tiles.

Thoughts?

(feet or shoes on table still a no.)

+1


Try walking down a wooden stairs in your socks after it's been Mr. Sheened.


See you in the emergency room.....or the morgue.

JustAThought

ShatterAlan wrote: »

+1


Try walking down a wooden stairs in your socks after it's been Mr. Sheened.


See you in the emergency room.....or the morgue.

I don’t Mr Sheen my stairs but you’ve given me a great thought for my next murder!!!

Tilden Katz

Ardillaun wrote: »

Actually, most shoes have some visible dirt on them. On hardwood floors that is fairly obvious.

It’s a curious debate we are having here. I wouldn’t have expected anybody to argue for having shoes on in the house. Takes all sorts, I suppose.

In Ireland, the ones who would far more likely provoke a "take all sorts" response are those who ask for shoes to be removed.

Ardillaun

Greyfox wrote: »

Well in Ireland only a small minority take off their shoes so i dont know why people are surprised that so many think taking shoes off indoors is silly.

It’s something that will become more common in the future. I certainly do it in Ireland as a mark of good manners.

jakiah

Ardillaun wrote: »

It’s something that will become more common in the future. I certainly do it in Ireland as a mark of good manners.

Its not a mark of good manners in Ireland.

JustAThought

JustAThought wrote: »

I don’t Mr Sheen my stairs but you’ve given me a great thought for my next murder!!!

A documentary mini-series coming soon to netflix: "The Stairs looks Well"

Purple is a Fruit

Ardillaun wrote: »

I wouldn’t have expected anybody to argue for having shoes on in the house. Takes all sorts, I suppose.

Sure thang. The dishonesty here!

And no, no visible dirt on my shoes or floors (which are either wooden or tiled - carpets don't suit my allergies) - just the occasional bit of fluff or crumb which I sweep every day.

Ardillaun

Ardillaun wrote:

It’s something that will become more common in the future. I certainly do it in Ireland as a mark of good manners.

I've never taken my shoes off going into someone's house nor has anyone taken off theirs coming into mine.

This is not common in Ireland or considered good manners by the vast majority.

Dtp1979

Anyone who asks guests to take shoes off would be regarded as having ‘notions’ imo

Surreptitious

When someone comes into my house I ask them to strip bare and enter into sex acts. How do you like them apples.

JayRoc

Surreptitious wrote: »

When someone comes into my house I ask them to strip bare and enter into sex acts. How do you like them apples.

I'd consider anything less to be bad manners, frankly.

Onion Bahji

EmmetSpiceland wrote: »

He should get a footstool for his feet. Whatever about taking your shoes off at the door, feet on a coffee table is rank.

Socked feet on a table would bother just as much. There’s stools and foot rests you can get easily enough for that purpose.

Do you and your lady-friend wear shoes in the house emmet?

Ardillaun

jakiah wrote: »

Its not a mark of good manners in Ireland.

There was a time in Ireland when fiddling with the ‘immersion’ to have a bath was a big deal. Then we got showers and daily cleaning became accepted as a normal practice. The same evolution will occur with shoes indoors.

Tell me how

Ardillaun wrote: »

There was a time in Ireland when fiddling with the ‘immersion’ to have a bath was a big deal. Then we got showers and daily cleaning became accepted as a normal practice. The same evolution will occur with shoes indoors.

Wouldn't be so sure. I think there is also an awareness of developing and nurturing an immune system. And so we may eventually get to a place where excessive preoccupation with cleanliness is actually detrimental to our overall health.

We have gone too far already in some respects. In some supermarkets near me you can buy sets of 12 apples which are fully enclosed in hard plastic trays and have seen individual pears protected in the same way and I actually saw it with bananas once. Such a monumental waste of material in making single use plastic to protect a food that nature gave it's own protective layer to. It's too much.

1874

There is a light wrote: »

I've never taken my shoes off going into someone's house nor has anyone taken off theirs coming into mine.

This is not common in Ireland or considered good manners by the vast majority.

Thats all perfectly fine imo,
Other posters have repeated this too, but as I said before, the OP wasnt about wearing shoes in the house or not,
It was about putting feet up on a coffee table, with shoes or socks it seems.


Would you go into someones home and put your shoes up on the coffee table or imo even worse take off your shoes and put your sweaty sock feet up there?
and what would you think or say if a guest did likewise in your home?

Ardillaun

Tell me how wrote: »

Wouldn't be so sure. I think there is also an awareness of developing and nurturing an immune system. And so we may eventually get to a place where excessive preoccupation with cleanliness is actually detrimental to our overall health.

That’s more of a personal decision. I wouldn’t be tracking my filthy clodhoppers over someone else’s floor to boost their immunity without discussing it first.

Ardillaun

1874 wrote: »

Thats all perfectly fine imo,
Would you go into someones home and put your shoes up on the coffee table or imo even worse take off your shoes and put your sweaty sock feet up there?

To return to that point I would say, obviously not.

Tell me how

Ardillaun wrote: »

That’s more of a personal decision. I wouldn’t be tracking my filthy clodhoppers over someone else’s floor to boost their immunity without discussing it first.

Nor I. I find wiping my feet on the doormat is an appropriate consideration for the most part.

Shoes shouldn't be inside, and socks should match and be clean with no holes, and never be sweaty. If I can keep my socks from smelling in 40c weather, so can someone in Ireland. The trick is to actually wash your feet when you shower, and buy all the same socks so you can throw out bad ones.