Do people think I am gross for not taking off shoes in house?

We are a shoes-off household for hygiene purposes. The world is gross (think about it, dog poop, trash, who knows what-all you walk on). Why bring that into your home?  From my experience traveling/living abroad, "shoes off" is a cultural practice rooted in hygiene and sanitation. Therefore, I would say it is safe to assume that anyone who is shoes-off does consider wearing shoes in the home to be disgusting. 

In my house we take shoes off and ask guests to do the same because my husband is Japanese. Its a deep cultural thing where indoors (even if messy and dusty) is "clean" and outdoors is not. He and other Japanese friends we have talked with about this topic aren't exactly judging shoes-on households but do find it to be one more strange thing about living in America. Other families we know go shoe free just because they like the idea of reducing the amount of dirt brought into the house, especially when little ones are crawling around. I've never heard any of them sound preachy about it though.It's just something they like doing.

I suspect that people who are judgy would also be so about all sorts of things in someone else's house. That's a slippery slope of worry. Don't do it!

I would not think badly of you, because not all my friends and family want to do so (including my own husband), but I do feel strongly about not wearing outdoor shoes in the house, perhaps because I live near downtown Berkeley. Sidewalks and streets here, and in many other towns and cities, are pretty dirty, and I don't want to track traces of urine, dog feces, food remains, and other substances into my house. Although I'm pretty carefree about bacteria otherwise, when I sit on the floor in my own home, I want it to be at least somewhat clean.

http://www.honeycolony.com/article/compelling-reasons-to-take-your-shoe…

http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1075996414000213

You can do what you want in your own house. It's your house. In my  house we remove shoes, and have visitors remove their shoes also. Just the thought of shoes in public restrooms is enough to make me want to do it, where your shoes step on urine, feces and whatever else! Then those same shoes touch your floors and carpet.

What you do in your home is your business.  In mine, we are shoes off inside.  My kids have been doing this since they could walk honestly and relatives homes are the same along with most friends.  Kids take off shoes automatically now whenever they go inside a home.  

I've got a storage bench in front and inside so shoes are easy to get to- but I don't like what's outside being tracked inside.  Just think about going into a public restroom or porta potty. Do you want what you are stepping on there to be tracked to your kitchen floor?  Overall keeps the floors cleaner especially with a dog and two middle school boys to contend with.

I do have slippers I can offer friends who like to have something on their feet- and I'm not going to force anyone who has feet issues to remove their shoes.  

No, I do not think you are gross. I think you are normal.  I don't see what all the fuss is about, with people needing to have a no-shoes rule. Since we do not eat off the floor or rub our hands on the soles of our shoes or have white wall-to-wall carpets, and we regularly mop and vacuum, why should we take off our shoes unless they are muddy or wet, in which case they are left outside.  If you are concerned about hygiene, you are better off having people check their purses and backpacks at the door.  That's where all the germs are. (check it out: http://www.snopes.com/medical/disease/purse.asp).   But after three children that are now teens and beyond, I can tell you I've seen a lot of gross stuff in my house that is way grosser than dirty shoes coming in through the front door. 

Ironically, many of our visitors take their shoes off when they come in to our house. Maybe because there is a basket with shoes in it next to the front door. However, that basket is there because my children and husband use the front hall as their dressing room, so there is a basket for shoes so I can toss them in there when I pick them up off the floor.   Sometimes I tell visitors "You don't have to take off your shoes" and they look confused and then they take them off anyway.  I don't know why!  I do try to be respectful of other peoples' house rules, but count me in as a shoe-friendly house.

I feel you can do anything you want in your own house. I never took off my shoes in my house until I married a woman who's culture required it. I'm thankful because our house is much cleaner now. (I came back from the park one day and looked at the bottom of my shoes. OMG you won't believe what I found in the grooves.)

Hello 

I have become more conscientious about not wearing shoes in my house after I had my baby. I started noticing all of the things my shoes trample through outside (oil, gasoline, urine, poo, etc) and was repulsed by the fact that I would then  trek that filth into my newly sanitized house for my baby to crawl on. 

I certainly would not think you are gross wearing your shoes in your house and allowing your guests to do so.  I'd be happy, because I hate taking my shoes off. It hurts my feet to walk around barefoot.  I do have some friends who ask us to remove our shoes when we come over and I'll do it, but it's always with an inner eye-roll, because it's a) uncomfortable and b) ruins the look of my outfit (and no, I don't want to wear someone else's slippers or slippery paper disposable things or whatever).  Ironically, the 'no shoes' friends seem to have the dirtiest floors. I vividly recall wearing white socks to one 'no shoes' house and coming home with gray ones.  I felt like I'd been asked to be a human Swiffer for them.