For your immediate family (by that I mean the people that live in the house),it's easy. No shoes is the new rule. Period. The End.

Be sure your significant other is actively on board with this, though. A passive aggressive "agreement" to the new policy will be bad for your relationship!

With guests, you are just going to have to ask nicely, provide booties, and be prepared for pushback. And to make exceptions. If Grandma has to wear shoes for her stability, then YOU have to decide which you love more: Grandma or the new floor. And to defend that decision to the rest of your family (either way!).

If this policy will be for "just a few weeks" while the hardwood finishes curing, then your solution for guests is to just not have any over during that time period. Immediate family will still have to comply, because it is a temporary house rule.

Past behavior is the best predictor of future behavior. There has to be a real road to Damascus life changing experience to actually change how people behave.

We are a no-shoes house. It's so ingrained, it's automatic and simple. It's not a big deal, and it's not hard. When our kids bring their friends over, they take off their shoes too, and no one cares and no one hesitates. Even our dog gets his feet wiped when he comes in, and he is as used to it as the rest of the family is to taking off shoes. I do make an exception for elderly people.

You need a good, convenient place for people to store their shoes when they enter the house. If they are taken off and left on the floor in the entry you will hate that. Additionally it will be a trip hazard.

Here is an interesting article, but to summarize: "In a recent study, researchers at the University of Arizona found nine different species of bacteria on people's shoes. These types of bacteria can cause infections in our stomachs, eyes and lungs. The study also found bacteria live longer on our shoes than in other places. As we walk, we constantly pick up new debris that feeds the growth of more bacteria. The researchers tested to see if bacteria on shoes would transfer to the tile floors in a house. More than 90 percent of the time it did. Carpeting harbors bacteria even more."

People are afraid of toilet seats, but this study goes on to say that your shoes have millions more bacteria than toilet seats.

Article Called How Dirty are Your Shoes?

Buy everyone a new pair of slippers or flip flops. They remain by the door so they can be put on/off as you enter and exit. The slippers or flip flops are for indoor use only.

I bought some cheap, lightweight slip-on shoes from Aldi, and when I come in, my outdoor shoes come off and I slip into the clean shoes that never go out the door - I have to wear arch supports because of a chronic injury to one foot, so barefoot isn't good for me. At this time of year I start wearing warm slippers instead of the Aldi shoes.

For the newly refinished floors, be sure that any slippers don't have treads that can leave marks.

Don’t lick your shoes, your carpet, your tile, your wood floors OR the toilet seat. You will be fine.

When me or my crew come to work at your home, we're wearing work boots wherever we go. No booties, but we'll tarp the floor. Nonnegotiable.

"We are a no-shoes house. It's so ingrained, it's automatic and simple. It's not a big deal, and it's not hard."

^^ This. It really does become automatic -- outside shoes are taken off in the mudroom and "house shoes" slid on (we're partial to Birkenstock). The house shoes don't go outside the door, not even to get something from the garage or take the dog out for a potty break. And wipe the dog's paws. It's about the germs only in part, but even more so about debris that shoes track in, which will scratch and dull a hardwood floor.

I'm not talking about contractors here. I wouldn't dream of asking a contractor to remove their work shoes/boots, it's their protective wear -- both them and myself, I don't want the liability should anything unfortunate happen. I do go around and vacuum then mop up after they leave, which I also do when company comes over, some of who wear slippers (provided by them or they bring their own), and some who don't. Again, it's not all about the germs but also just the general dirt and debris that gets tracked in and then all over the house.

You want to know what's REALLY GROSS?!? Women who put their purses on public floors, especially bathroom floors. I am aghast every time I see someone do that. I mean -- you do know you're carrying all the funk of John Q Public into your house and spreading it all over the countertops, furniture, bed, wherever, right? Oh my..... {shakes head}

Please don't make older people not wear shoes. I was staying with an Indian family for a vacation and they told me about their no shoe policy. I practiced walking up and down steps without shoes because of their rule. I fell and broke my ankle. First time I broke a bone in 68 years.

We are a no-shoes house and have been for several years. I can honestly say that I wouldn't ever think of going back to allowing shoes in my home. It becomes second nature that you just kick your shoes off as you walk in the door. When we first started this rule in our home I sat down with the family and proposed the idea. I thought I would get some resistance from my kids, but to my surprise they were actually really supportive of the idea. They had no problems getting their friends to remove shoes when they come over, in fact they all seem to just do it automatically. Occasionally I have heard my kids shout "shoes off!" if they are coming in the house with a big group of friends. When someone is invited over to the house for the first time, I try to let them know before they arrive that we don't wear shoes inside. I usually just make it casual as part of the invitation and directions by saying something like "btw I just wanted to let you know, everyone takes off their shoes in our house so hope you don't mind doing the same." If someone comes to the house unannounced or I didn't get to mention it to them, I have learned that what used to seem awkward really doesn't have to be. I just say "hi please come in, you can hang your coat up here, and you can leave your shoes anywhere on the rug after you take them off."

In fact, I don't think it's a good idea to walk around the house with shoes on. People walk in parks, in various parking lots, and on dirty streets. And then they go into the house with the same shoes, go into the kitchen, or even go into the bathroom. Ugh. It's disgusting. That's why I'm all for slippers. My husband, on the other hand, is not as squeamish. And he doesn't care how or what he wears around the house. And we are so different in so many ways. The only thing we agreed on when we moved in was a house sign from https://baliandboo.com/collections/house-signs. And on everything else, we argued a lot but eventually came to a compromise.

I use the Japanese idea of having an area just inside the door (a genkan) where everyone MUST remove their shoes. This keeps my stair carpet, rugs and hardwood floors clean from outside dirt. I have some cheap washable slippers that people can wear. I've even taken to the Japanese habit of using a separate pair of slippers just for the bathroom, but not for guests as that would be a bit too weird.

"Sean Richardson" has been known to add spam to posts in the past.