Where you do the cleaning, you can make the mess.

Please remove your shoes. Who knew how much that little phrase can mean... or do. I have a sign on my front door. Before you even get into my home that says "Please Remove Shoes." And again, when you walk through the door, before you get past the entry way, is another sign... bigger, and a little "cuter" making that request. That doesn't mean "Please remove your shoes IF you feel like it." Or "Please remove your shoes unless you only walk on the lanoleum." YES, as I have stated before, walking on my carpet with your shoes on is the MAIN concern. It is the MAIN purpose for removing your shoes. It is also the MAIN purpose for these signs. I figure if I post them early enough, then your shoes are off by the time you get to the carpet. HOWEVER. I do not want shoes worn in my home. Period. The End. I will make an allowance for ONE person. My Father in Law. For him, I have purchased disposable booties. I love him. I want him to be able to come into my home. The End. If you come into my home, and walk around my kitchen or dining room with your shoes on, it means I have to mop the floor in order to keep my home in the condition I want it. I get that having people in a home creates messes. It means things regularly need to be cleaned. I am a very logical person. I get this. I get that a home is meant to be lived in. HOWEVER, cleaning the floors is a chore I have decided to minimize. And ask any who come into my home to cooporate. To make for a more pleasant environment all around. I LOVE people. I LOVE to socialize. I want the healthy atmosphere that comes with having people in my life and home. But it's NOT contradictive to ask that people remove their shoes. And for some reason, that seems to be exactly what people make it. And it's made into such a big thing that it doesn't need to be. These days, it is NOT unusual to be asked to leave your shoes outside when you enter someone's home. Our Home is our Temple. Our place of safety. Our place of worship. Even the General Authorities have pointed out the sacredness of the Home. And when we go to the Temple, we leave the world outside. To add to the sacred and peaceful atmosphere. And when we are asked at the Temple to leave our shoes and change our clothes, I have never heard of a complaint. People acknowledge that it is part of the requirement to be there. It is "private property" and people respect that in order to be there, there are rules that are to be followed. I think as Mortals, we forget that we are just as entitled to the respect given to Diety as God is. But isn't that what Jesus' ministry was all about. Teaching us our divine heritage, and to treat ourselves and others as Kings and Queens in the making. SERIOUSLY! If you looked at a person and really grasped that they are a Prince or Princess and the child of the God of Heaven and Earth, how would you treat them? Would you be as respectful in their "Temple" as Their Father's? My Temple may be WAY more humble than any OFFICIAL Temple. But you can't get much more humble than a stable. And The Redeemer of the World was born in one. It was just as much a Temple as King Solomon's the second He entered it and called it home. SO, I feel that I have every right to set a standard to establish respect and reverence. I am not perfect. There should be other regulations in place. And I work on those. But you have to start somewhere. And with that purpose in mind. I do not allow shoes in my home. Now, we have a large amount of space that is lanoleum before you get to the carpet. And this makes it significantly easier to take shoes off, and sometimes allows for shoes to be left on when running children or groceries in to the home without affecting the carpets cleanliness. But that does not mean the request is conditional. With that, let me point out that the point of removing shoes is to keep the grime that exists in the parking lot, on the side walk, on the indoor/outdoor carpeting outside our door, etc. OUTSIDE. Therefore, if you didn't wear shoes, and wore socks instead, they need to be removed just like shoes do. So taking your shoes off outside my door, or not wearing shoes in an attempt to get on top of things, defeats the purpose. ;-) SO, feel free to make the rules in YOUR home where you set the standard, and do the cleaning. But in my home; where I have been given the charge to set the standard, and do the cleaning ~ You need to remove your shoes... and socks if you wore them outside.