>i'm not a big shoes off enforcer. We have wood floors and
>clean them pretty often. We generally leave our own shoes at
>the back door when we come in, but it's kinda awkward for me
>to ask guests to take off their shoes.

I don't want to tell people what to do in my house, but what harm is it if you want to keep your house looking good and clean? I have light colored carpet plus it is new carpet, so I see no harm in asking someone to take off shoes when walking on your carpet. People who respect you will either ask you or automatically take off shoes. I do make exceptions on some rules, but for the most part my rules end up unspoken ones.